Did you know India didn’t have playing cards before the Mughals? Yes, the Mughal Empire helped spread card gambling across the subcontinent. Babur reached the Indus River in 1526, bringing more than military power and administrative systems — he brought Persia’s love of artistically designed playing cards.
Persians have played “ganjifa” cards since the 12th century. Each of these tiny masterpieces depicted monarchs, ministers, and other court officials on circular, hand-painted ivory, wood, or turtle shell discs. The Mughals introduced these cards to India, sparking a gambling culture that expanded across society.
This narrative is remarkable since India entirely adopted and changed these Western playing cards. Ganjifa was brought by the Mughals, but Indians adapted it to local creative styles and cultural tastes. The growth of these cards shows how Indian culture can absorb foreign influences and transform them into something distinct.
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We must acknowledge Emperor Akbar, the renowned art and cultural supporter. He frequently played cards with his courtiers, according to historical documents. His card games were sophisticated court entertainment with magnificent settings commissioned from the best royal workshop painters. They were exhibitions of riches, art, and culture, not just sports.
Jahangir and Shah Jahan followed this practice with late-night card games in the royal apartments. Imagine the emperor and his nobility in candlelight chambers with sumptuous carpets and pillows, attendants bringing refreshments while fortunes changed hands over chance and skill games. Gaming was embraced as an imperial art form.
What fascinated me was how these card games expanded outside the castle. Commoners played simpler ganjifa sets, whereas court nobility used 120-card sets. A simpler version of the Indian game andar bahar with a standard deck may have emerged around this time. There are two sides where participants gamble on where a matching card will emerge, thus its name “inside outside”. Andar bahar was popular because it was easy to learn in minutes yet exciting enough to keep players playing for hours.
The Royal Gaming Culture
The Mughal court produced a gaming culture that affected art and social etiquette. Court artists were commissioned to make exquisite ganjifa cards with tiny paintings that rivalled book pictures. Mughal-style playing cards with realistic characters, natural backdrops, and Persian-influenced composition became the subcontinent’s norm.
In court records, large sums were gambled. European kings may have kept their gambling private, but Mughal rulers publicly gambled. Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl’s thorough chronicle of Akbar’s court, states that the emperor enjoyed card games without criticism. Card playing gained credibility with this imperial support.
Most individuals don’t realise how crucial these gaming sessions were for networking. Over friendly cards, political alliances, economic transactions, and weddings were brokered. Gaming’s easygoing atmosphere permitted interactions that would have been impossible in court. In many respects, the gaming table was an alternate council chamber where actual authority was utilised.
In different rooms, court women participated. Mughal artwork and historical records show zenana (women’s quarters) women playing cards. Female gaming groups provided uncommon opportunities for women to socialise, share knowledge, and even wield economic power through wagers. These women’s quarters’ gaming customs influenced card games in Indian families.
The Mughals changed gambling’s social connotation. They viewed excellent play as a sign of intelligence and breeding, not a vice. Calculating chances, remembering cards, and being calm when winning or losing large amounts were aristocratic traits. Indian card playing attitudes will be shaped by this link between game competence and social refinement.
From Court to Street
How did these courtly games reach the masses? With Mughal influence spreading over the subcontinent, local monarchs and nobility embraced their game customs and created regional versions with their own flair. Courts in Deccan, Bengal, Rajasthan, and Carnatic created their own ganjifa customs and card games.
Town and village residents played smaller versions of these games by the mid-17th century. Local artisans started making cheap playing cards from pressed paper instead of ivory or expensive timbers. Royal ganjifa court settings were reduced into vivid, colourful motifs that could be mass-produced. This democratisation of card play was a rare example of courtly amusement becoming popular.
How these games evolved to varied social situations is astonishing. Urban card rooms were key social hubs where men from diverse origins could mix in an equal context. Rural villages established seasonal gaming customs around harvest festivals and religious holidays. To the Mughal framework, each village added its own rules, betting systems, and social norms.
Regional variations thrived. Ganjifa cards became “dashavatar” packets with the 10 Vishnu avatars in Odisha. In Mysore, the navagraha ganjifa depicted the nine celestial bodies of Hindu astronomy. Bengal cards depicted scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These changes show how much the Persian imports had become Indianized, with the cards now depicting local religious and cultural traditions rather than Mughal or Persian themes.
The most notable change was how these games became part of Indian festivals. Card playing became a tradition during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that brings good fortune. The development of a Persian court entertainment into a sacred Hindu event shows the syncretism of India.
Contemporary India’s Living Traditions
India’s card gaming traditions persisted despite Mughal Empire and British rule killing policies. Card games abound throughout Indian social life, from city condos to rural villages. Modernised Mughal courtier card games abound during family get-togethers, celebrations of festivals, and friend meetings.
Especially around Diwali, India’s most often used card game is Teen Patti, a poker variation. Its roots are in the Mughal era even if it has evolved throughout the years. Played for low sums among family members, rummy variations serve the centuries-old social bonding function of Indian card games.
Few Indians have seen a traditional ganjifa outside a museum due to material culture changes. European-style cards have nearly replaced circular cards. Gaming habits — social dynamics, festival connections, family traditions — remain surprisingly similar with Mughal customs.
This centuries-old narrative is being updated by digital technologies. Teen Patti, Rummy, and other Indian card games are available online to millions of gamers. Mobile applications deliver these games to cellphones nationwide. Traditional Mughal games are currently enjoyed by the Indian diaspora worldwide.
Cultural continuity is most noticeable in this progression. Whether played with magnificent ganjifa cards in a Mughal palace, paper cards on a hamlet veranda, or virtual cards on a smartphone screen, Indian card games bring people together, create excitement, and help to preserve cultural traditions across decades.
Conclusion
More than merely a historical curiosity, the impact of the Mughal courts on the card game customs of India opens the door to the amazing cultural processes of Indian civilization. From the Persian ganjifa of the imperial courts to andar bahar on smartphones, India has shown its amazing capacity to absorb, alter, and preserve cultural traditions throughout ages of political and social turmoil.
What makes this narrative important is its capacity to link apparently unconnected Indian cultural topics. Nowadays, the card games performed around Diwali have origins in Mughal court entertainment, Persian art, Hindu festival customs, colonial links, and internet culture. These links expose the numerous cultural inspirations of India.
As India modernises and globalises, card games there present both fresh possibilities and problems. Will India’s unique games survive in the midst of poker and internet gaming around the world? History implies that they will adapt and change while maintaining their cultural functions.
The Mughal legacy lives on in structures like the Taj Mahal and in family gatherings across the subcontinent. That’s the beauty of cultural history: sometimes the deepest implications are found in the games people play.
