Card games were known in India from the beginning of the 16th century or possibly earlier. The two main card games in India are the eight-suited, 96 cards, Moghul Ganjifa and the 10 or 12-suited, 120 and 144 cards, Dashavatara Ganjifa. The first is designed based on the eight departments of the Moghul court, the reference of which is available in the writings of the Moghul Emperor Babur (1527) and Akbar (about 1590), while the second is structured around the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu.

There is another type of card game under the name ‘Chad’ that originated in Mysore in the palace of  Krishna Raja III Wodeyar during the first part of the 19th century. Chada or Chhadda means leaf or card. The Maharaja has described 13 or more Chads in the ninth chapter of Kautuknidhi and also in his philosophical and encyclopaedic work, Shritatwanidhi. The cards for his games were painted by the artists attached to or working for the palace, descendants of whom still live in Mysore today, and preserve some of the sample books in which there are hundreds of images of animals and symbols.

Krishnaraja designed an endless series of dice, card and board games, some of which were painted on the walls of the upper storey of the Jagmohan palace in Mysore. Some of his card games require packs of 320 or 360 cards, populated by the innumerable divinities of the South Indian pantheon.

The Mysore playing cards and card games are distinct by their complicated structure using numerous suits, upto six court cards and a number of loose cards – Chakravartis – comparable of tarots and jokers in European games. Most of the Mysore Chad are also distinguished by very fine and laborious execution and are obviously the creation of a school of painters and artisans connected with the palace.

The number of suits in a Chad varies from four to 18. A suit has from nine to 13 cards of which, except Chad No. 12 and 13, 10 to 12 are numerals or 12 signs of the zodiac and six are court cards.

The court cards are as follows – Raja on elephant or throne, Rajni in a palanquin, Amatya or Mantri in a ratha (carriage), Senani (general) on horseback, Padathi or Sevaka (foot-soldier or servant) and Dhwaja (flag or banner).

Apart from the suit cards, some packs of so-called Chakravartis which are a kind of extra trump and tribute cards with pictures of birds and animals, have to be contributed to the first double trick made by the Chamundeshwari card which opens the game.

A complete set of 320-card – Chamundeshwari Chad – would consist of 16 suits of 18 cards each amounting to 288. To this, 25 Chakravartis (Tarot-like trumps) and seven hamsa or swan cards are added which would then make a total number of 320 in Chamundeshwari Chad.

Chamunda is the patron goddess of Mysore who is worshiped in a large temple on a hill above the town of Mysore. She is a form of Durga and carries in three of her four arms, as shown on cards, the trident (Trishul) of Shiva and the conch (Shankha) and the quoit (Chakra) of Vishnu. The crescent moon is fastened to the side of her crown.

Chamundeshwari, the tutelary goddess of Mysore of the Odeyar Dynasty, is the first card of the Chamundeshwari Chad, which must have been one of the most popular Chads.

The holder of this card opens the game and collects six cards (two each) from the other three players. The goddess is shown seated on an asana (throne) backed by a nine-headed serpent. She holds weapons in her eight arms and uses the trident to kill the demon Mahisha.

The 16 suits (the suits and the description shown in the table below) feature various gods and goddesses. The correct sequence of the suit is not known. But the first group is of Shaivaite gods or goddesses (1-5), followed by Vaishnava deities (6-10). After these are arranged Brahma, Indra, and the other vedic gods (11-15) and finally the nagas or snake-beings of the nether world (16). The principal suit is probably the Chamundeshwari, distinguished by a metallic sheen of cards.

Chamundeshwari Chad, consists of 16 suits in 18 cards, of which six are honours and 12, numerals. The six honours are – Nayak or the presiding deity; Shakti or the consort; Ratha or the chariot; Mantri or the horse rider; Yoddha or the warrior; Dhwaja or the fortress or banner.

Then follow the 12 zodiac signs –   Aries or Mesha - Ram or sheep; Taurus or Vrishabha (bull); Gemini or Mithuna - maze and veena-crossed; Cancer or Karka - crab;  Leo or Simha - lion; Virgo or Kanya - head of woman in bowl; Libra or Tula - scales; Scorpio or Vrishchika - scorpion; Saggitarius or Dhanur - bow and arrow; Capricorn or Makara; Aquarius or Kumbha - water vessel; Pisces or Meena - fish.

The loose cards, or to use a western equivalent term, the Tarots, are distinguished from the suit cards by having a scalloped frame surrounding the figures in the centre. They feature 25 goddesses or shaktis of which seven present the Sapta Matrika or Seven Mothers and the other 18 are different forms of Durga or Devi including Nidradevi. The last card of the Mohini suit is specially marked by a rishi (wise man) below the figure of Mohini. The player who wins the last trick of a game with this card sweeps the board. He is the winner of the game regardless of the number of tricks won by the other players.

These are the feature of Chhada games that do not occur in the normal Ganjifa games. Mohini, the form of Vishnu as a female seductress leading gods and demons astray, is shown in the middle surrounded by four fish (meena), the last of the zodiac signs. In this Chad, the numeral cards are not numbered by the repeated suit marks but by the signs of the zodiac from one to 12. The suit colour of Mohini is dark green.

The 25 Chakravartis including the seven Matrikas are as follows – Chamunda - Rajarajeshwari; Kali; Lakshmi; Saraswati; Brahmi, Shakti of Brahma; Maheshwari, Shakti of Shiva; Kaumari, Shakti of Karthikeya; Vaishnavi, Shakti of Vishnu; Varahi, Shakti of Varaha; Indrani, Shakti of Indra; Dandini; Mantrini; Nidradevi, Yogindra lying on bed; Bala; Bhuvaneshwari; Indrakshi; Annapurna; Shakini; Kakini; Lakini; Rakini; Dakini; Hakini; Vagishvari, form of Sarasvati; Ratidevi.

The above 25 cards also feature seven Sapta Matrika or seven mothers – Maheshwari on bull; Vaishnavi on garuda; Ratidevi on swan; Indrani on elephant; Chamunda on corpse; Kaurmari on peacock; Varahi on buffalo.
Finally, in addition to 25 loose cards featuring shaktis or goddesses, there are seven jokers in the shape of hamsas or swans, two of which face left and five face right. So,   altogether there are 320 cards! The complete set of this Chad is available only in the VASS Collection at Germany.