Question

The Lion Capital at Sarnath was constructed under the patronage of which king?
1. Harsha
2. Chandra gupta
3. Ashoka
4. Kanishka

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Ashoka

The correct answer is Ashoka.

• The Lion Capital at Sarnath was constructed under the patronage of Ashoka king.

• The Lion Capital was originally a part of the pillar constructed by Ashoka, the great emperor of the Mauryan dynasty.
  • The Lion Capital was discovered more than a hundred years ago at Sarnath, near Varanasi.
  • It is generally referred to as Sarnath Lion Capital.
  • It is one of the finest examples of sculpture from the Mauryan period and was built by Ashoka in commemoration of ‘Dhammachakrapravartana’ or the first sermon of Buddha.
• The capital has four Asiatic lions seated back to back and their facial muscularity is very strong.
  • Abacus (drum on the bell base) has the depiction of a chakra (wheel) in all four directions and a bull, a horse, an elephant and a lion between every chakra.
  • Each chakra has 24 spokes in it.
• The capital was adopted as the National Emblem of India after independence without the crowning wheel and the lotus base.