Overview

Chaturanga is an ancient Indian strategy board game dating to around the 7th century AD. It is widely considered the ancestor of modern chess, as well as xiangqi (Chinese chess), shogi (Japanese chess), and many other chess variants worldwide. The game is played on an 8x8 uncheckered board called an ashtapada, with each player controlling 16 pieces representing a four-fold army of infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots.

Components

• 1 ashtapada board (8x8 grid, uncheckered)
• 16 light-colored pieces
• 16 dark-colored pieces

Each side consists of: 1 Raja (King), 1 Mantri (Minister/General), 2 Hasty (Elephants), 2 Ashva (Horses/Knights), 2 Ratha (Chariots/Rooks), 8 Padati (Foot soldiers/Pawns)

Setup

Pieces are arranged on the first two rows of each player’s side, mirroring each other:

Back row (left to right): Ratha, Ashva, Hasty, Mantri, Raja, Hasty, Ashva, Ratha

Front row: 8 Padati (pawns)

Turn Structure

Players alternate turns, moving one piece per turn. There is no initial two-square pawn move and no castling (these are later chess innovations).

Actions

Piece Movement

Piece	Movement
Raja (King)	1 square in any direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal)
Mantri (Minister)	1 square diagonally in any direction
Hasty (Elephant)	2 squares diagonally (may jump over intervening piece)
Ashva (Horse)	L-shape: same as modern chess knight (2+1 squares, may jump)
Ratha (Chariot)	Any number of squares horizontally or vertically (same as modern rook)
Padati (Pawn)	1 square forward; captures 1 square diagonally forward

Capturing

A piece captures an enemy piece by moving to its square. The captured piece is removed from the board.

Pawn Promotion

When a Padati reaches the last rank, it is promoted to a Mantri (Minister). Unlike modern chess, promotion is only to the Minister.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game is won by:

• Checkmate: Placing the opponent’s Raja under attack with no legal escape (though some historians believe capture rather than checkmate was the original rule).
• Bare King: Reducing the opponent to only their Raja with no other pieces remaining.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• There is no two-square initial pawn move (no en passant).
• There is no castling.
• Stalemate may be a win for the stalemating player (rather than a draw as in modern chess), though rules vary by historical source.
• The Mantri (Minister) is much weaker than the modern Queen, moving only 1 square diagonally.
• The Hasty (Elephant) jumps exactly 2 squares diagonally, unlike any modern chess piece.
• Not all rules of Chaturanga are known with certainty; the above represents the most commonly accepted reconstruction.

Player Reference

Piece	Modern Chess Equivalent	Key Difference
Raja	King	Same movement
Mantri	Queen/Fers	Only 1 square diagonal (much weaker)
Hasty	Bishop	2 squares diagonal, can jump
Ashva	Knight	Same movement
Ratha	Rook	Same movement
Padati	Pawn	No two-square first move; promotes to Mantri only

Win: Checkmate (or capture) the Raja, or reduce opponent to bare King.