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Sarnath: Capital of Asoka's Pillar, Sarnath Museum

This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.

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dc.contributor.authorMorgan, Kenneth W.
dc.contributor.authorPhotographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
dc.coverage.spatialIndia (Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh)
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-18T23:14:37Z
dc.date.available2019-12-18T23:14:37Z
dc.identifierANUA 682-3598
dc.identifier.otherAR BUD-8
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/195981
dc.descriptionThis capital is from the pillar erected by Asoka at the side of the Buddha's first sermon, a pillar said to have been 70 feet high. As an art treasure of India's past, it has been chosen for the symbol of the new Indian government. Sir John Marshall says that no generation since the time of Asoka has been able to duplicate the inimitable polish on this sculpture. The base on which the four lions rest has four Dharmacakras (symbolizing the Wheel of the Law) and between them figures of a bull, an elephant, a horse, and a lion. Buddhists prefer to interpret the bull as a symbol of the Buddha's birth, since he was born under the sign of the bull
dc.descriptionthe elephant symbolizes his conception, for at conception his mother dreamed that a white elephant entered her womb
dc.descriptionthe horse symbolizes Prince Siddharta's renunciation
dc.descriptionand the lion symbolizes his first sermon and his forty-five years of preaching the Law. The lions on the capital symbolize the preaching of the Law to the four directions.
dc.format.extent35mm
dc.format.mediumslide
dc.format.mediumsepia
dc.format.mediumcolour
dc.language.isoen_AU
dc.subjectIndia: Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Rajgir, Sanchi, Nalanda, Mathura, Ajanta
dc.subjectarchitecture
dc.subjectsculpture
dc.subjectslide set
dc.titleSarnath: Capital of Asoka's Pillar, Sarnath Museum
dc.typeImage
local.description.notesSource: Kenneth W. Morgan, Visual Education Service, The Divinity School, Yale University
dc.date.updated2019-12-18T23:14:37Z
dc.provenanceDigitised by the Australian National University in 2019
dc.rights.licenseThis image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.
CollectionsArthur Llewellyn Basham

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