Ancient Indian Boardgames: Digital Documentation

Title (dcterms:title)

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (1)

Description (dcterms:description)

This incised or etched Bagh Chal board has been documented from Basavanagudi Bull temple in Bangalore, from one of the temple porches. Bagh Chal or Tigers and Goats is an ancient hunt game that has been popular in many regions of the world. The board of Bagh Chal is part of the alquerque family which traces its history to the Moors of Spain in their Libro de Los juegos (book of games) commissioned by Alfonso X in the 13th century. Although the rules were first found there, the history of alquerque goes further back to Egypt and to a name mentioned in the Kitab-al-Aghani (book of songs) as Kirkat or Al-Kirkat. Besides reference in literature similar game boards have been found both in practice amongst players in various communities as well as in archaeological sites. Bagh Chal has many variants, and is known by different names all over India, Nepal, Bhutan and other countries of South Asia. The structure of the board, the number of pieces and the variants in the rules may vary from place to place but the intention of winning remains the same. It is a two-player game where one individual represents the tiger and the other represents the goats. The number of tigers vary from one to even five in some games while the number of goats can be twenty or less or more depending on the structure of the board and the rules popular to the region.
The Basavanagudi Bull temple is a popular pilgrim location and is famous for largest stone carving of Nandi, the vahana (vehicle) of Lord Shiva. This temple was built by Kempe Gowda who was also known as the founder of Bangalore. The temple also has a lot of local folklore about villagers worshipping the bull. Hence from the time of its origin to present day, it is frequented by tourists, pilgrims and local people of the region. This graffiti board lies on the left side of the porch. The temple is built in Vijaynagara style with the Nandi idol in the centre and porches on both sides.

Alternative Title (dcterms:alternative)

Bagh Bandi, Tigers and Goats, Baghchakkar, Chakrachhal, Sher Bakr, Bagh Batti, Sher Bakar, Kaooa, Bam Blang Beh Khla, Bagha Guti, Tagnor, Adu Puli Attam, Puli Meka, Ada Huli, Terhuchu, Kulaochal, Puli Judham

Rules (dcterms:instructionalMethod)

Bagh Chal rule for four tiger and twenty goats:-
1. The game begins with four tigers on the board, one in each corner, as shown in the diagram.
2. The twenty goats are kept in hand by the player who has taken their side.
3. The goat player takes the first turn.
4. If the goat player has goats in hand, he must use his turn to place one on any empty point on the board.
5. If the goat player has placed all the goats, then he must instead use his turn to move one of the goats from its current position, along a marked line in any direction, to an adjacent empty point.
6. The tiger player in his turn may move a tiger from its current position, along a marked line in any direction, to an adjacent empty point.
7. Only one piece may occupy a point at any one time; stacking of pieces is not allowed.
8. A tiger may sometimes capture, or eat, a goat, instead of moving as described in rule 6.
9. To eat a goat, the tiger player must jump with one of his tigers along a marked line, over an adjacent goat, to an empty point beyond. The goat is then removed from the board and takes no further part in play.
10. The tiger may not change direction in the middle of its jump. A goat is only in danger of being eaten if on one side it has a tiger, and on the other an empty space.
11. Only one goat may be eaten in any one turn. Multiple jumps are not allowed.
12. The tiger player wins when his tigers have eaten five goats.
13. The goat player wins if the tigers are trapped and the tiger player has no legal move

Contributor (dcterms:contributor)

Adrija Mukherjee

Rights (dcterms:rights)

Creative Commons

Format (dcterms:format)

Graffiti alquerque boardgame

Medium (dcterms:medium)

Game board engraved/excavated on rock floor of a porch.

References (dcterms:references)

Bagh Chal- Digital Ludemi Project

Bagh Chal- Cyningstan

Bagh Chal- Boards and Pieces

Temporal Coverage (dcterms:temporal)

The Bull temple was built in 1537CE.

Spatial Coverage (dcterms:spatial)

Nandi or Bull temple, Bangalore

Variants (dcterms:isVersionOf)

Tarup Ar Merom (leopards and goats)

Kulaochal

Bagh Chal (variant),Odisha

Bagha Chheli ( Odisha)

Baghchakkar or Chakrachal

Sher Bakr

Bagh Batti

Sher Bakar

Kaooa

Taag dha Nor or Tagnor (Tiger and Cow)

Bagh Chal, Kamakhya

Mughal Pathan

Bam Blang Beh Khla

Pam Pait

Bagha Guti

Bagh Bandi

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (4)

Baghchal, Bull Temple (3)

Baghchal, Handmade

Bagh Chal, Pataleshwar (3)

Baghchal, Pataleshwar (2)

Baghchal, Pataleshwar (1)

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (2)

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (1)

Bagh Chal, Ellora

Bagh Chal

Entered by (dcterms:accrualMethod)

Adrija Mukherjee

Notes (foaf:status)

As the provenance of these etched boards are unknown, the exact number of pieces for both tigers and goats and the exact rule variant is difficult to trace.

Tags (dcterms:conformsTo)

Bagh Chal

Alquerque

Bangalore

Etched

Stone

Two-player

Capture

Hunt

Shape: Square