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  • Ashoka Pillar

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    Murahari Danam
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    The Ashoka Pillar has a rich history dating back to the 3rd century BC during the reign of Emperor Ashoka in northern India. There were originally many pillars erected across the region made of red and white spotted stone or sandstone, depending on local materials. The pillars all featured the same pattern and had animals like lions carved at the top. Today only 19 pillars remain with inscriptions, though many are damaged. The most famous is the Ashoka Pillar located at Sarnath, where it is believed Buddha first taught and which has an inscription about religious harmony.

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    The Ashoka Pillar has a rich history dating back to the 3rd century BC during the reign of Emperor Ashoka in northern India. There were originally many pillars erected across the region made of red and white spotted stone or sandstone, depending on local materials. The pillars all featured the same pattern and had animals like lions carved at the top. Today only 19 pillars remain with inscriptions, though many are damaged. The most famous is the Ashoka Pillar located at Sarnath, where it is believed Buddha first taught and which has an inscription about religious harmony.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    781 views2 pages

    Ashoka Pillar

    Uploaded by

    Murahari Danam
    The Ashoka Pillar has a rich history dating back to the 3rd century BC during the reign of Emperor Ashoka in northern India. There were originally many pillars erected across the region made of red and white spotted stone or sandstone, depending on local materials. The pillars all featured the same pattern and had animals like lions carved at the top. Today only 19 pillars remain with inscriptions, though many are damaged. The most famous is the Ashoka Pillar located at Sarnath, where it is believed Buddha first taught and which has an inscription about religious harmony.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    The Ashoka Pillar is having a great history like the capital city Delhi.

    The history of Ashoka pillar is a


    bit complex because it was considered that during the time period of Mayuran king Ashoka, there
    were a huge number of Ashoka pillars throughout the Northern India from Allahabad in Uttar
    Pradesh to Topra in Haryana.
    About Ashoka pillars.
    It is said that during the 3rd century a huge number of ashoka pillar were erected which were made
    up of two types of stones. Some of them were having a spotted red and white and the other pillars
    where having a sandstone colour. The colour and quality of the pillars changed with the change in
    location and availability of raw materials.
    About Ashoka pillar
    The Ashoka pillar is having sae patter all over India which symbolises that the craftsmen used for
    this work where from a single region and they used to cut and craved the structure on their own.
    There were crowning animals at the top of pillar which were standing or seating. They were always
    round in shape and have the four lions on the peak of the pillar. The four lion were placed in four
    directions North, South, East and West which depicted the region of Ashoka in all the direction.
    The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edict by the Mayuran king Ashoka during his reign in
    the 3rd century BC. Originally, there must have been many pillars but only nineteen survive with
    inscriptions. Many are preserved in a fragmentary state. Averaging between forty and fifty feet in
    height, and weighing up to fifty tons each. All the pillars were quarried at Chunar, just south
    of Varanasi and dragged sometimes hundreds of miles to where they were erected.
    Ashoka's pillars are basically a series of pillars that are spread all over the northern part of the
    Indian sub-continent. These pillars were set up during the time Emperor Ashoka reigned in India.
    Most of the pillars though damaged to some extent still stand upright and are protected by the
    concerned authorities. Out of all the pillars, the most famous is the Ashokan pillar located at
    Sarnath. Most of King Ashoka's pillars have inscriptions of Ashoka's Dhama or philosophies. Read
    further
    about
    the
    famous
    Ashoka
    Pillars
    the pillar at Sarnath is believed to mark the site where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon. It is
    said to be placed where Buddha taught Dharma to five monks. The pillar at Sarnath has an edict
    inscribed on it that reveals information about Ashoka's stand against divisions of any sort in the
    society. When translated, it says "No one shall cause division in the order of monks". The pillar at
    Sarnath is made of sandstone and is maintained in proper shape even today.

    The appearance of the pillar is quite imposing. At the base of the pillar is an inverted lotus flower
    which forms a platform for the pillar. At the top of the pillar there are four lions sitting back to back
    facing the four prime directions. Other illustrations on the pillar include the Dharma Chakra (Wheel)
    with 24 spokes which can be seen on the Indian national flag as well. All illustrations have their own
    meaning and significance. There are four animals illustrated on the pillar. They stand for the
    following:

    The illustration of an Elephant signifies Lord Buddha's conception. When Buddha was
    conceived his mothers dream that a white elephant had entered the womb.
    A Bull illustrated on the pillar signifies the zodiac sign of Taurus as it is said that Buddha was
    born during the month of April - May and also attained enlightenment during this time. The
    Bull also stands as a symbol of Lord Shiva.
    The Horse stands for the horse named Kanthaka that Buddha rode when he departed from
    his palace to practice asceticism and attain enlightenment.
    The Lion that is illustrated signifies the attainment of enlightenment.

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