Chess, Snakes & Ladders, Shampoo; You’d Be Surprised What India Invented First

When we think of inventions, the mind often races to Silicon Valley or European labs. But centuries before skyscrapers and smartphones, India was quietly shaping the world, from the games you play to the shampoo in your bathroom. Let’s rewind to a time when the subcontinent wasn’t just a land of spices and silk, but of ideas that travelled far beyond its borders.

Long before checkmates echoed in New York’s Central Park or grandmasters battled it out in Moscow, Chaturanga was being played in ancient India. This 6th-century game, literally meaning “four divisions” (infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots), was the ancestor of modern chess. Persian traders carried it west, where it evolved into Shatranj, and from there the chessboard you know today.
But here’s the fun twist: in Chaturanga, elephants (now the bishop) were the real heavyweights. Imagine explaining “Elephants are more powerful than queens” to a modern player!

Today it’s a children’s game, but Moksha Patam, the original Snakes & Ladders was a moral lesson disguised as fun. Created around the 13th century, the ladders represented virtues like generosity and faith, while snakes symbolized vices like greed and anger. The ultimate goal? Reach Moksha (liberation).
The British took it home, changed the morals into a pure game of chance, and the rest is toy-store history. What was once spiritual guidance turned into a lazy Sunday pastime.

No, the French didn’t invent luxury hair care. The word shampoo comes from the Hindi word chāmpo, meaning “to press” or “massage.” In the Mughal era, Indians used herbal pastes made from shikakai, hibiscus, amla and reetha to wash hair naturally. When British colonial officers experienced it, they took both the practice and the word to England in the 18th century.
So the next time you lather up, thank your ancestors for that silky finish.

Buttons were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization over 5,000 years ago not for fastening clothes, but as ornaments. Made from seashells and carved with tiny designs, they were miniature art pieces. Europe only caught on in the 13th century.
Next time someone calls your outfit “on trend,” remind them your country was doing it millennia ago.

Before modern medicine even imagined lasers, Sushruta, the father of surgery (6th century BCE), was performing cataract removals using a curved needle to push the cloudy lens out. His book, Sushruta Samhita, became the blueprint for surgical knowledge in Greece, Arabia, and beyond.

Kind of makes your neighborhood eye clinic look like the new kid on the block.

While the West discovered yoga mats in the 20th century, India had been practising it for over 5,000 years. Originally a spiritual discipline, yoga was designed to align body, mind, and soul. The asanas you see on Instagram today are just one part of a much deeper philosophy.
It’s ironic that we invented it, then forgot it, only for the West to sell it back to us as a “lifestyle trend.”

This isn’t about gloating or one-upmanship. It’s about remembering that India has always been a land of thinkers, makers, and dreamers. Our heritage is more than temple carvings and old manuscripts — it’s in the everyday things you touch, use, and enjoy without even realising their roots.
The next time someone calls India “developing,” maybe remind them that development has been happening here for thousands of years it’s just that the world is still catching up.

Moral of the story: Never underestimate Grandma’s trunk or your country’s history. Both are full of treasures the world once borrowed (and sometimes forgot to return).

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