Ancient Hindu, Jain, and Muslim versions of the board game called Gyan Chaupar in Hindi guided players to spiritual liberation. The top of the grid represented spiritual enlightenment and self-acceptance, while the bottom represented a state of earthly egoism, lack of awareness, and illusion. Players moved along squares by rolling die or cowries, advancing or descending levels by landing on squares with a ladder, toward either clarity and knowledge, or a snake, which pushed them deeper into spiritual degradation. When the British colonized India, they co-opted this ancient game into Snakes and
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