In 1904 the British engineer Fredrich Oertel was directed to do archaeological explorations at Sarnath, known in ancient times as Isipatana, the place where the Buddha first proclaimed the Dhamma to the world. Excavations had already been done there several times before but Oertel chose to dig at the side of a previously ignored high pile of bricks and rubble. Almost immediately he uncovered what he correctly guessed to be one of King Asoka’s pillars broken into three pieces. A bit more digging and clearing of earth revealed the face of a lion, then another, and soon four in all. Oertel had discovered the pillar King Asoka erected to commemorate the Buddha’s first sermon and the magnificent lion capital that had once crowned it.
The capital was immediately recognized as a masterpiece, the earliest monolithic sculpture ever produced in India and one whose aesthetic and technical perfection would not be surpassed for another 800 years. Arrangements were made to ship it to the British Museum but Lord Curzon, the then viceroy, ordered that from then on, all India’s art treasures should stay in the country. Thus, the lion capital is now proudly displayed in the entrance hall of Sarnath’s archaeological museum. At independence in 1947 it became India’s national emblem, and the wheel from it was chosen to be on the country’s flag.
Let us examine this capital starting at the bottom and working our way up. The first thing encountered is what is almost always described as an “inverted lotus”. I contend that even a brief inspection of this part of the capital shows that it is not meant to be a lotus—inverted or otherwise. Why a sculptor would depict a lotus, India’s most beloved flower, so unlike the real thing and why upside down is never explained? I suggest that this element is not an inverted lotus but is meant to represent a fringe or tassel.
Above the fringe is a drum-shaped abacus with four animals on it, each separated by a Dhamma wheel. Going clockwise around the abacus these animals are a horse, a bull, a lion and an elephant, each realistically depicted. Again, there are imaginative but unlikely theories about what these animals are supposed to symbolize – the four directions, royalty, fertility, or because of their supposed cosmological or astrological significance. Another popular theory is that they represent key events in the Buddha’s life—his renunciation while riding his horse Kanthaka, the white elephant his mother Mahāmāya dreamt of, and the lion the Buddha himself. Unfortunately, where the bull fits into this is unclear, although the Wikipedia article about the capital claims it represents Prince Siddhattha’s first meditation under a jambu tree, but the accounts of this incident make no mention of a bull. It is much more likely that Asoka’s choice was simply a continuation of what the earliest suttas had done; identify the Buddha with animals that were revered for their perceived stateliness, nobility and admirable habits.
According to various suttas, the Buddha and the bull-elephant both favoured living in the forest away from others; and his bold and confident claim to be awakened was reminiscent of the lion’s fearless roar. The Buddha was dubbed a ‘thoroughbred stallion’ (purisājañña) because he had responded quickly to training and moved with deliberation and mindfulness; and just as the bull is recognized as the natural and rightful leader of the cows and calves, the Buddha’s spiritual attainments made him pre-eminent amongst humankind. Even in later Sanskrit texts such as the Mahāvastu, the Buddha was still being called a bull-elephant man, a lion man, a perfectly trained stallion, etc.
Separating these animals from each other are Dhamma wheels (dhammacakka). The ancient Indians used the wheel as a symbol for political sovereignty and dominion while the Buddha himself and the first Buddhists used it as a symbol for sovereignty too, but for spiritual rather than worldly and political sovereignty. As most Buddhists will know, the Buddha’s first discourse is called ‘Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dhamma’ and a wheel flanked on either side by a deer has long been an icon for the Buddha’s first discourse in the Deer Park at Isipatana. The wheels on the Asoka’s capital are the earliest examples of these objects being used in a Buddhist context and it will be noticed that they have, not eight spokes, but 24. It seems that ancient chariot wheels during the Mauryan period usually had 24 spokes and this is confirmed by a remarkably well-preserved chariot wheel excavated in Patna in the 1890s.
Above the abacus are four lions standing back-to-back and although highly stylized these creatures exude all the majesty and confidence of real lions, although without evoking fear or suggesting aggression. The clawed paws, the veins in the legs, the tongue and teeth in the open mouths and the tufts of fur on their manes all exhibit almost perfect workmanship. Careful observation of the cavities in lion’s eyes indicate that they were probably originally inlayed with precious or semi-precious stones.
A claim made by the Buddha and repeated by him several times, makes it clear why King Asoka directed his designers and sculptors to depict the lions on the capital. The passage reads:
When the lion, the king of beasts, emerges from his lair, he stretches his body, looks in the four directions, and roars his lion’s roar. Monks, ‘lion’ is a designation for the Tathagata, the Arahat, the fully Awakened One. And when the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma to an assembly, that is his lion’s roar.
The lions facing in the four directions are clearly meant to represent the Buddha’s bold and confident proclamation of the Dhamma which of course, first occurred at Isipatana, i.e. Sarnath.
Originally above the four lions was a large Dhamma wheel. Six fragments of this wheel’s rim were found scattered around the capital and Oertel was able to calculate that it would have had 32 spokes. Again, this suggests that it was the wheel and not the number of spokes in it that was significant for the ancient Buddhists.
When complete, the great pillar crowned with its capital, rising up 10 meters or 32 feet into the sky, must have been an awe-inspiring sight. There seems little doubt that when pilgrims visited Isipatana the pillar would have been one of the main sights, perhaps the most important one, and it would have reminded them of the Buddha’s greatness.
Shravasti Dhammika