Indian National Emblem | National Emblem Of India
The national emblem of India is a replica of the Lion at Sarnath, near Varanasi
in Uttar Pradesh. The Lion Capital was erected in the third century BC by
Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where the Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of
peace and emancipation. The national emblem is thus symbolic of contemporary
India's reaffirmation of its ancient commitment to world peace and goodwill.
The four lions (one hidden from view), symbolising power, courage and
confidence, rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by four smaller
animals, that are considered guardians of the four directions: the lion of the
north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the
west. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead
of life and creative inspiration. The motto 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed
below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'.
It was adopted on 26 January 1950, the day that India became a republic.
It is symbolic of India's reaffirmation of its ancient commitment to
world peace and goodwill. In the original, there are four lions, standing back
to back, mounted on a 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 the Law (Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem adopted by the Government of India on 26 January
1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel
appears in relief in the center of the abacus with a bull on the right and a
horse on the left and the outlines of the other wheels on extreme right and
left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted.
