Ashoka Pillar Sanchi

Ashoka Pillar at Sanchi is a monolithic polished sandstone column erected by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC beside the southern gateway of the Great Stupa. Standing 42 feet tall, its shaft was carved from Chunar sandstone and its capital of four back-to-back lions atop an abacus decorated with four animals and a Dharma Chakra was adopted as the National Emblem of India after Independence. The capital is housed in the Sanchi Archaeological Museum; only the shaft remains in situ near the gateway.