by Wikipedia
Accessed: 9/24/21
-- Lumbini On Trial: The Untold Story: Lumbini Is An Astonishing Fraud Begun in 1896, by T. A. Phelps
-- The Piprahwa Deceptions: Set-ups and Showdown, by T.A. Phelps
-- An Altar of Alexander Now Standing at Delhi [REDUCED VERSION], by Ranajit Pal
-- An Altar of Alexander Now Standing at Delhi [EXPANDED VERSION], by Ranajit Pal
-- The Asoka Pillars: A Challenging Interpretation, by India International Centre
-- The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars, by John Irwin
-- Discourse X. Delivered February 28, 1793, P. 192, Excerpt from "Discourses Delivered Before the Asiatic Society: And Miscellaneous Papers, on The Religion, Poetry, Literature, Etc. of the Nations of India", by Sir William Jones
-- Aramaic Inscription of Laghman [Ashokan Inscriptions], by Wikipedia
• Aramaic Inscription of Taxila, by Wikipedia
• Kandahar Aramaic inscription, by Wikipedia
• Aramaic Inscription of Laghman, by Wikiwand
• Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, by Wikipedia
• Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka, by Wikipedia
• Aramaic inscription, by Wikipedia
-- Ashoka, by Wikipedia
-- Edicts of Ashoka, by Wikipedia
-- James Prinsep, by Wikipedia
• Chapter 1. Discovering Ashoka, Excerpt from "Ashoka: The Great and Compassionate King", by Subhadra Sen Gupta
-- Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman, by Wikipedia
-- No. 51 – Sarnath Inscription of Kumaradevi, by Sten Konow, Epigraphia Indica
-- Rabatak inscription, by Wikipedia
-- Seleucus I Nicator, by Wikipedia
-- Menander I, by Wikipedia
-- Determination of the Date of the Mahabharata: The Possibility Thereof, [Reprinted from Vishveshvaramand Indological Journal, Vol. XIV (1976) pp. 48-56.], Excerpt, from Collected Papers on Jyotisha, by T.S. Kuppanna Sastry
-- Pataliputra, by Wikipedia
-- Arachosia, by Wikipedia
-- Tapa Shotor, by Wikipedia
-- Hadda, Afghanistan, by Wikipedia
-- Ai-Khanoum, by Wikipedia
-- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, by Wikipedia
-- Greco-Buddhism, by Wikipedia
"Ashoka Pillar" redirects here. For the pillar in Delhi also known as Ashoka pillar, see Iron pillar of Delhi.
Pillars of Ashoka
One of the Pillars of Ashoka, in Vaishali
Material: Polished sandstone
Period/culture: 3rd century BCE
Known locations of the Pillars of Ashoka[1]
The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE.[2] Ashoka used the expression Dhaṃma thaṃbhā (Dharma stambha), i.e. "pillars of the Dharma" to describe his own pillars.[3][4] These pillars constitute important monuments of the architecture of India, most of them exhibiting the characteristic Mauryan polish. Of the pillars erected by Ashoka, twenty still survive including those with inscriptions of his edicts. Only a few with animal capitals survive of which seven complete specimens are known.[5] Two pillars were relocated by Firuz Shah Tughlaq to Delhi.[6] Several pillars were relocated later by Mughal Empire rulers, the animal capitals being removed.[7] Averaging between 12 and 15 m (40 and 50 ft) in height, and weighing up to 50 tons each, the pillars were dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected.[8]
The pillars of Ashoka are among the earliest known stone sculptural remains from India. Only another pillar fragment, the Pataliputra capital, is possibly from a slightly earlier date. It is thought that before the 3rd century BCE, wood rather than stone was used as the main material for Indian architectural constructions, and that stone may have been adopted following interaction with the Persians and the Greeks.[9] A graphic representation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka from the column there was adopted as the official Emblem of India in 1950.[10]
All the pillars of Ashoka were built at Buddhist monasteries, many important sites from the life of the Buddha and places of pilgrimage. Some of the columns carry inscriptions addressed to the monks and nuns.[11] Some were erected to commemorate visits by Ashoka. Major pillars are present in the Indian States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Haryana.
Ashoka and Buddhism
Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath. Ashokan capitals were highly realistic and used a characteristic polished finish, giving a shiny appearance to the stone surface. 3rd century BCE.
Ashoka ascended to the throne in 269 BC inheriting the Mauryan empire founded by his grandfather Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka was reputedly a tyrant at the outset of his reign. Eight years after his accession he campaigned in Kalinga where in his own words, "a hundred and fifty thousand people were deported, a hundred thousand were killed and as many as that perished..." As he explains in his edicts, after this event Ashoka converted to Buddhism in remorse for the loss of life. Buddhism did not become a state religion but with Ashoka's support it spread rapidly. The inscriptions on the pillars set out edicts about morality based on Buddhist tenets.[12][13]
Construction
Possible sources of inspiration
Sphinx of the Naxians, Delphi, c. 6th BCE.[14]
Highly polished Achaemenid load-bearing column with lotus capital and animals, Persepolis, c. 5th-4th BCE.
