The Emblem of India

The original sculpture

The Emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Emperor Ashoka the Great erected the capital atop a Ashoka Pillar to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, 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 wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital is crowned by the Wheel of righteousness/justice (Dharmachakra). Image File history File links Emblem_of_India_color. ... Image File history File links Emblem_of_India_color. ... An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sarnath (also Mrigadava, Migadāya, Rishipattana, Isipatana) is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. ... The Lion Capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four lions standing back to back. ... Allegiance: Magadhan Empire Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Dasaratha Maurya Reign: 273 BC-232 BC Place of birth: Pataliputra, India Battles/Wars Kalinga War Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: अशोक(:); IAST transliteration: , pronunciation: ) (304 BC–232 BC) (Imperial Title:Devanampiya Piyadassi ie He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in... Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edict of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstone. ... Siddhartha and Gautama redirect here. ... For other uses, see Dharma (disambiguation). ... Sangha (संघ saṃgha) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as association or assembly or community. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups. ... Frieze of the Tower of the Winds. ... Look up lotus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that Dharma-chakra be merged into this article or section. ...

It was adopted as the National Emblem of India on 26 January 1950, the day that India became a republic. [1]

It has four "Indian Lions", resting on a circular abacus. The fourth lion is on the rear and hence hidden from view. The emblem symbolizes a NATION that is "valiant in courage, strong of body, politic in council and a foe to fear. "The abacus is girded by four smaller animals - guardians of the four directions: the Lion of the north, the Elephant of the east, the Horse of the south and Bull of the west. The abacus rests on a nelumbo nucifera in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life. Trinomial name Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 Current distribution of the Asiatic Lion in the wild Synonyms Leo leo goojratensis (India) Leo leo persicus (Persia) The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica; also known as Indian Lion) is a subspecies of the lion found only in India. ... In architecture, an abacus (from the Greek abax, a slab; or French abaque, tailloir) is a flat slab that sits upon the capital of a column, forming its uppermost member. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ... Binomial name Gaertn. ...

Indian passport

Usually inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script is the motto Satyameva Jayate सत्यमेव जयते (English: "Truth Alone Triumphs"). This is a quote from Mundaka Upanishad, the concluding part of the sacred Hindu Vedas^{[citation needed]}. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 424 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (696 × 984 pixel, file size: 636 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) i scan my passport I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 424 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (696 × 984 pixel, file size: 636 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) i scan my passport I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Cover of Indian Passport Indian passports are issued to citizens of India for the purpose of international travel. ... Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century) DevanāgarÄ« (देवनागरी — in English pronounced ) (ISCII – IS13194:1991) [1] is an abugida alphabet used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri and Nepali from Nepal. ... For other uses, see Motto (disambiguation). ... Satyameva Jayate (सत्यमेव जयते) is Indias national motto which is Sanskrit for truth alone triumphs. It is inscribed at the base of the national emblem, which is an adaptation of the Buddhist Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath, near Banaras in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Mundaka Upanishad is an Upanishad of the Atharva Veda. ... The Upanishads (Devanagari: उपनिषद्, IAST: upaniá¹£ad) are part of the Vedas and form the Hindu scriptures which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation, and the nature of God; they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... Veda redirects here. ...

The emblem forms a part of the official letterhead of the Government of India, and appears on all Indian currency as well. It also sometimes functions as the national emblem of India in many places and appears prominently on the diplomatic and national Passport of the Republic of India. An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... The Government of India (Hindi: भारत सरकार [1]Bhārat Sarkār), officially referred to as the Union Government, and commonly as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of 28 states and 7 union territories, collectively called the Republic of... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For Microsoft Corporation’s “universal login” service, formerly known as Microsoft Passport Network, see Windows Live ID. For other types of travel document, see Travel document. ...

See also

• "Indian Lion" is another name for the "Asiatic Lion." Critically endangered, it survives only in India today.
• Lion Capital of Asoka
• Ashoka Pillars
• Ashoka Chakra
• National Flag of India
• Sarnath Museum

Trinomial name Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 Current distribution of the Asiatic Lion in the wild Synonyms Leo leo goojratensis (India) Leo leo persicus (Persia) The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica; also known as Indian Lion) is a subspecies of the lion found only in India. ... Emblem of India. ... View of the Asokan Pillar at Vaishali. ... The Ashoka Chakra (Pronunced as Ashok Chakra, not Ashokaa Chakraa) is an ancient Indian depiction of the Wheel of Life and Cosmic Order (Sanskrit: Chakra, wheel. ... Indian National Flag - tiranga Flag ratio: 2:3 The National Flag of India was adopted as such during an ad hoc meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 1947-07-22, just before Indias independence on 1947-08-15. ...

External links

• The State Emblem of India or the National Emblem of India
• “National Insignia”, Embassy of India, Washington D.C., USA
• Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950
• The National Emblem displayed on the Homepage of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
• The National Emblem displayed on the Homepage of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India
• For Pictures of the famous original "Lion Capital of Ashoka" preserved at the Sarnath Museum which has been adopted as the "National Emblem of India" and the Ashoka Chakra (Wheel) from which has been placed in the center of the "National Flag of India" - See "lioncapital" from Columbia University Website, New York, USA