Chaturaji

The ancient Indian epic Mahabharata contains a reference to a game, which could be chaturaji: Presenting myself as a Brahmana, Kanka by name, skilled in dice and fond of play, I shall become a courtier of that high-souled king.

The mention of a gaming board is absent from the critical edition of the text, indicating it is a later addition.

[3][failed verification] I will become “Kanka,” a brahmin fond of gambling and reveling in dice, and I will be the high-hearted king’s games-playing courtier.

The theory was developed by Duncan Forbes in the late 19th century, and was endorsed in an even stronger version by Stewart Culin.

Each of the four players' pawns moves and captures in a different direction along the board, as implied by the initial setup.

For example, the red pawns which start on the g-file move left across the board, promoting on the a-file.

Early descriptions of the game do not agree about whether (six-sided) cubical or (four-sided) stick dice were used.

Players were allowed to throw the dice in the air and catch them, exercising some control over the outcome.