See also: Mauryan polish
The traditional idea that all were originally quarried at Chunar, just south of Varanasi and taken to their sites, before or after carving, "can no longer be confidently asserted",[15] [Harle, J.C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, p. 22] and instead it seems that the columns were carved in two types of stone. Some were of the spotted red and white sandstone from the region of Mathura, the others of buff-colored fine grained hard sandstone usually with small black spots quarried in the Chunar near Varanasi. The uniformity of style in the pillar capitals suggests that they were all sculpted by craftsmen from the same region. It would therefore seem that stone was transported from Mathura and Chunar to the various sites where the pillars have been found, and there was cut and carved by craftsmen.[16]
It can no longer be confidently asserted that the pillars, locally called lats, were all quarried at Chunar, near Varanasi, and that they are thus manifestations of the official art of Asoka's centralized empire, and even less that they are essentially of foreign, i.e., Iranian, inspiration. They are, nonetheless, remarkably similar, plain monolithic shafts some 40-59 ft (12-14 m.) high, with no bases and very little entasis, bearing bell-shaped capitals with a petal-like decoration and -- all carved from separate blocks -- abaci with animals figures above them. Only two still stand intact, both at sites between the Ganges and the Nepalese border. Including these, six of the crowning animal sculptures have survived: two sejant lions, an elephant, a bull, and a pair of quadruple addorsed lions, one of which, from Sarnath and surmounted by a wheel, now serves as the official emblem of the Republic of India.
-- Harle, J.C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, p. 22
The pillars have four component parts in two pieces: the three sections of the capitals are made in a single piece, often of a different stone to that of the monolithic shaft to which they are attached by a large metal dowel. The shafts are always plain and smooth, circular in cross-section, slightly tapering upwards and always chiselled out of a single piece of stone. There is no distinct base at the bottom of the shaft. The lower parts of the capitals have the shape and appearance of a gently arched bell formed of lotus petals. The abaci are of two types: square and plain and circular and decorated and these are of different proportions. The crowning animals are masterpieces of Mauryan art, shown either seated or standing, always in the round and chiselled as a single piece with the abaci.[17][18] Presumably all or most of the other columns that now lack them once had capitals and animals. They are also used to commemorate the events of the Buddha's life.
Lion designs
Vaishali lion of Ashoka.
Assyrian relief of a lion at Nineveh (circa 640 BCE). Many stylistic elements (design of the whiskers, the eyes, the fur etc...) point to similarities.[19]
Currently seven animal sculptures from Ashoka pillars survive.[5][20] These form "the first important group of Indian stone sculpture", though it is thought they derive from an existing tradition of wooden columns topped by animal sculptures in copper, none of which have survived. It is also possible that some of the stone pillars predate Ashoka's reign.[21]
Origin
Western origin
Floral designs
Abacus of the Allahabad pillar, with lotuses alternating with "flame palmettes" over a bead and reel pattern.
A quite similar frieze from Delphi, 525 BCE.
There has been much discussion of the extent of influence from Achaemenid Persia,[22] where the column capitals supporting the roofs at Persepolis have similarities, and the "rather cold, hieratic style" of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka especially shows "obvious Achaemenid and Sargonid influence".[23] India and the Achaemenid Empire had been in close contact since the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley, from circa 500 BCE to 330 BCE.
Hellenistic influence has also been suggested.[24] In particular the abaci of some of the pillars (especially the Rampurva bull, the Sankissa elephant and the Allahabad pillar capital) use bands of motifs, like the bead and reel pattern, the ovolo, the flame palmettes, lotuses, which likely originated from Greek and Near-Eastern arts.[19] Such examples can also be seen in the remains of the Mauryan capital city of Pataliputra.
It has also been suggested that 6th century Greek columns such as the Sphinx of Naxos, a 12.5m Ionic column crowned by a sitted animal in the religious center of Delphi, may have been an inspiration for the pillars of Ashoka.[14] Many similar columns crowned by sphinxes were discovered in ancient Greece, as in Sparta, Athens or Spata, and some were used as funerary steles.[14] The Greek sphinx, a lion with the face of a human female, was considered as having ferocious strength, and was thought of as a guardian, often flanking the entrances to temples or royal tombs.[25]
Pillar as Dhvaja, military standard
Heliodorus pillar in Vidisha, India, 2nd Century BCE
Shunga horseman carrying portable garuda standard, Bharhut 2nd Century BCE
Indian origin
Some scholars such as John Irwin emphasized a reassessment from popular belief of Persian or Greek origin of Ashokan pillars. He makes the argument that Ashokan pillars represent Dhvaja or standard which Indian soldiers carried with them during battle and it was believed that the destruction of the enemy's dhvaja brought misfortune to their opponents. A relief of Bharhut stupa railing portrays a queenly personage on horseback carrying a Garudadhvaja.[26] Heliodorus pillar has been called Garudadhvaja, literally Garuda-standard, the pillar dated to 2nd century BC is perhaps the earliest recorded stone pillar which has been declared a dhvaja.[27]
Ashokan edicts themselves state that his words should be carved on any stone slab or pillars available indicating that the tradition of carving stone pillars was present before the period of Ashoka.
Jhon Irwin also highlights the fact that carvings on pillars such as Allahabad pillar was done when it had already been erected indicating its pre Ashokan origins.[28]
Ashoka called his own pillars Silā Thabhe ([x], Stone Stambha, i.e. stone pillars). Lumbini inscription, Brahmi script.
Stylistic argument
Though influence from the west is generally accepted, especially the Persian columns of Achaemenid Persia, there are a number of differences between these and the pillars. Persian columns are built in segments whereas Ashokan pillars are monoliths, like some much later Roman columns. Most of the Persian pillars have a fluted shaft while the Mauryan pillars are smooth, and Persian pillars serve as supporting structures whereas Ashokan pillars are individual free-standing monuments. There are also other differences in the decoration.[29] Indian historian Upinder Singh comments on some of the differences and similarities, writing that "If the Ashokan pillars cannot in their entirety be attributed to Persian influence, they must have had an undocumented prehistory within the subcontinent, perhaps a tradition of wooden carving. But the transition from stone to wood was made in one magnificent leap, no doubt spurred by the imperial tastes and ambitions of the Maurya emperors."[30]
Whatever the cultural and artistic borrowings from the west, the pillars of Ashoka, together with much of Mauryan art and architectural prowesses such as the city of Pataliputra or the Barabar Caves, remain outstanding in their achievements, and often compare favourably with the rest of the world at that time. Commenting on Mauryan sculpture, John Marshall once wrote about the "extraordinary precision and accuracy which characterizes all Mauryan works, and which has never, we venture to say, been surpassed even by the finest workmanship on Athenian buildings".[31][32]
Complete list of the pillars
Five of the pillars of Ashoka, two at Rampurva, one each at Vaishali, Lauriya-Araraj and Lauria Nandangarh possibly marked the course of the ancient Royal highway from Pataliputra to the Nepal. Several pillars were relocated by later Mughal Empire rulers, the animal capitals being removed.[7]
The two Chinese medieval pilgrim accounts record sightings of several columns that have now vanished: Faxian records six and Xuanzang fifteen, of which only five at most can be identified with surviving pillars.[33] All surviving pillars, listed with any crowning animal sculptures and the edicts inscribed, are as follows:[17][34]
Complete standing pillars, or pillars with Ashokan inscriptions
Geographical spread of known pillar capitals.
