Early Buddhist Capitals of Ashoka’s Pillars

The Asoka Pillars are notable for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is them having been built by Asoka as a way of marking the area of his reign, so to speak. The monolithic statues were inscribed with Ashoka’s edcits, and reflected the Vedic concept of axis mundi, the pivot of the universe.

The pillars were set up at many stupa sites after Ashoka converted to Buddhism after the violent invasion of Orissa, and associate the moral teachings of Buddha with Ashoka’s word of law. Few of these pillars remain today, and fewer still of their capital’s remain intact, the two of the most notable that have survived are the Bull Capital of Rampurva, and the Lion capital of Sarnath.

These two capitals are from opposing sides of the land area that was under Ashoka’s rule, but the similarities between them are still pronounced.

The capitals were both built around the 3rd century BCE, and are carved by sandstone. But despite the similarities in their origin and construction, it’s the differences between them where we see the full richness of the iconography of the era.

The bull would be recognized as the mount of Shiva in Hinduism. And the bull capital has a palmetto motif in the bas relief of its abacus that is reminiscent of Hellenistic influence. The bull itself is of a much more realistic and simple style than that of other sculpture of the period, and is more similar to that of steatite seals. Although scholars still debate whether or not the bull capital was commissioned by Ashoka for his edicts, they largely agree that the Lion capital definitely was.

The use of the lion as a symbol at all is likely made to symbolize the Buddha, as the Sakya clan that he was born to used a lion as their seal, and lions themselves were commonly seen as being symbolic for royalty. The lion capital was once divided into 4 sections, though only 3 now remain. At the top was once a wheel meant to represent the Buddha’s rule of dharma. The wheel rested on the heads of 4 lions, heavily stylized where the bull was natural. Like the bull, the lions rest atop an abacus, which does contain a bull in its design. The relief sculpture contains said bull, a lion, a horse, and a wheel between them. Much of these images hold great significance in Vedic tradition. At the bottom of the figure, an inverted lotus bud, which symbolized purity in Buddhist traditions.

It is through the capitals that we see the blending of various traditions in the rich culture that was the Maurya dynasty of North Eastern India. Even in art meant to symbolize the Buddha, we still see homage to Hinduism, and the Greek influence that was brought to the area by Alexander the Great. The Mauryan court fell in less than 150 years, buts its legacy of a leadership that wanted unity in an exceptionally diverse culture lives on in its art.

Bibliography

Neave, Dorinda, Lara C W Blanchard, Marika Sardar, and Miranda Bruce-Mitford. Asian Art.

Boston: Pearson, 2015.

Qu, Shen. “Section 3: Early Buddhist Art.” Asu.edu, 2025. https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/218834/pages/section-3-early-buddhist-art? module_item_id=16081164.