The National Emblem of India is derived from the time of the Emperor Ashoka. It is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Lion Capital was erected in the Emperor Ashoka in 3rd century B.C. to mark the spot where Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation. The pillar symbolized the axis mundi (the axis on which the world spins). The pillars and edicts represent the first physical evidence of the Buddhist faith. The inscriptions assert Ashoka's Buddhism and support his desire to spread the dharma throughout his kingdom. 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.
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