5/5 Manish Kr. S. 3 years ago on Google
Great
place
of
Buddhist
pilgrimage.
Site
of
Buddha’s
First
Sermon
The
most
celebrated
of
the
Ashokan
pillars
is
the
one
erected
at
Sarnath,
the
site
of
Buddha’s
First
Sermon
where
he
shared
the
Four
Noble
Truths
(the
dharma
or
the
law).
Currently,
the
pillar
remains
where
it
was
originally
sunk
into
the
ground,
but
the
capital
is
now
on
display
at
the
Sarnath
Museum.
It
is
this
pillar
that
was
adopted
as
the
national
emblem
of
India.
It
is
depicted
on
the
one
rupee
note
and
the
two
rupee
coin.
The
Pillar
The
pillar
is
a
symbol
of
the
axis
mundi
(cosmic
axis)
and
of
the
column
that
rises
everyday
at
noon
from
the
legendary
Lake
Anavatapta
(the
lake
at
the
center
of
the
universe
according
to
Buddhist
cosmology)
to
touch
the
sun.
The
Capital
The
top
of
the
column—the
capital—has
three
parts.
First,
a
base
of
a
lotus
flower,
the
most
ubiquitous
symbol
of
Buddhism.
Then,
a
drum
on
which
four
animals
are
carved
representing
the
four
cardinal
directions:
a
horse
(west),
an
ox
(east),
an
elephant
(south),
and
a
lion
(north).
They
also
represent
the
four
rivers
that
leave
Lake
Anavatapta
and
enter
the
world
as
the
four
major
rivers.
Each
of
the
animals
can
also
be
identified
by
each
of
the
four
perils
of
samsara.
The
moving
animals
follow
one
another
endlessly
turning
the
wheel
of
existence.
Four
lions
stand
atop
the
drum,
each
facing
in
the
four
cardinal
directions.
Their
mouths
are
open
roaring
or
spreading
the
dharma,
the
Four
Noble
Truths,
across
the
land.
The
lion
references
the
Buddha,
formerly
Shakyamuni,
a
member
of
the
Shakya
(lion)
clan.
The
lion
is
also
a
symbol
of
royalty
and
leadership
and
may
also
represent
the
Buddhist
king
Ashoka
who
ordered
these
columns.
A
cakra
(wheel)
was
originally
mounted
above
the
lions.
Some
of
the
lion
capitals
that
survive
have
a
row
of
geese
carved
below
the
lions.
The
goose
is
an
ancient
Vedic
symbol
(Veda
means
knowledge
in
Sanskrit
and
the
Vedas
refers
to
the
canonical
collection
of
hymns,
prayers
and
liturgical
formulas
that
make
up
the
earliest
of
the
Hindu
sacred
writings.
Many
of
the
Buddhist
symbols
and
practices
derive
from
these
early
texts).
The
flight
of
the
goose
is
thought
of
as
a
link
between
the
earthly
and
heavenly
spheres.
The
pillar
reads
from
bottom
to
top.
The
lotus
represents
the
murky
water
of
the
mundane
world
and
the
four
animals
remind
the
practitioner
of
the
unending
cycle
of
samsara
as
we
remain,
through
our
ignorance
and
fear,
stuck
in
the
material
world.
But
the
cakras
between
them
offer
the
promise
of
the
Eightfold
Path,
that
guide
one
to
the
unmoving
center
at
the
hub
of
the
wheel.
Note
that
in
these
particular
cakras,
the
number
of
spokes
in
the
wheel
(eight
for
the
Eightfold
Path),
had
not
yet
been
standardized.
The
lions
are
the
Buddha
himself
from
whom
the
knowledge
of
release
from
samsara
is
possible.
And
the
cakra
that
once
stood
at
the
apex
represents
moksa,
the
release
from
samsara.
The
symbolism
of
moving
up
the
column
toward
Enlightenment
parallels
the
way
in
which
the
practitioner
meditates
on
the
stupa
in
order
to
attain
the
same
goal.
