2 The National Emblem symbolizes an ideal Indian citizen. Why?
4. Write a short note on our National Animal.
Answers
Answer:
2)The National Emblem commands high respect and is used only for official purposes and events of national importance. It appears on all Government’s official letterheads, Indian currency, and passports. It is the official seal of the state governments and even the President of India. Even our country is recognised at an international level through the Emblem.
4) An emblem by definition is “a heraldic device or symbolic object as a distinctive badge of a nation, organization, or family”. The national emblem of a country is a seal that is reserved for official use by the state. For a country, the national emblem is a symbol of authority and represents the basis of its constitutional philosophy.
The national emblem of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital atop the Ashoka Pillar of Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, and is combined with the National Motto Satyameva Jayate. The Lion Capital was adopted as the National Emblem of India on January 26, 1950. It was a declaration of the newly acquired Republic status of India. The National Emblem is used for official purposes only and demands sincere respect from the citizens of India. It acts as the official seal for all national and state government offices and is the compulsory part of any letterhead used by the government. It features prominently on all currency notes as well as on diplomatic identification documents like the passports issued by the Republic of India. The national Emblem is the symbol of sovereignty for India.
Description
The National Emblem is the graphic representation of the Lion Capital that originally graced the top of the Ashok Stambh or Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath, along with the National Motto written below it. The Lion Capital crowning the Ashok Pillar is carved out of a single block of yellow sand stone and features four Asiatic Lions sitting back to back, but the two dimensional representation of National Emblem depicts only 3, the fourth lion is hidden from view. The four lions stand on a short cylindrical base that has four Ashok Chakras corresponding to each lion bust and reliefs of four more animals in between them – the lion, the bull, the elephant and the galloping horse. In the 2D form of the National Emblem, only one Ashok Chakra is visible in the front with the galloping horse on the left and the bull on the right of it.The Ashok Chakra is actually a form of the Buddhist Dharma Chakra. The actual Lion Capital sits on an inverted lotus abacus which has not been included in the National Emblem representation. Instead, below the representation of the Lion Capital, the words Satyameva Jayate is written in Devnagari Script, which is also the National Motto of India. The words are a quote from Mundaka Upanishad, the last and most philosophical of the four Vedas and is translated as ‘Truth alone triumphs’.
The history behind the National Emblem’s inspiration dates back to the 3rd Century BC. The third Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka was a great conqueror and he established the first true empire in India. Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism after witnessing the endless bloodshed his quests wrought over the country. Thereafter, instead of conquests and wars, he made non-violence, spiritualism, compassion and peaceful co-existence the cornerstones of his administration. He erected a number of sculptures and stone carvings throughout his kingdom to preach the tenets of Buddhism among his people. The Lion Capital was erected by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during the year 250 BC to mark the spot where Buddha imparted his knowledge of Dharma to his five disciples, who in turn spread the great monk’s teachings all over the world. Many such other pillars were erected by the Emperor but most of them contain a single animal on top.
The pillar had originally sunk into the ground and wasn’t visible. German-born civil engineer Friedrich Oscar Oertel started excavation of the area following the accounts of Chinese travellers during the medieval age. The excavations started in December 1904 and ended in April 1905. He unearthed the Ashoka Pillar of Sarnath in March 1905 and the whole pillar was found in three sections. The topmost Lion Capital was found intact and is currently displayed in the Sarnath Museum.
Symbolism
The Ashoka Pillar and the Lion capital on top of it were built by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha first disseminated his ‘Bodhi’ to disciples. His gospel of peace, tolerance and emancipation from worldly attachments became the basis of life of penance when he embraced Buddhism. By adopting this sculpture as the National Emblem, the Republic of India recognizes its allegiance to the philosophies of Buddha, attested the positive changes Ashoka brought to his kingdom and reaffirms its commitment towards upholding peace and tolerance.