TY - JOUR

T1 - Gameplay as Foreplay at a Medieval Indian Court

T2 - Translation and Discussion of Mānasollāsa 5.16, Phañjikākrīḍā

AU - Schmidt-Madsen, Jacob

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - This study focuses on the courtly game of phañjikā only described in the 12th-century Mānasollāsa attributed to King Someśvara III of the Western Cālukya Empire. It shows that phañjikā belongs to the family of cruciform race games which also counts the famous games of caupaṛ and paccīsī among its members. Phañjikā, however, predates the earliest evidence for both of those games by several centuries. It should therefore be considered an early indication of the popularity of cruciform race games in elite and royal households from at least the 15th century onward. The study also shows that phañjikā did not enjoy the same status at court as other board games, such as chess and backgammon, also described in the Mānasollāsa. It was primarily associated with women, and only engaged in by the king for the pleasure of witnessing the passions that it stirred in them. Based on the low status of the game, and the prevalence of race games in all levels of society, the study argues that phañjikā was likely an elaborate courtly adaptation of a simpler folk game. This would explain its absence from the literature outside the Mānasollāsa, as well as its many correspondences with a wide range of cruciform, square, and single-track race games only documented in more recent sources. The study suggests that a deeper understanding of medieval Indian race games can only be arrived at by engaging critically with the early regional literatures of India.

AB - This study focuses on the courtly game of phañjikā only described in the 12th-century Mānasollāsa attributed to King Someśvara III of the Western Cālukya Empire. It shows that phañjikā belongs to the family of cruciform race games which also counts the famous games of caupaṛ and paccīsī among its members. Phañjikā, however, predates the earliest evidence for both of those games by several centuries. It should therefore be considered an early indication of the popularity of cruciform race games in elite and royal households from at least the 15th century onward. The study also shows that phañjikā did not enjoy the same status at court as other board games, such as chess and backgammon, also described in the Mānasollāsa. It was primarily associated with women, and only engaged in by the king for the pleasure of witnessing the passions that it stirred in them. Based on the low status of the game, and the prevalence of race games in all levels of society, the study argues that phañjikā was likely an elaborate courtly adaptation of a simpler folk game. This would explain its absence from the literature outside the Mānasollāsa, as well as its many correspondences with a wide range of cruciform, square, and single-track race games only documented in more recent sources. The study suggests that a deeper understanding of medieval Indian race games can only be arrived at by engaging critically with the early regional literatures of India.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Mānasollāsa

KW - Krīḍāviṃśati

KW - Phañjikā

KW - Paccīsī

KW - Cauka bāra

KW - Pañci

KW - History of board games

KW - Race games

KW - Ludemes

KW - Courtly love

KW - Amorous play

U2 - 10.18732/hssa82

DO - 10.18732/hssa82

M3 - Journal article

VL - 10

SP - 169

EP - 234

JO - History of Science in South Asia

JF - History of Science in South Asia

SN - 2369-775X

ER -