Lion Capital of Ashoka

The Lion Capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four Indian lions standing back to back, on an elaborate base that includes other animals. A graphic representation of it was adopted as the official Emblem of India in 1950. It was originally placed atop the Aśoka pillar at the important Buddhist site of Sarnath by the Emperor Ashoka, in about 250 BCE. The pillar, sometimes called the Aśoka Column, is still in its original location, but the Lion Capital is now in the Sarnath Museum, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Standing 2.15 metres (7 feet) high including the base, it is more elaborate than the other very similar surviving capitals of the pillars of Ashoka bearing the Edicts of Ashoka that were placed throughout India (including modern Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan) several of which feature single animals at the top; one other damaged group of four lions survives, at Sanchi.

The capital is carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, and was always a separate piece from the column itself. It features four Asiatic Lions standing back to back. 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 probably crowned by a 'Wheel of Dharma' (Dharmachakra popularly known in India as the "Ashoka Chakra"), with 24 spokes, of which a few fragments were found on the site. A 13th-century replica of the Sarnath pillar and capital in Wat Umong near Chiang Mai, Thailand built by King Mangrai, preserves its crowning Ashoka Chakra or Dharmachakra. The wheel on the capital, below the lions, is the model for the one in the flag of India.

Ashoka

Ashoka Maurya (IAST: Aśoka; /əˈʃoʊkə/; 304–232 BCE), commonly known as Ashoka and Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over a realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan to the modern state of Bangladesh in the east. It covered the entire Indian subcontinent except parts of present-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The empire's capital was Pataliputra (in Magadha, present-day Bihar), with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain.

In about 260 BCE, Ashoka waged a bitterly destructive war against the state of Kalinga (modern Odisha). He conquered Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had done. He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. "Ashoka reflected on the war in Kalinga, which reportedly had resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations, ending at around 200,000 deaths." Ashoka converted gradually to Buddhism beginning about 263 BCE. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia, and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. "Ashoka regarded Buddhism as a doctrine that could serve as a cultural foundation for political unity." Ashoka is now remembered as a philanthropic administrator. In the Kalinga edicts, he addresses his people as his "children", and mentions that as a father he desires their good.

Ashoka (disambiguation)

Ashoka is a Sanskrit word that literally means sorrow-less or without sorrow.

Ashok, Ashoka, or Aśoka as a person most frequently refers to Ashoka, a monarch of the Mauryan Empire of India.

Ashok or Ashoka may also refer to:

People

Ashoka (non-profit organization)

Ashoka is a non-profit organization that supports social entrepreneurs worldwide, and was founded in 1980 by Bill Drayton. It provides start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network across the business and social sectors, and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world. It seeks advances in education, environmental protection, rural development, poverty alleviation, human rights, health care, care for the disabled, care for children at risk, and other fields. The organization helped originate the concept of social entrepreneurship, working outside of the government and business sectors to find sustainable solutions for societal needs. Since its founding, Ashoka has elected thousands of fellows in 70 countries.

Ashoka ranks in the top 100 non-governmental organizations in Swiss non-profit Global Geneva’s 2015 edition of the Top 500 NGOs, the international ranking of the world’s top non-governmental organizations.