State in which ashoka pillar is located

He rejected violence and made sure his subjects were happy. They also gathered information about the empire. Aramaic and Greek languages were depicted on pillars located on the borders of the empire to declare that whoever was traveling this way has now entered the lands ruled by King Ashoka. A few hypotheses state that Ashoka used the pillars to communicate his Buddhist messages.

The idea of constructing a pillar probably came from the Persian artists who came to India in search of art and bringing with them the form of the pillar. But it is also possible that Ashoka chose to construct the pillar since it was already an established Indian art form.

The pillar represented axis Mundi the axis on which the world spins in both Hinduism as well as Buddhism. The two types of stones used in column construction were red and white sandstone from Mathura and buff-colored fine grain sandstone from Chunar, Varanasi. The pillars were constructed by craftsmen of the same region and the stones were carried from the place of extraction to the place where the pillars are found. The four parts of the pillars were developed in such a way that three sections were made in a single piece to that of the monolithic shaft.

The masterpieces of the Mauryan art are the crowing animals that are either shown seated or standing above the bell-shaped lotus petals.

The seven animal sculptures that survive today are a part of the first important group of Indian stone sculptures. Influence of Greek and Near—Eastern arts is also seen in the pillars as King Ashoka used bands of motifs, like the bead and reel pattern, the flame palmettes, lotuses which are likely to be originated from the Greek and Near-Eastern arts.

Scholars like Jhon Irwin states that the pillars symbolized Dhvaja or standard which the Indian soldiers carried during a battle. The soldiers believed destroying the Dhvaja of the enemy brought bad luck to their opponents. The height of the pillar is more than twelve meters and even after so many years, the Mauryan polish used on the pillar maintains its radiance and sheen.

The pillar is inscribed with six Ashokan edicts, issued by the Emperor in the year BC and the top of the pillar is adorned with a lion, in a crouching position. The Ashoka Pillars in India represent an era of strength and bravery of King Ashoka before he was enamoured by the teachings of the Buddha and decided to adopt a non-violent way of life.

Do you have an Ashoka Pillar in your city? Let us know in the comments below. This post was published by Roli Sharaf. Manali , Leh Ladakh , Coorg.

Sign in with Facebook. Sign in with Google. Packages Hotels Collections. Countries Singapore. Write For Us! Ashoka Pillars in India. They are a representation of his dynamic rule and conquests across Read More India. While most of the pillars have either withered away or destroyed by his future rulers, 20 pillars still stand tall in India.

What happens when a powerful ruler adopts a new religion that contradicts the life into which he was born? What about when this change occurs during the height of his rule when things are pretty much going his way?

How is that information conveyed over a large geographical region with thousands of inhabitants? King Ashoka, who many believe was an early convert to Buddhism, decided to solve these problems by erecting pillars that rose some 50 feet into the sky. The pillars were raised throughout the Magadha region in the North of India that had emerged as the center of the first Indian empire, the Mauryan Dynasty B. Written on these pillars, intertwined in the message of Buddhist compassion, were the merits of King Ashoka.

The third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, Ashoka pronounced Ashoke , who ruled from c. He adopted the teachings of the Buddha known as the Four Noble Truths, referred to as the dharma the law :. Individuals who come to fully understand the Four Noble Truths are able to achieve Enlightenment, ending samsara, the endless cycle of birth and rebirth. Ashokan pillar capital at Vaishali, Bihar, India, c. The pillars vary from 40 to 50 feet in height.

They are cut from two different types of stone—one for the shaft and another for the capital. The shaft was almost always cut from a single piece of stone. The pillars weigh about 50 tons each. Only 19 of the original pillars survive and many are in fragments.

The first pillar was discovered in the sixteenth century. The physical appearance of the pillars underscores the Buddhist doctrine. Most of the pillars were topped by sculptures of animals. Each pillar is also topped by an inverted lotus flower, which is the most pervasive symbol of Buddhism a lotus flower rises from the muddy water to bloom unblemished on the surface—thus the lotus became an analogy for the Buddhist practitioner as he or she, living with the challenges of everyday life and the endless cycle of birth and rebirth, was able to achieve Enlightenment, or the knowledge of how to be released from samsara, through following the Four Noble Truths.