# Leela Square 44: Ignorance (avidya) Meaning

Square 44 in Leela is Ignorance, avidya. Johari describes it as forgetting the illusory nature of existence and becoming attached to emotional states. It is a snake: landing here sends the player from the fifth row all the way down to square 9, the Sensual plane, in the first row. It sits right beside square 45, Right knowledge.

## Meaning

In Johari's words, ignorance is forgetting the illusory nature of existence and attaching to emotional states, and "this snake draws his energy down to the first chakra and the sensual plane." Avidya is not a lack of information. A player can reach row 5 with real understanding and still fall here, simply by forgetting what they know and letting feelings take the wheel.

Avidya combines a, not, with vidya, knowledge or seeing. It is not-seeing: the veil that makes passing states look solid and permanent. In Indian philosophy avidya is often named as the root of the other afflictions. Its opposite, suvidya, right knowledge, waits on the very next square, which makes 44 and 45 one of the clearest paired opposites on the board.

The square lies in row 5, Man Becomes Himself, linked to Vishuddha, the throat chakra. That such a long snake waits so high shows that progress offers no protection against forgetting. Johari's Sensual plane, square 9, is the plane of desire of every kind.

Square 44 teaches vigilance without fear. The fall is not a punishment. It shows what happens when attention lapses, and it points the way back: to notice, to wake up, and to look more closely.

## On the board

Square 44 is in row 5, between 43 Birth of man and 45 Right knowledge. Players reach it by a throw from squares 38 to 43; no arrow or snake ends here. It is the head of a snake: landing on 44 sends the player from row 5 down to square 9, the Sensual plane, at the end of row 1.

The verse is Gita 5.15: knowledge is veiled by ignorance, and so beings go astray. Its episode is Dhritarashtra refusing to hear Vidura, the blind king who keeps ignoring his wise counsellor's warnings.

## Questions

- What do I prefer not to notice?
- Which emotion do I let decide for me when I would rather not think?
- What did I once understand clearly that I have since let myself forget?

**What happens when you land on square 44 in Leela?**
Square 44, Ignorance (avidya), is a snake. When you land on it you slide from the fifth row down to square 9, the Sensual plane, in the first row. Johari explains that this snake draws the player's energy down to the first chakra. You then continue the game from square 9.

**Why is Ignorance placed next to Right knowledge in Leela?**
Squares 44 and 45 form one of the paired opposites on the board. Ignorance (avidya) is a snake to square 9, while Right knowledge (suvidya) is an arrow to square 67. Placed side by side, they show that the same stage of life holds both possibilities: forgetting what one knows, or practising it.