• Delhi-Topra, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII; moved in 1356 CE from Topra Kalan in Yamunanagar district of Haryana to Delhi by Firuz Shah Tughluq.[1]
• Delhi-Meerut, Delhi ridge, Delhi (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI; moved from Meerut to Delhi by Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1356.[1]
• Nigali Sagar (or Nigliva, Nigalihawa), near Lumbini, Nepal. Pillar missing capital, one Ashoka edict. Erected in the 20th regnal year of Ashoka (c. 249 BCE).[1]
• Rummindei, near Lumbini, Nepal. Also erected in the 20th regnal year of Ashoka (c. 249 BCE), to commemorate Ashoka's pilgrimage to Lumbini. Capital missing, but was apparently a horse.[1]
• Allahabad pillar, Uttar Pradesh (originally located at Kausambi and probably moved to Allahabad by Jahangir; Pillar Edicts I-VI, Queen's Edict, Schism Edict).[1]
• Rampurva, Champaran, Bihar. Two columns: a lion with Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI; a bull without inscriptions. The abacus of the bull capital features honeysuckle and palmette designs derived from Greek designs.[1]
• Sanchi, near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, four lions, Schism Edict.[1]
• Sarnath, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, four lions, Pillar Inscription, Schism Edict.[1] This is the famous "Lion Capital of Ashoka" used in the national emblem of India.
• Lauriya-Nandangarth, Champaran, Bihar, single lion, Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI.[1]
• Lauriya Araraj, Champaran, Bihar (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI).[1]
• Vaishali, Bihar, single lion, with no inscription.[1]
The Amaravati pillar fragment is rather problematic. It only consists in 6 lines in Brahmi which are hardly decipherable. Only the word vijaya (victory) can be made out, arguably a word also used by Ashoka.[35] Sircar, who provides a detailed study, considers it as probably belonging to an Ashokan pillar.[36]
Complete standing pillars, or pillars with Ashokan inscriptions
Vaishali
Lauriya-Nandangarh
Lauriya-Araraj
Delhi-Meerut (originally from Meerut, broken in pieces during transportation).
Delhi-Topra (originally from Topra Kalan).
Allahabad (originally from Kosambi)
Lumbini (broken in half). Capped for protection in the 20th century.
Sarnath
Sanchi
Rampurva
Nigali Sagar
Fragment of pillar with inscription, Amaravati. Modern image 1, 2.[37]
Pillars without Ashokan inscriptions
There are also several known fragments of Ashokan pillars, without recovered Ashokan inscriptions, such as the Ashoka pillar in Bodh Gaya, Kausambi, Gotihawa, Prahladpur (now in the Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi[38]), Fatehabad, ...
History and description: Standing at a height of over 6 metres, the Lat appears to be a portion of one of the pillars erected by Emperor Ashoka possibly at Agroha or Hansi. The Ashokan epigraph that was once engraved on the pillar was apparently very systematically chiseled off for writing the Tughlaq inscription, recording the genealogy of Firoz Shah in beautiful Tughra-Arabic characters carved in high relief. This Lat (the pillar) stands in the centre of what now looks like an ancient walled Idgah.
-- Lat of Feroz Shah, by fatehabad.nic.in
On the uppermost part of the fort, there is an Idgah. In the precinct of this Idgah, there is a thick lofty pillar in the centre. Constructed with the mixture of Balua soil, red marble, white marble and iron, the pillar is 15.6 feet in height, and six feet in circumference. Verses from the Koran and some brief information about the Tughlaq dynasty have been carved out on 36 slabs of the pillar. Some historians claim this pillar to be the "Kirti Stambha" of Ashoka the Great. The Hisar gazetteer also mentions that the pillar seemed to have been constructed by some Hindu king as words from Sanskrit language have also been found on the slabs. Besides this, the artistic work on the two mosques in this fort also resemble the work on the ancient Hindu temples. These historians believe that the pillar was constructed during the Ashoka period and was given touches of Muslim art by Firoz Shah Tughlaq during 14th century. In the same Idgah, on the west side of the pillar, there is an inscription. On this has been engraved in Arabian language that the Mughal emperor Humanyun came here and constructed a mosque at this place.
-- Fatehabad: A town steeped deep in history, by Sushil Manav, 1999
The fourth pillar of this class is found in Fatehabad in District Hissar of Haryana. The town of Fatehabad was founded by Firuz Shah earlier than Firuzabad, Delhi and Hissar. It was named after his favourite son Fath Khan who is said to have been at that place. The column is standing in the spacious courtyard of a mosque which was erected by Firuz Shah himself. The mosque is now represented by its four brick walls and the mihrabs in the western wall. This pillar consists of two parts, the lower one being the original part of monolithic Mauryan pillar in grey sandstone of the Chunar variety while the upper part of red sandstone of the Tughluq period is separated by an abacus in white marble. The top of this tower is ornamented by an amalaka of red sandstone and crowned by a marble solid cap. The total height of the pillar is about 5 mts. The portion below the projecting disc which forms part of the grey monolithic pillar bears the circular bands of Persian inscription in beautiful Naskh characters of Firuz Shah Tughluq and gives the brief account of the Tughluq dynasty.
