India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c8.s13.t1.23

c8.s13.t1.23

DICING (AKSHA-DYŪTA)—Dicing is mentioned as a game from the time of *Ṛigveda* onwards. It is referred to as *aksha-dyūta* (IV.4.19) or simply *dyūta* (III.3.37) in the *Ashṭādhyāyī*. Pāṇini records a grammatical idiom according to which the words denoting the objects with which the game was played were connected with the verb *div* either in the instrumental or accusative case (I.4.4, *Divaḥ karma cha*). For example '*akshān dīvyati* and *akshair dīvyati*' (he plays with dice) were both used, probably from the fact that the game and its accessories of play were both called *aksha*.