Lion Capital of Asoka

The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four "Indian lions" standing back to back. It was originally placed atop the Aśoka pillar at Sarnath, now in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The pillar, sometimes called the Aśoka Column is still in its original location, but the Lion Capital is now in the Sarnath Museum. This Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath has been adopted as the National Emblem of India and the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base was placed onto the center of the National Flag of India.

The capital contains four lions (Indian / Asiatic Lions), standing back to back, mounted on an abacus, with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull, and a lion, separated by intervening spoked chariot-wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital was believed to be crowned by a 'Wheel of Dharma' ("Dharmachakra" popularly known in India as the "Ashoka Chakra"), which has now been lost. There is a similar intact Ashoka pillar in Thailand (see photo) with a similar four lion capital intact and crowned with Ashoka Chakra / Dharmachakra.

ee also

* Ashoka Pillars
* Sarnath Museum
* National Emblem of India
* National Flag of India
* Ashoka Chakra

External links

* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/ashoka/lioncapital/lioncapital.html For Pictures of the famous original "Lion Capital of Ashoka" preserved at the Sarnath Museum which has been adopted as the "National Emblem of India" and the Ashoka Chakra (Wheel) from which has been placed in the center of the "National Flag of India" - See "lioncapital" from Columbia University Website, New York, USA]
* [http://indiaimage.nic.in/nationalemblem.htm National emblem of India]
* [http://www.culturopedia.com/symbols.html National symbols of India]
* [http://india.gov.in/knowindia/state_emblem.php The State Emblem of India or the National Emblem of India]
* [http://www.indianembassy.org/dydemo/land.htm “National Insignia”, Embassy of India, Washington D.C., USA]
* [http://mha.nic.in/ The National Emblem displayed on the Homepage of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India]
* [http://envfor.nic.in/ The National Emblem displayed on the Homepage of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India]