On close observation I noticed a line of Brahmi letters on the top of the Persian inscription immediately below the circular disc. This fragmentary Brahmi writing was not noticed by Cunningham or any other scholar. It is curious to note that these inscriptions have not been studied and published so far. The lower portion column is subjected to damaging weather effect.
Cunningham suspected that the Fatehabad pillar was the part of Hissar pillar which is not based on any evidence, since the diameter of both fragmentary columns substantially differ from each other.
-- A Study of Asokan Pillars: Re-Erected by Firuz Shah Tughluq, by W. H. Siddiqi, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 36 (1975), pp. 338-344 (7 pages), 1975
Figure 4. Pillar, Fatehabad. Photo: author.
The third lat (fig. 4) is located in the town of Fathabad, or Fatehabad,16 Firuz Shah's earliest urban foundation, built in the first year of his reign, A.H. 752/A.D. 1351-52, and located on the road connecting the important sites of Delhi, Hansi, and Multan. The lat may date from this time, although no firm evidence supports this claim. Today it stands in the center of the courtyard of a modern 'idgah, but its original context is not known, and whether the pillar was free-standing or associated with a prior architectural structure remains a mystery. Fatehabad continued to be an important site into Mughal times, when a Humayun-period mosque was built on the site. Mughal patronage of the pillar is unlikely, and there is no evidence of any other builder at the site after the Tughluq period.17
The Fatehabad lat consists of a single column of beige stone standing 3.1 meters above the foundation. This piece is surmounted by a drum of white stone and four sections of red stone. The column is crowned by a red stone amalaka, a round fluted element of Indian origin,18 and a white stone cap raising the height of the column to 4.8 meters above the foundation. There is an estimated 1 to 1.5 meters below the ground. The diameter of the lat is 59 centimeters at its base and 52 centimeters at its top.
Fig. 5. Detail of pillar inscription, Fatehabad. Photo: author.
The most remarkable feature of the Fatehabad lat is its inscription (fig. 5), one of the longest Indo-Islamic epigraphs of the Delhi sultanate; it is historical in content and specific to the Tughluq dynasty.19 [[Mehrdad] Shookoohy, Haryana I, 15-22 and pls. 1-70. [Haryana I. The Colum of Firuz Shah and Other Islamic Inscriptions from the District of Hisar. Plates i-xc. Shokoohy, Mehrdad. School of Oriental and African Studies, London 1988. 42 pp. + 90 plates. Publisher's cloth. 33,5x28,5 cm. Library stamps and bookplate. Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. Part I IV Persian Inscriptions down to the early Safavid Period. Vol. XLVII India: State of Haryana.]] The date of the lat's installation is not known or given in the epigraph, but specific historical events referred to in the epigraph support attribution to Firuz Shah. The bottom section of the lat appears to be part of an ancient pillar brought to the site during the Tughluq period. Although a Mauryan origin is unlikely, it is nevertheless reused.20 [John Irwin expresses doubt about an Asokan origin for the Fatehabad lat in pt. 4, p. 744, n. 47 of John Irwin, "'Asokan' Pillars: A Reassessment of the Evidence," pts. 1-4, The Burlington Magazine 115 (Nov. 1973): 706-20; 116 (Dec. 1974): 712-27; 117 (Oct. 1975): 631-43; 118 (Nov. 1976): 734-53.] Citing similarities in stone type and column diameters, Cunningham believed that the pillar at Fatehabad and the pillar in nearby Hissar were originally parts of the same piece of stone. If his supposition is correct, then these columns were probably installed simultaneously.
-- The Monumental Pillars of Fīrūz Shāh Tughluq, by William Jeffrey McKibben, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 24 (1994), pp. 105-118 (14 pages), Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the History of Art, University of Michigan
Bhopal, Sadagarli, Udaigiri-Vidisha, Kushinagar, Arrah (Masarh) Basti, Bhikana Pahari, Bulandi Bagh (Pataliputra), Sandalpu and a few others, as well as a broken pillar in Bhairon ("Lat Bhairo" in Benares)[39] which was destroyed to a stump during riots in 1908.[40] The Chinese monks Fa-Hsien and Hsuantsang also reported pillars in Kushinagar, the Jetavana monastery in Sravasti, Rajagriha and Mahasala, which have not been recovered to this day.[40]
Fragments of Pillars of Ashoka, without Ashokan inscriptions
Kausambi
Gotihawa
Bodh Gaya (originally near Sujata Stupa, brought from Gaya in 1956).[41]
Portion of an Ashokan pillar, found in Pataliputra.
Bhawanipur Rupandehi.
The capitals (Top Piece)
Abacus of the Allahabad pillar of Ashoka, the only remaining portion of the capital of the Allahabad pillar.
There are altogether seven remaining complete capitals, five with lions, one with an elephant and one with a zebu bull. One of them, the four lions of Sarnath, has become the State Emblem of India. The animal capitals are composed of a lotiform base, with an abacus decorated with floral, symbolic or animal designs, topped by the realistic depiction of an animal, thought to each represent a traditional directions in India.
The horse motif on the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka, is often described as an example of Hellenistic realism.[42]
Various foreign influences have been described in the design of these capitals.[43] The animal on top of a lotiform capital reminds of Achaemenid column shapes. The abacus also often seems to display some influence of Greek art: in the case of the Rampurva bull or the Sankassa elephant, it is composed of honeysuckles alternated with stylized palmettes and small rosettes.[44] A similar kind of design can be seen in the frieze of the lost capital of the Allahabad pillar. These designs likely originated in Greek and Near-Eastern arts.[45] They would probably have come from the neighboring Seleucid Empire, and specifically from a Hellenistic city such as Ai-Khanoum, located at the doorstep of India.[21] Most of these designs and motifs can also be seen in the Pataliputra capital.
