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Emblem of India

Emblem of India

Overview
The emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath
Sarnath
Sarnath is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India...

 Lion Capital of Ashoka.

Emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

 the Great erected the capital
Capital (architecture)
In several traditions of architecture including Classical architecture, the capital forms the crowning member of a column or a pilaster. The capital projects on each side as it rises, to support the abacus and unite the form of the latter with the circular shaft of the column...

 atop an Ashoka Pillar to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...

 first taught the Dharma
Dharma
The term , is an Indian spiritual and religious term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term. A Hindu's Dharma is affected by a person's age, class, occupation, and sex. In Indian languages it can be equivalent simply to "religion", depending on context...

 and where the Buddhist Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups...

 was founded. In the original there are four Asiatic lion
Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...

s, standing back to back, mounted on a circular abacus
Abacus (architecture)
In architecture, an abacus is a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, above the bell. Its chief function is to provide a large supporting surface to receive the weight of the arch or the architrave above...

 with a frieze
Frieze
thumb|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...

 carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening Dharmachakra or Ashoka Chakra
Ashoka Chakra
The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the Dharmachakra, the Wheel of Dharma . The wheel has 24 spokes...

 wheels over a bell-shaped lotus
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, or simply lotus, is a plant in the Nelumbonaceae family. Botanically, Nelumbo nucifera may also be referred to by its former names, Nelumbium speciosum or Nymphaea nelumbo. This plant is an aquatic...

.
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Encyclopedia
The emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath
Sarnath
Sarnath is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India...

 Lion Capital of Ashoka.

Emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

 the Great erected the capital
Capital (architecture)
In several traditions of architecture including Classical architecture, the capital forms the crowning member of a column or a pilaster. The capital projects on each side as it rises, to support the abacus and unite the form of the latter with the circular shaft of the column...

 atop an Ashoka Pillar to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...

 first taught the Dharma
Dharma
The term , is an Indian spiritual and religious term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term. A Hindu's Dharma is affected by a person's age, class, occupation, and sex. In Indian languages it can be equivalent simply to "religion", depending on context...

 and where the Buddhist Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups...

 was founded. In the original there are four Asiatic lion
Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...

s, standing back to back, mounted on a circular abacus
Abacus (architecture)
In architecture, an abacus is a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, above the bell. Its chief function is to provide a large supporting surface to receive the weight of the arch or the architrave above...

 with a frieze
Frieze
thumb|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...

 carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening Dharmachakra or Ashoka Chakra
Ashoka Chakra
The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the Dharmachakra, the Wheel of Dharma . The wheel has 24 spokes...

 wheels over a bell-shaped lotus
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, or simply lotus, is a plant in the Nelumbonaceae family. Botanically, Nelumbo nucifera may also be referred to by its former names, Nelumbium speciosum or Nymphaea nelumbo. This plant is an aquatic...

. It was carved out of a single block of polished sandstone.

The version used as the emblem does not include the fourth lion (since it is hidden from view at the rear) or the bell-shaped lotus flower beneath. The frieze beneath the lions is shown with the Dharma Chakra in the center, a bull
Bull
A bull is an adult male of various species of large mammals; see List of animal names* The senior most Ensign in a United States Navy command; also called the "Bull Ensign"*Ceradyne Bull, a military vehicle...

 on the right and a galloping horse
Horse
The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 on the left, and outlines of Dharma Chakras on the extreme right and left.

Forming an integral part of the emblem is the motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used...

 inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari , also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together. Devanāgarī is the main script used to...

 script: Satyameva Jayate
Satyameva Jayate
"Satyameva Jayate" is the national motto of India. It is inscribed in Devanagari script at the base of the national emblem, which is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath, near Varanasi in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of the motto is a well-known mantra...

सत्यमेव जयते . This is a quote from Mundaka
Mundaka Upanishad
The Upanishad is one of the older, "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the Atharvaveda. It figures as number 5 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads....

 Upanishad
Upanishad
The Upanishads are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings of Vedanta. They do not belong to any particular period of Sanskrit literature: the oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, date to the late Brahmana period , while the latest were composed in...

, the concluding part of the sacred Hindu
Hindu
A Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...

 Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in Ancient India. The texts are composed in Vedic Sanskrit and form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism....

.

It was adopted as the National Emblem of India on 26 January 1950, the day that India
India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...

 became a republic.
The emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...

 forms a part of the official letterhead of the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, also known as the Union Government or the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

, and appears on all Indian currency
Currency
In economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 as well. It also sometimes functions as the national emblem
National emblem
A national emblem symbolically represents a nation. Most national emblems originate in the natural world, such as animals or birds, but another object may serve....

 of India in many places and appears prominently on the diplomatic and national Passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth...

 of the Republic of India. The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the center of the National Flag of India

See also

  • Republic of India
  • "Indian Lion" is another name for the "Asiatic Lion
    Asiatic Lion
    The Asiatic Lion or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...

    ." Critically endangered, it survives only in India
    India
    India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...

     today.
  • Lion Capital of Asoka
    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...

  • Ashoka Pillars
  • Ashoka Chakra
    Ashoka Chakra
    The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the Dharmachakra, the Wheel of Dharma . The wheel has 24 spokes...

  • National Flag of India
  • Sarnath Museum
    Sarnath Museum
    Sarnath has yielded a rich collection of sculptures, artifacts and edifices comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisattva images and other ancient remains...


External links