The Lion Capital from Sarnath. mid 3rd century B.C.E. 7 ft. high, carved from tan sandstone called chunar. Maurya Dynasty. It crowned a column that was over 30 ft. high. The lions oricinaly supported a large wheel (the Doctrine) and there were 4 smaller wheels on the base.
Thes capital can be seen in the Archealogical musem at Sarnath and has been adopted as the emblem for the modern Republic of India.
The Buddha (also called Shakyamuni) was born prince of the Shakya (lion) clan; hence lions often appear on early Buddhist monumuments. The king of beasts was represented as a mighty protector of the buddhist faith. The lion’s roar is a reference to the intensity of the moment of enlightenment. The power of buddha’s teaching is often equated with the roar of a lion.
The Lion Capital is the most famous among the surviving stone capitals erected by King Ashoka to mark sacred spots associated with the Buddha or to mark pilgrim routes to holy places. Four lions back to back support on their heads a colossal wheel or chakra. The lion is considered “the king of the forest.” Likewise, Buddha is considered a great spiritual leater and king Ashoka, who adopted Buddhism as his own religion, made it the official religion of India, and sent missionaries outside the boundaries of India to spread Buddhism, is regarded as a mighty monarch of the world. The wheel or chakra symbolizes the teachings of the Buddha that spread in all directions like the rays of the sun. The wheel in the center of the Indian flag is taken from this capital which has now become the official emblem of India.
On the cylindrical portion below there are for animals: the lion, elephant, bull, and horse. they probably symbolize the north, east, west, and south directions respectively. The bull and other animals are carved in a naturalistic, fluid style like the animals represented on the Indus valley seals. But the lion is portrayed in a stylized manner; it is treated like a motif. That is because the Indian craftsmen had never seen real lions. They were working from drawings brought to India from Persia.
