Ashoka Pillar, Isipathana Deer Park, Sarnath

Ashoka Pillar, Sarnath Archaeological Park, Sarnath.


The Ashoka Pillar in one of the artefacts to be seen at the Sarnath Archaeological Park, in Sarnath, India. It is one of many pillars inscribed by Emperor Ashoka between about 243 B.C. and 242 B.C. and placed all over his empire. On these pillars are edicts covering a wide range of topics including religion, law, religious tolerance and the protection of animals.

Only ten pillars still exist today, out of over 30 Ashoka pillar edicts. The pillars are on average about 40-50 feet high and weighed up to around 50 tons each. At Sarnath, between two and three hundred years after Shakyamuni Buddha first turned the Wheel of Dharma, the Emperor Ashoka erected a pillar. The four lions at its crown representing the "lion's roar of the dharma" (shakyasimha) in the cardinal directions, were adopted by modern India as the national emblem. At the lions' base is the Wheel of Dharma reproduced at the center of the Indian flag. The Lion Capital can be viewed at the Sarnath Archaeological Museum near the park.

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