The Diamond throne of Bodh Gaya is another example of Ashokan architecture circa 260 BCE, and displays a band of carvings with palmettes and geese, similar to those found on several of the Pillars of Ashoka.[46]
Chronological order
Based on stylistic and technical analysis, it is possible to establish a tentative chronological orders for the pillars. The earliest one seems to be the Vaishali pillar, with its stout and short column, the rigid lion and the undecorated square abacus. Next would follow the Sankissa elephant and the Rampurva bull, also not yet benefiting from Mauryan polish, and using a Hellenistic abacus of lotus and palmettes for decoration. The abacus would then adopt the Hamsa goose as an animal decorative symbol, in Lauria Nandangarh and the Rampurva lion. Sanchi and Sarnath would mark the culmination with four animals back-to-back instead of just one, and a new and sophisticated animal and symbolic abacus (the elephant, the bull, the lion, the horse alternating with the Dharma wheel) for the Sarnath lion.[47]
Other chronological orders have also been proposed, for example based on the style of the Ashokan inscriptions on the pillars, since the stylistically most sophisticated pillars actually have the engravings of the Edicts of Ashoka of the worst quality (namely, very poorly engraved Schism Edicts on the Sanchi and Sarnath pillars, their only inscriptions). This approach offers an almost reverse chronological order to the preceding one.[48] According to Irwin, the Sankissa elephant and Rampurva bull pillars with their Hellenistic abacus are pre-Ashokan. Ashoka would then have commissioned the Sarnath pillar with its famous Lion Capital of Ashoka to be built under the tutelage of craftsmen from the former Achaemenid Empire, trained in Perso-Hellenistic statuary, whereas the Brahmi engraving on the very same pillar (and on pillars of the same period such as Sanchi and Kosambi-Allahabad) was made by inexperienced Indian engravers at a time when stone engraving was still new in India.[48] After Ashoka sent back the foreign artists, style degraded over a short period of time, down to the time when the Major Pillar Edicts were engraved at the end of Ashoka's reign, which now displayed very good inscriptional craftsmanship but a much more solemn and less elegant style for the associated lion capitals, as for the Lauria Nandangarh lion and the Rampurva lion.[48]
Known capitals of the pillars of Ashoka
Ordered chronologically based on stylistic and technical analysis.[47]
Vaishali lion
Sankissa elephant.
Rampurva zebu bull original (now in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi).
Lauria Nandangarh lion.
Rampurva lion.
Four lions, once possibly crowned by a wheel, from Sanchi.
The "Lion Capital of Ashoka", from Sarnath.
Of the Allahabad pillar, only the abacus remains, the bottom bulb and the crowning animal having been lost. The remains are now located in the Allahabad Museum.
The elephant-crowned pillar of Ashoka at the Mahabodhi Temple, Gaya. Bharhut relief, 100 BCE.
A few more possibly Ashokan capitals were also found without their pillars:
• Kesariya (capital). Only the capital was found in the Kesaria stupa. It was discovered by Markham Kittoe in 1862, and said to be similar to the lion of the Lauriya Nandangarh pillar, except for the hind legs of the lion, which did not protrude beyond the abacus.[1] This capital is now lost.
• Udaigiri-Vidisha (capital only at the Udayagiri Caves, visible here).[1] Attribution to Ashoka however is disputed (ranging from the 2nd century BCE Sunga period,[49] to the Gupta period.[50]).
It is also known from various ancient sculptures (reliefs from Bharhut, 100 BCE), and later narrative account by Chinese pilgrims (5-6th century CE), that there was a pillar of Ashoka at the Mahabodhi Temple founded by Ashoka, that it was crowned by an elephant.[51]
The same Chinese pilgrims have reported that the capital of the Lumbini pillar was a horse (now lost), which, by their time had already fallen to the ground.[51]
Inscriptions
Main article: Edicts of Ashoka
Ashoka also called his pillars "Dhaṃma thaṃbhā" ([x], Dharma stambha), i.e. "pillars of the Dharma". 7th Major Pillar Edict. Brahmi script.[3]
The inscriptions on the columns include a fairly standard text. The inscriptions on the columns join other, more numerous, Ashokan inscriptions on natural rock faces to form the body of texts known as the Edicts of Ashoka. These inscriptions were dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan and represent the first tangible evidence of Buddhism. The edicts describe in detail Ashoka's policy of Dhamma, an earnest attempt to solve some of problems that a complex society faced.[52] In these inscriptions, Ashoka refers to himself as "Beloved servant of the Gods" (Devanampiyadasi). The inscriptions revolve around a few recurring themes: Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, the description of his efforts to spread Buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare program. The edicts were based on Ashoka's ideas on administration and behaviour of people towards one another and religion.
Alexander Cunningham, one of the first to study the inscriptions on the pillars, remarks that they are written in eastern, middle and western Prakrits which he calls "the Punjabi or north-western dialect, the Ujjeni or middle dialect, and the Magadhi or eastern dialect."[53] They are written in the Brahmi script.
Minor Pillar Edicts
Main article: Minor Pillar Edicts
These contain inscriptions recording their dedication, as well as the Schism Edicts and the Queen's Edict. They were inscribed around the 13th year of Ashoka's reign.
• Sanchi pillar (Schism Edict)
• Sarnath pillar (Schism Edict)
• Allahabad pillar (Schism Edict, Queen Edict, and also Major Pillar Edicts)
• Lumbini (Rummindei), Nepal (the upper part broke off when struck by lightning; the original horse capital mentioned by Xuanzang is missing) was erected by Ashoka where Buddha was born.
