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When Buddha achieved nirvana (Enlightenment) at Gaya, he came to Sarnath on the outskirts of Varanasi. There He found his five disciples (panch vargiya Bhikshu) Ashwajeet, Mahanaam, Kaundinya, Bhadrak and Kashyap, who had earlier abandoned him. He preached his first sermon to them, thereby promulgating the Dhammachakra. This is the motif taken up by Ashoka and portrayed on top of his pillars. This is the origin of the chakra in the Indian flag and it asserts the strong ties of India with the Buddhist faith. It is also known as Dhammachakra.
In the state of Uttar Pradesh lies a small town Sarnath near present day Varanasi. It was ruled by the Mauryan Samrat Ashoka in the 3rd Century BC. Being a follower of Buddha, Samrat Ashoka built a Sarnath pillar consisting of a Ashoka Chakra, the place where Lord Buddha gave his first speech and taught Dharma to his five monks.
The Sarnath Pillar is one amongst the many pillars erected by Samrat Ashok to convey the principles of Buddhism. However, the Sarnath pillar is unique because it was crowned with a sculpture on it popularly known as the Lion Capital.
The Ashoka Lion Capital or the Ashoka Chakra at the Sarnath comprises of 4 lions, standing back to back. The front view has 3 Lions. All the 4 lions are mounted on a cylindrical abacus. The abacus illustrates the sculptures of a galloping horse, an elephant, a lion and a bull separated by intervening 24-spoked Dharma wheels over an inverted bell-shaped lotus flower (National Flower of India).
The Elephant is a representation of his mother Queen Maya’s conception of Buddha when she saw a white elephant entering her womb in a dream.
The Bull represents desire during the life of the Buddha as a prince.
The Horse symbolizes Buddha’s departure from palatial life and te Lion represents the attainment of Nirvana by Lord Buddha.
There are also non-religious symbolic interpretations of the Lion Capital believing the four lions symbolize Ashoka’s rule over the four directions, the wheels as symbols of his enlightened rule and the four animals as symbols of four adjoining territories of India
The Sarnath pillar still stands in it’s original place, however the Ashoka Lion Capital or the Ashoka Chakra has been moved to the Sarnath Museum for preservation.
In the State emblem, adopted by the Government of India on January 26, 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. Symbolizing power, courage and confidence, the abacus is girded by four smaller animals regarded as guardians of the four directions; The lion of the North, the elephant of the East, the horse of the South and the bull of the West. Each of these animals is separated by intervening wheels of Dharma Chakras* (Eternal wheels of law). The inverted bell-shaped lotus which the original sculpture shows the abacus resting on has been omitted.