Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.55

v1.c3.55

No board appears to have been used, but a depression on which the dice were thrown (adhi-devana, devana,³⁵ iriṇa³⁶), was made in the ground. No dice box was used, but reference is made to a case for keeping dice in (akṣa-vapana³⁷). The throw was called graha³⁸ or earlier grābha.³⁹ The stake is called vij.⁴⁰ Serious losses could be made at dicing : in the Rigveda a dicer laments the loss of all his property, including his wife.⁴¹ Lüders⁴² finds a different form of the game referred to in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.⁴³