Ancient Indian Boardgames: Digital Documentation

Title (dcterms:title)

Graffiti Boardgame Tablan in Kailash Temple Ellora

Description (dcterms:description)

Tablan is a traditional Indian board game for two players, similar to Backgammon and Tâb, where the goal is to occupy more of your opponent's home squares than they do yours. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Here's a more detailed breakdown: [1, 4, 5]

Origin & History: Tablan is an ancient Hindustani game originating in India, particularly in some villages in Mysore, southwestern India. [1, 4, 5] It could have originated from the Roman games Duodecima Scripta
This gameboard has been found in Cave 16 of Ellora also known as the Kailash temple.

Alternative Title (dcterms:alternative)

Tablaan, Tablaa, Tabul Phale

Rules (dcterms:instructionalMethod)

Gameplay: [1, 3]
• Players use a 12x4 board, with each player having 12 pieces on opposite edges. [1, 3]
• The game is played with four casting sticks, each with one side marked and the other plain. [1, 2]
• Players throw the sticks alternately, counting the plain sides showing, and the player who throws a 1 starts the game. [1, 2]
• The goal is to get your pieces to the enemy's home row, and the winner is the player with the most pieces in their enemy's home row. [1, 2]
• Related Games: Tablan bears some resemblance to Backgammon and Tâb and is likely related to one or both of these games. [4, 6]
• Materials: You'll need a Tablan board, 12 pieces of each player's color, and four casting sticks. [1, 2, 5]

Creator (dcterms:creator)

Unknown

Contributor (dcterms:contributor)

Souvik Mukherjee and Adrija Mukherjee

Rights (dcterms:rights)

Creative Commons

Format (dcterms:format)

Graffiti gameboard

Medium (dcterms:medium)

Graffiti Board on Basalt Rock

Temporal Coverage (dcterms:temporal)

Ellora Kailash temple of Cave 16 roughly dates to the 8th century CE.

Spatial Coverage (dcterms:spatial)

Ellora, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Entered by (dcterms:accrualMethod)

Adrija Mukherjee

Tags (dcterms:conformsTo)

Etched

Stone

Race Game

Two-player

Maharashtra