The PPP is created for the students of UG not for my personal API and not even for the commercial purpose.

1. Sachin Kr. Tiwary
LION CAPITAL
(SARNATH)
NATIONAL EMBLEM OF INDIA
1905 CE

2. Sarnath
Lion Capital
Location
Sarnath,
Varanasi, UP
Date
300 BCE
Material
White Buff
Sand Stone
Condition
Partly
Damaged
Religion
Buddhism
Measurement
210x283 cms
Script
Brahmi
Language
Pali
Lion Capital, Sarnath
Sculptures
An animals
Source of
Stone
Chunar
Purpose
Propagation
of Dhamma
Similarity
Sanchi, MP

3. Introduction-
• The capital was discovered while
an excavation at Sarnath in 1905,
• The excavator was Mr. F.O.Oertel,
• It was originally placed on the pillar
erected by Mauryan Emperor
Ashoka,
• The pillar, sometimes called the
Aśoka Column, is still in its original
location, but the Lion Capital is
now in the Site Museum at Sarnath
under the possession of Sarnath
Circle, Archaeological Survey of
India,
• it is more elaborate than the other
very similar surviving capitals of
the pillars of Ashoka bearing
the Edict of Ashoka that were
placed throughout India several of
which feature single animals at the
top; one other damaged group of
four lions survives, at Sanchi.

4. Introduction-
• The capital is carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, and was
always a separate piece from the column itself,
• They are 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. The whole sits upon a bell-shaped lotus.
The capital was originally crowned by a 'Wheel of Dharma'
(Dharmachakra popularly known in India as the "Ashoka Chakra"), with 32
spokes, of which a few fragments were found on the site,
• There was no surviving traces above ground of the Sarnath pillar, mentioned
in the accounts of medieval Chinese pilgrims,
• when the Indian Civil Service engineer F.O. Oertel, with no real
experience in archaeology, was allowed to excavate there in the winter of
1904–05.
• He first uncovered the remains of a Gupta shrine west of the main stupa,
overlying an Ashokan structure. To the west of that he found the lowest
section of the pillar, upright but broken off near ground level.
• Most of the rest of the pillar was found in three sections nearby, and then,
since the Sanchi capital had been excavated in 1851, the search for an
equivalent was continued, and it was found close by.
• It was both finer in execution and in much better condition than that at
Sanchi.
• The pillar appeared to have been deliberately destroyed at some point.

6. An Abacus/drum on which four animals
are carved representing the four cardinal
directions: a horse (west), an ox (east),
an elephant (south), and a lion (north).
An Elephant
A Lion
Galloping Horse
A Bull

7. "Ashoka Chakra"
The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from
its base has been placed onto the
centre of the
National Flag of India.
• The wheel on the capital, below the lions,
is the model for the one in the flag of India.
http://ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/l/kefa103.pdf

8. Iconography-
• Four lions stand atop the drum, each facing in the four cardinal directions.
• Their mouths are open roaring or spreading the dharma, the Four Noble Truths, across the
land.
• The lion references the Buddha, formerly Shakyamuni, a member of the Shakya (lion) clan.
• The lion is also a symbol of royalty and leadership and may also represent the Buddhist
king Ashoka who ordered these columns.
• A cakra (wheel) was originally mounted above the lions.
• The pillar reads from bottom to top.
• The lotus represents the murky water of the mundane world and the four animals remind
the practitioner of the unending cycle of samsara as we remain, through our ignorance and
fear, stuck in the material world.
• But the cakras between them offer the promise of the Eightfold Path, that guide one to the
unmoving center at the hub of the wheel.
• Note that in these particular cakras, the number of spokes in the wheel (eight for the
Eightfold Path), had not yet been standardized.
• The lions are the Buddha himself from whom the knowledge of release from samsara is
possible.
• And the cakra that once stood at the apex represents moksa, the release from samsara.
• The symbolism of moving up the column toward Enlightenment parallels the way in which
the practitioner meditates on the stupa in order to attain the same goal.

9. Symbolism-
• The four lions of the capital joined back to back symbolize stress on
equality and justice in all spheres of life.
• The four lions are also representative of the four core spiritual
philosophies of Buddha since Buddha himself is symbolized as a lion.
• The three lions visible on the capital’s representation in the National
Emblem signify Strength, Courage and Confidence. It also signifies
constant vigilance over all four directions.
• The cylindrical base below the lions further upholds certain
symbolism. The circular wheel in the middle is a form of Buddhist
Dharma Chakra and is known as the Ashok Chakra after the emperor
who popularized it.
• The 24 spokes of the Chakra represent the number of hours in a day,
and portray the passage of time.
• The spokes signify moving forward in life and thus one avoids
stagnation of the mind.
• The four animals depicted alternatively between the chakras are
regarded as the guardians of four directions - the lion for the north, the
elephant for the east, the horse for the south and the bull for the west.

10. Symbolism-
• These animals appear to be rolling the chakras along the
cylinder’s circumference.
• In some Buddhist texts, all these animals have been
referred to as symbols for Buddha himself and the may be
deduced as him carrying forward the tenets of Dharma.
• In yet another interpretation, these four animals
represents the different stages of Lord Buddha’s life.
• The elephant represents the conception of Prince
Siddhartha (Queen Maya dreamt of an elephant entering
her womb).
• The bull is the representative of Prince Siddhartha in his
youth while,
• The horse depicts Siddhartha renouncing his royal life in
search of Bodhi.
• The lion is the depiction of Siddhartha attaining Bodhi
under the Peepal tree and his transformation as Buddha.

11. 32 Spokes Wheel, that was at the
top of the lions capital
Housed in Sarnath Site Museum, Varanasi
It is highly polished, which was one of
the best technology of Mauryan
Period and surprisingly not solved yet
that what skill they had.
Accession Number of the Capital: 0355

12. Minor Pillar Edicts-
Sarnath (Varanasi Dist., Uttar
Pradesh) - I & II edicts
• In Minor Pillar edict II (Found
only at Sarnath in continuation
of the 1st edict). Asoka says
that a copy of the document
should be deposited in the
office (of Mahamatra) and
another copy be made
accessible to the lay followers
of Buddha, so that on every
day of fast the Mahamatras
shall assemble with them and
inspire them to follow this
edict. The Mahamatras and
their subordinates should go
on tour to all the places
including fortified towns and
convey this message.

13. • The Lion Capital served as the pedestal
of a large stone Dharma-chakra with 32
spokes, which was found broken into
pieces.
• This Dharma-chakra was intended to by
Constituent Assembly as the symbol of
India.
• However, mistakenly the
smaller dhakrachakra with 24 spokes
became the symbol.
• The mistake was pointed out
to Jawaharlal Nehru, by Radha Kumud
Mukherjee, historian, scholar and Rajya
Sabha Member during Jawaharlal
Nehru's administration, however Nehru
decided to stick with the 24-spoke
wheel.
• The symbol for the Supreme Court of
India, preserves the image of dharma-
chakra on top of the Lion Capital.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Capital_of_Ashoka

14. Similarity Four Headed Lion Capital From Sanchi- Two types
1. Freestanding over the monolithic pillar and
2. Over the Toran as part of pillar.
Very similar four, lion sculptures are on the capitals of the two columns
supporting the south torana of the Great Stupa at Sanchi.

15. Thank
You
Any
Question ?