• Nigali Sagar (or Nigliva), near Lumbini, Rupandehi district, Nepal (originally near the Buddha Konakarnana stupa)
Kosambi-Allahabad Schism Edict.
Sanchi Schism Edict.
Sarnath Schism Edit.
Rummindei, in Lumbini.
Nigali Sagar.
Major Pillar Edicts
Fragment of the 6th Major Pillar Edict, from the Delhi-Meerut Pillar of Ashoka, British Museum.[54]
Main article: Major Pillar Edicts
Asoka's 6 Major Pillar Edicts have been found at Kausambhi (Allahabad), Topra (now Delhi), Meerut (now Delhi), Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya-Nandangarh, Rampurva (Champaran), and a 7th one on the Delhi-Topra pillar.
These pillar edicts include:[55]
• I Asoka's principle of protection to people
• II Defines dhamma as minimum of sins, many virtues, compassion, liberality, truthfulness and purity
• III Abolishes sins of harshness, cruelty, anger, pride etc.
• IV Deals with duties of government officials
• V List of animals and birds which should not be killed on some days and another list of animals which cannot be killed on any occasion. Describes release of 25 prisoners by Asoka.
• VI Works done by Asoka for Dhamma Policy. He says that all sects desire both self-control and purity of mind.
• VII Testimental edict.
Major Pillar Edicts I, II, III (Delhi-Topra)
Major Pillar Edicts IV (Delhi-Topra)
Major Pillar Edicts V-VII (Delhi-Topra)
Major Pillar Edicts VII, second part (Delhi-Topra)
Description of the pillars
Front view of the single lion capital in Vaishali.
Pillars retaining their animals
Main article: Lion Capital of Ashoka
The most celebrated capital (the four-lion one at Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh)) erected by Emperor Ashoka circa 250 BC. also called the "Ashoka Column" . Four lions are seated back to back. At present the Column remains in the same place whereas the Lion Capital is at the Sarnath Museum. This Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath has been adopted as the National Emblem of India and the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base was placed onto the centre of the flag of India.
The lions probably originally supported a Dharma Chakra wheel with 24 spokes, such as is preserved in the 13th century replica erected at Wat Umong near Chiang Mai, Thailand by Thai king Mangrai.[56]
Depiction of the four lions capital surmounted by a Wheel of Law at Sanchi, Satavahana period, South gateway of stupa 3.
The pillar at Sanchi also has a similar but damaged four-lion capital. There are two pillars at Rampurva, one with a bull and the other with a lion as crowning animals. Sankissa has only a damaged elephant capital, which is mainly unpolished, though the abacus is at least partly so. No pillar shaft has been found, and perhaps this was never erected at the site.[57]
The Vaishali pillar has a single lion capital.[58] The location of this pillar is contiguous to the site where a Buddhist monastery and a sacred coronation tank stood. Excavations are still underway and several stupas suggesting a far flung campus for the monastery have been discovered. The lion faces north, the direction Buddha took on his last voyage.[59] Identification of the site for excavation in 1969 was aided by the fact that this pillar still jutted out of the soil. More such pillars exist in this greater area but they are all devoid of the capital.
Pillar at Allahabad
Main articles: Allahabad pillar and Allahabad Stone Pillar Inscription of Samudra Gupta
In Allahabad there is a pillar with inscriptions from Ashoka and later inscriptions attributed to Samudragupta and Jehangir. It is clear from the inscription that the pillar was first erected at Kaushambi, an ancient town some 30 kilometres west of Allahabad that was the capital of the Koshala kingdom, and moved to Allahabad, presumably under Muslim rule.[60]
The pillar is now located inside the Allahabad Fort, also the royal palace, built during the 16th century by Akbar at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. As the fort is occupied by the Indian Army it is essentially closed to the public and special permission is required to see the pillar. The Ashokan inscription is in Brahmi and is dated around 232 BC. A later inscription attributed to the second king of the Gupta empire, Samudragupta, is in the more refined Gupta script, a later version of Brahmi, and is dated to around 375 AD. This inscription lists the extent of the empire that Samudragupta built during his long reign. He had already been king for forty years at that time and would rule for another five. A still later inscription in Persian is from the Mughal emperor Jahangir. The Akbar Fort also houses the Akshay Vat, an Indian fig tree of great antiquity. The Ramayana refers to this tree under which Lord Rama is supposed to have prayed while on exile.
Pillars at Lauriya-Areraj and Lauriya-Nandangarh
The column at Lauriya-Nandangarh, 23 km from Bettiah in West Champaran district, Bihar has single lion capital. The hump and the hind legs of the lion project beyond the abacus.[17] The pillar at Lauriya-Areraj in East Champaran district, Bihar is presently devoid of any capital.
Erecting the Pillars
The Pillars of Ashoka may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehrner conducted several obelisk erecting experiments including a successful attempt to erect a 25ton obelisk in 1999. This followed two experiments to erect smaller obelisks and two failed attempts to erect a 25-ton obelisk.[61][62]
Rediscoveries
Rediscovery of the Ashoka pillar in Sarnath, 1905.
A number of the pillars were thrown down by either natural causes or iconoclasts, and gradually rediscovered. One was noticed in the 16th century by the English traveller Thomas Coryat in the ruins of Old Delhi. Initially he assumed that from the way it glowed that it was made of brass, but on closer examination he realized it was made of highly polished sandstone with upright script that resembled a form of Greek. In the 1830s James Prinsep began to decipher them with the help of Captain Edward Smith and George Turnour. They determined that the script referred to King Piyadasi which was also the epithet of an Indian ruler known as Ashoka who came to the throne 218 years after Buddha's enlightenment. Scholars have since found 150 of Ashoka's inscriptions, carved into the face of rocks or on stone pillars marking out a domain that stretched across northern India and south below the central plateau of the Deccan. These pillars were placed in strategic sites near border cities and trade routes.
