Lion Capital of Asoka

This is the famous original sandstone sculpted Lion Capital of Ashoka preserved at Sarnath Museum which was originally erected around 250 BCEatop an Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath. The angle from which this picture has been taken, minus the inverted bell-shapedlotus flower, has been adopted as theNational Emblem of India showing the Horse on the left and the Bull on the right of the Ashoka Chakra in the circular base on which the four Indian lions are standing back to back. On the far side there is an Elephant and a Lion instead. The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the center of the National Flag of India.

The Lion Capital of Asoka adorns the second stamp produced in independent India and was the first stamp meant for domestic use.[1][2]

The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four "Indian lions" standing back to back. It was originally placed atop the Aoka pillar at Sarnath, now in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The pillar, sometimes called the Aoka Column is still in its original location, but the Lion Capital is now in the Sarnath Museum. This Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath has been adopted as

theNational Emblem of India and the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base was placed onto the center of the National Flag of India. The capital contains four lions (Indian / Asiatic Lions), standing back to back, mounted on an abacus, with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of anelephant, a galloping horse, a bull, and a lion, separated by intervening spoked chariot-wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital was believed to be crowned by a 'Wheel ofDharma' (Dharmachakra popularly known in India as the "Ashoka Chakra"), which has now been lost. There is a similar intact Ashoka pillar in Thailand(see photo) with a similar four lion capital intact and crowned with Ashoka Chakra / Dharmachakra.

Ajanta Caves
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ajanta Caves

Ajanta Caves (Devanagari: ) in Maharashtra, India are rock-cut cave monuments dating from the second century BCE, containing paintings and sculpture considered to be masterpieces of both "Buddhist religious art"[1] and "universal pictorial art"[2]. The caves are located just outside the village of Ajinh in Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 30' by E. long. 75 deg. 40'). Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage

Site. A National Geographic[3] edition reads, "The flow between faiths was such that for hundreds of years, almost all Buddhist temples, including the ones at Ajanta, were built under the rule and patronage of Hindu kings." The caves are in a wooded and rugged horseshoe-shaped ravine about 3 km from the village of Ajantha. It is situated in the Aurangbd district of Maharashtra State in India Along There are 29 caves excavated in the south sThe paintings Paintings are all over the cave except for the floor. At various places the art work has become eroded due to decay and human interference. Therefore, many areas of the painted walls, ceilings, and pillars are fragmentary. The painted narratives of the Jataka tales are depicted only on the walls, which demanded the special attention of the devotee. They are didactic in nature, meant to inform the community about the Buddha's teachings and life through successive births.

ide of the precipitous scarp made by the cutting of the ravine.