News: The Ashoka pillars of Rampurva and Lauriya Nandangarh in Bihar are on UNESCO’s Tentative List under the ‘Serial Nomination for Ashokan Edict Sites along the Mauryan Routes’.
About Ashoka Pillars of Rampurva and Lauriya Nandangarh
Ashoka Pillar of Lauriya Nandangarh
- Location: Lauria Nandangarh is a small town in the West Champaran district in Bihar.
- The main attraction of this city is the Ashoka Pillar found during excavation which shows the glorious history of the Maurya period.
- Features: The height of the pillar is 32 feet, for which sandstone has been used and there is a circular abacus at the top of the pillar on which the lion statue stands.
Ashoka Pillar of Rampurva
- Location: The archaeological site of Rampurva is located in the West Champaran district of Bihar, near border with Nepal.
- Pillars and capitals: The site is famous for the two capitals of a pair of Ashoka Pillars discovered in 1876 by C. L. Carlleyle.
- Lion capital: The pillar with lion capital is inscribed with the Major Pillar Edicts of Ashoka.
- Its abacus is adorned with clockwise-flying geese (hamsa), symbolizing spiritual liberation.
- Bull capital: The Rampurva bull capital is noted as one of the seven remaining animal capitals from the Pillars of Ashoka.
- It is composed of a lotiform base, with an abacus decorated with floral designs, and the realistic depiction of a zebu bull.
- The abacus in particular displays a strong influence of Greek art: it is composed of honeysuckles alternated with stylized palmettes and small rosettes.
- The lion capital is now in the Indian Museum in Kolkata, while the bull capital is located at the center of the porch of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indian Presidential Palace.