The Sanchi pillar was found in 1851 in excavations led by Sir Alexander Cunningham, first head of the Archaeological Survey of India. There were no surviving traces above ground of the Sarnath pillar, mentioned in the accounts of medieval Chinese pilgrims, when the Indian Civil Service engineer F.O. Oertel, with no real experience in archaeology, was allowed to excavate there in the winter of 1904–05. He first uncovered the remains of a Gupta shrine west of the main stupa, overlying an Ashokan structure. To the west of that he found the lowest section of the pillar, upright but broken off near ground level. Most of the rest of the pillar was found in three sections nearby, and then, since the Sanchi capital had been excavated in 1851, the search for an equivalent was continued, and the Lion Capital of Ashoka, the most famous of the group, was found close by. It was both finer in execution and in much better condition than that at Sanchi. The pillar appeared to have been deliberately destroyed at some point. The finds were recognised as so important that the first onsite museum in India (and one of the few then in the world) was set up to house them.[63]
Other Ashokan structures
The Buddha's Diamond Throne and the Pillars of Ashoka
Discovery of Ashoka's Diamond throne in Bodh Gaya, near the spot of the Buddha's illumination and the Boddhi tree.
Side decorative bands of the Diamond Throne (top) and the Sanchi pillar capital (bottom), both featuring geese and flame palmettes.
Front decorative friezes of the Diamond Throne (top) and the Sankissa pillar capital (bottom), both alternating flame palmettes, rosettes and lotuses.
Stupas
Legend has it that Ashoka built 84,000 stupas commemorating the events and relics of Buddha's life. Some of these stupas contained networks of walls containing the hub, spokes and rim of a wheel, while others contained interior walls in a swastika (卐) shape. The wheel represents the sun, time, and Buddhist law (the wheel of law, or dharmachakra), while the swastika stands for the cosmic dance around a fixed center and guards against evil.[12][13]
"Diamond throne" in Bodh Gaya
Main article: Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya
Ashoka also built the Diamond Throne in Bodh Gaya, at the location where the Buddha had reached enlightenment some 200 years earlier.[64][65] This purely Buddhist monument to the Buddha is a thick slab of polished grey sandstone with Mauryan polish[66]
The sculpted decorations on the Diamond Throne clearly echoe the decorations found on the Pillars of Ashoka.[67] The Diamond Throne has a decorative band made of honeysuckles and geese, which can also be found on several of the Pillars of Ashoka,[46] such as the Rampurva capitals or the Sanchi capital.[66] The geese (hamsa) in particular are a very recurrent symbol on the pillars of Ashoka, and may refer to the devotees flocking to the faith.[65] The same throne is also illustrated in later reliefs from Bharhut, dated to circa 100 BCE.[68]
Similar pillars
The 6th century pillar at the tomb of Xiao Jing, or Emperor Jing of Western Liang, is similar to the Ashoka pillar.[69]
See also
• Related topics
o Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts
o Dhar iron pillar
o Iron pillar of Delhi
o List of Edicts of Ashoka
o Stambha
• Other similar topics
o Early Indian epigraphy
o Hindu temple architecture
o History of India
o Indian copper plate inscriptions
o Indian rock-cut architecture
o List of rock-cut temples in India
o Outline of ancient India
o South Indian Inscriptions
o Tagundaing
Notes
1. Buddhist Architecture, Huu Phuoc Le, Grafikol, 2010 p.36-40
2. Bisschop, Peter C.; Cecil, Elizabeth A. (May 2019). Copp, Paul; Wedemeyer, Christian K. (eds.). "Columns in Context: Venerable Monuments and Landscapes of Memory in Early India". History of Religions. University of Chicago Press for the University of Chicago Divinity School. 58 (4): 355–403. doi:10.1086/702256. ISSN 0018-2710. JSTOR 00182710. LCCN 64001081. OCLC 299661763.
3. Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch (in Sanskrit). 1925. p. 132, Edict No 7 line 23.
4. Skilling, Peter (1998). Mahasutras. Pali Text Society. p. 453. ISBN 9780860133209.
5. Himanshu Prabha Ray (7 August 2014). The Return of the Buddha: Ancient Symbols for a New Nation. Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 9781317560067.
6. India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from c. 7000 BCE to CE 1200, Burjor Avari Routledge, 2016 p.139
7. Krishnaswamy, 697-698
8. "KING ASHOKA: His Edicts and His Times". http://www.cs.colostate.edu. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
9. India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from c. 7000 BCE to CE 1200, Burjor Avari, Routledge, 2016 p.149
10. State Emblem, Know India india.gov.in
11. Companion, 430
12. Time Life Lost Civilizations series: Ancient India: Land Of Mystery (1994) p. 84-85,94-97
13. Oliphant, Margaret "The Atlas Of The Ancient World" 1992 p. 156-7
14. "It can also be suggested that Lats topped by animals figures also have an ancestor in the sphinx-topped pillars of Greece of the Middle-Archaic period (c.580-40 B.C), Delphi Museum at Delphi, Greece, has an elegant winged sphinx figure sitting on an Ionic capital with side volutes." in Graeco-Indica, India's cultural contexts with the Greek world, Ramanand Vidya Bhawan, 1991, p.5
15. Harle, 22
16. Thapar, Romila (2001). Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryan, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-564445-X, pp.267-70
17. Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). Ancient India, S.Chand & Company, New Delhi, ISBN 81-219-0887-6, pp.350-3
18. Companion,
19. Buddhist Architecture, by Huu Phuoc Le, Grafikol, 2010 p.44
20. Rebecca M. Brown, Deborah S. Hutton. A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 423–429.
21. Boardman (1998), 15
22. Boardman (1998), 13
23. Harle, 22, 24, quoted in turn
24. A Comprehensive History Of Ancient India, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2003, p.87
25. Stewart, Desmond. Pyramids and the Sphinx. [S.l.]: Newsweek, U.S., 72. Print.
26. Irwin, John (1974). "'Aśokan' Pillars: A Reassessment of the Evidence-II: Structure". The Burlington Magazine. 116 (861): 712–727. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 877843.
