Chaturanga

Chaturanga (Sanskrit: चतुरङ्ग, IAST: caturaṅga, pronounced [tɕɐtuˈɾɐŋɡɐ]) is an ancient Indian strategy board game.

The earliest clear reference comes from north India from the Gupta Empire, dating from the sixth century AD.

Archeological remains from 2000 to 3000 BC have been found from the city of Lothal (of the Indus Valley Civilisation) of pieces on a board that resemble chess.

[citation needed] The counterargument is that they remained prominent in literature and continued to be used for travel and transport, in processions, for games, and in races.

[citation needed] The game was first introduced to the West in Thomas Hyde's De ludis orientalibus libri duo, published in 1694.

These special markings coincide with squares unreachable by any of the four gajas that start on the board due to movement rules.

Chess historian H. J. R. Murray conjectured that the ashtāpada was also used for some old race-type dice game, perhaps similar to chowka bhara, in which the marks had meaning.