Paramapadham (பரமபதம்) [Thayam (தாயம்)]
Paramapadham (Thayam) is Snakes and Ladders in English; it was creat in ancient India before 1892. It is also known as Parama Pada Sopanam means Steps to the Highest Place (where Parama Pada means highest place and Sopanam means steps). Paramapadham was inspir by religion; and was believ to be symbolic of a man’s attempt to reach God. The ladders represent virtues and the snakes represent vices. The snakes carry names linking them to stories from our epics.
Things Required:
- Paramapadam Board or any Snake and Ladder Board
- Dice
- Markers (Game Pieces)
How To Play-
- Parama Pada Sopanam board and the dice used to play will be available in shops around Permual temple’s during vaikunda yekadesi as people used to play Parama Padam on vaikunda yekadesi day as they will not sleep on that day. Or you can even download by clicking here
- Game Pieces may be anything like Seeds, Coins, Shells, etc the only requirement is each has to be different to identify which belongs to the respective player
- Players place their game pieces on the space on the board labeled “0” and can start only when they get 1 (Thayam) when they roll the dice. The dice is roll in clockwise direction or may also decide by all the players rolling the dice and the one who get the largest result number will take the first turn.
- The first player rolls the dice and mark off the number rolled starting on the “1” spot on the board. All players take turns rolling the dice and moving their markers.
- If the marker reaches the number which has bottom of the ladder he climbs the ladder and go to the top of the ladder and continue from there, and If the marker reaches the number which has the face of the snake then he needs to go down to the box where it has its tail and continue from there.
- A player gets an extra turn if he gets 1, 5, 6 while rolling but he needs to move the marker each time he rolls the dice as he needs to follow the ladder or snake for each turn. If the player gets three ‘6’ in a row while rolling he must return to ‘0’ that is the beginning of the board and should not move until he roll’s another 6 on his turn.
- In some boards there will be direction written on the boxes For example, if it says “go back three spaces” Follow the direction and go back 3 boxes.
- The winner of the game is the one who first reaches the “100” box on the board.
Conclusion
Indian traditional Paramapadham, also known as Thayam, is a fascinating and ancient board game that has been play for centuries in South India. It is a game of luck and strategy, played with cowrie shells and a board that represents the path to enlightenment.
Thayam is not just a game, but also a tool for spiritual growth and learning about life’s ups and downs. It has been pass down from generation to generation and continues to be enjoy by people of all ages.