27. Agrawala, Vasudeva S. (1977). Gupta Art Vol.ii.
28. Irwin, John (1983). "The Ancient Pillar-Cult at Prayāga (Allahabad): Its Pre-Aśokan Origins". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 115 (2): 253–280. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00137487. ISSN 0035-869X. JSTOR 25211537.
29. Boardman (1998), 13-19
30. Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 361. ISBN 9788131711200. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
31. The Early History of India by Vincent A. Smith
32. Annual report 1906-07 p.89
33. Ashoka, 2
34. Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. p. 358. ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9.
35. Buddhist Architecture, Le Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, p.169
36. Sircar, D. C. (1979). Asokan studies. pp. 118–122.
37. Sircar, D. C. (1979). Asokan studies. p. 118.
38. Mapio
39. Asoka by Radhakumud Mookerji p.85
40. Buddhist Architecture, Le Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, p.40
41. Geary, David (2017). The Rebirth of Bodh Gaya: Buddhism and the Making of a World Heritage Site. University of Washington Press. p. 209 Note 1. ISBN 9780295742380.
42. A Brief History of India, Alain Daniélou, Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, 2003, p.89-91 [1]
43. The pillars "owe something to the pervasive influence of Achaemenid architecture and sculpture, with no little Greek architectural ornament and sculptural style as well. Notice the florals on the bull capital from Rampurva, and the style of the horse of the Sarnath capital, now the emblem of the Republic of India." "The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity" by John Boardman, Princeton University Press, 1993, p.110
44. Le, Huu Phuoc (29 October 2017). Buddhist Architecture. Grafikol. ISBN 9780984404308. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via Google Books.
45. Le, Huu Phuoc (29 October 2017). Buddhist Architecture. Grafikol. ISBN 9780984404308. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via Google Books.
46. Buddhist Architecture, Huu Phuoc Le, Grafikol, 2010 p.240
47. Le Huu Phuoc, Buddhist Architecture, p.42
48. The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars, John Irwin, Artibus Asiae, Vol. 44, No. 4 (1983), pp. 247-265 [2]
49. Story of the Delhi Iron Pillar, R. Balasubramaniam p.19
50. The Past Before Us, Romila Thapar p.361
51. Buddhist Architecture, Le Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, pp 238-248
52. "The Ashokan rock edicts are a marvel of history".
53. Inscriptions of Ashoka by Alexander Cunningham, Eugen Hultzsch. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. Calcutta: 1877
54. "British Museum Highlights". Retrieved 29 October 2017.
55. Full texts, An English rendering by Ven. S. Dhammika, 1993
56. "Wat Umong Chiang Mai". Thailand's World. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
57. Companion, 428-429
58. "Destinations :: Vaishali".
59. "Destinations :: Vaishali ::Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation". bstdc.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
60. Krishnaswamy, 697-700
61. "NOVA Online - Mysteries of the Nile - August 27, 1999: The Third Attempt". http://www.pbs.org. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
62. Time Life Lost Civilizations series: Ramses II: Magnificence on the Nile (1993)p. 56-57
63. Allen, Chapter 15
64. A Global History of Architecture, Francis D. K. Ching, Mark M. Jarzombek, Vikramaditya Prakash, John Wiley & Sons, 2017 p.570ff
65. Buddhist Architecture, Huu Phuoc Le p.240
66. Alexander Cunningham, Mahâbodhi, or the great Buddhist temple under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya p.19 Public Domain text
67. Allen, Charles (2012). Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 133. ISBN 9781408703885.
68. Mahâbodhi, Cunningham p.4ff Public Domain text
69. Buddhist Architecture by Huu Phuoc Le p.45
References
• Ashoka, Emperor, Edicts of Ashoka, eds. N. A. Nikam, Richard P. McKeon, 1978, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226586111, 9780226586113, google books
• Boardman, John (1998), "Reflections on the Origins of Indian Stone Architecture", Bulletin of the Asia Institute, pp. 15–19, 1998, New Series, Vol. 12, (Alexander's Legacy in the East: Studies in Honor of Paul Bernard), p. 13-22, JSTOR
• "Companion": Brown, Rebecca M., Hutton, Deborah S., eds., A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture, Volume 3 of Blackwell companions to art history, 2011, John Wiley & Sons, 2011, ISBN 1444396323, 9781444396324, google books
• Harle, J.C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, ISBN 0300062176
• Krishnaswamy, C.S., Sahib, Rao, and Ghosh, Amalananda, "A Note on the Allahabad Pillar of Aśoka", The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 4 (Oct., 1935), pp. 697–706, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, JSTOR
• Falk, H. Asokan Sites and Artefacts: a A Source-book with Bibliography, 2006, Volume 18 of Monographien zur indischen Archäologie, Kunst und Philologie, Von Zabern, ISSN 0170-8864
Further reading
• Singh, Upinder (2008). "Chapter 7: Power and Piety: The Maurya Empire, c. 324-187 BCE". A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9.
External links
• Archaeological Survey of India
• British Museum, collections online
• Columbia University, New York - See "lioncapital" for pictures of the original "Lion Capital of Ashoka" preserved at the Sarnath Museum which has been adopted as the "National Emblem of India" and the Ashoka Chakra (Wheel) from which has been placed in the center of the "National Flag of India".