The National Symbol of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka, who ruled from 272 BC to 232 BC. In the original pillar, 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 Law (Dharma Chakra). In the State Emblem adopted by the Government of India on January 26 1950, only three lions are visible, while the fourth is hidden from view. 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 - 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 wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left, and the outlines of the other wheels on the extreme right and left. Memabaxtm™
and the Indian National Emblem
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