Lion Capital pillar of Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) at Sarnath

Last updated on 8th July 2022

First about the pillars of Emperor Ashoka from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Ashoka :

The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c.  268 to 232 BCE.[2] Ashoka used the expression Dhaṃma thaṃbhā (Dharma stambha), i.e. "pillars of the Dharma" to describe his own pillars.[3][4] These pillars constitute important monuments of the architecture of India, most of them exhibiting the characteristic Mauryan polish. Of the pillars erected by Ashoka, twenty still survive including those with inscriptions of his edicts. Only a few with animal capitals survive of which seven complete specimens are known.[5] 

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Averaging between 12 and 15 m (40 and 50 ft) in height, and weighing up to 50 tons each, the pillars were dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected.[8]

[References:]

2. Bisschop, Peter C.; Cecil, Elizabeth A. (May 2019). Copp, Paul; Wedemeyer, Christian K. (eds.). "Columns in Context: Venerable Monuments and Landscapes of Memory in Early India". History of Religions. University of Chicago Press for the University of Chicago Divinity School. 58 (4): 355–403. doi:10.1086/702256. ISSN 0018-2710. JSTOR 00182710. LCCN 64001081. OCLC 299661763.

3. Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch (in Sanskrit). 1925. p. 132, Edict No 7 line 23.

4. Skilling, Peter (1998). Mahasutras. Pali Text Society. p. 453. ISBN 9780860133209.

5. Himanshu Prabha Ray (7 August 2014). The Return of the Buddha: Ancient Symbols for a New Nation. Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 9781317560067.

8. "KING ASHOKA: His Edicts and His Times". www.cs.colostate.edu. Retrieved 29 October 2017.

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Now about the Lion Capital pillar at Sarnath. Extracts from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Capital_of_Ashoka :

The Lion Capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four Asiatic lions standing back to back, on an elaborate base that includes other animals. A graphic representation of it was adopted as the official Emblem of India in 1950.[1] It was originally placed on the top of the Ashoka pillar by the Emperor Ashoka, in about 250 BCE during his rule over the Maurya Empire. The pillar, sometimes called the Aśoka Column, is still in its original location, but the Lion Capital is now in the Sarnath Museum, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

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The capital is carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, and was always a separate piece from the column itself. It features four Asiatic Lions standing back to back. They are mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull, and a lion, separated by intervening spoked chariot-wheels. The lion is symoblic of the 24th Tirthankara Mahavira's symbol — the lion. Further, the Bull, the Elephant and the Horse are sequentially symbolic of the first three Tirthankaras — Rishabhanatha, Ajitanatha and Sambhavanatha respectively. The whole sits upon a bell-shaped lotus. The capital was originally crowned by a 'Wheel of Dharma' (Dharmachakra popularly known in India as the "Ashoka Chakra"), with 24 spokes, of which a few fragments were found on the site.[3] A 13th-century replica of the Sarnath pillar and capital in Wat Umong near Chiang Mai, Thailand built by King Mangrai, preserves its crowning Ashoka Chakra or Dharmachakra.[4] The wheel on the capital, below the lions, is the model for the one in the flag of India.

[References:]

1. State Emblem, Know India, india.gov.in.

3. Allen, caption at start of Chapter 15.

4. "Wat Umong Chiang Mai". Thailand's World. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.

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So while now the pillar and Lion Capital at Sarnath are separated, when it was first put up by Emperor Ashoka, it was a pillar with the Lion Capital on top of it. So I think it is OK to use the term 'Lion Capital pillar of Emperor Ashoka'.

Pic of Lion Capital at Sarnath (excluding pillar): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Sarnath_capital.jpg

Video: Lion Capital of Ashoka At Sarnath Archaeological Museum Near Varanasi India, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6v3YtLOP6M , 1 min. 49 secs., published on 27th Oct. 2018.

Pic of Ashoka pillar at Vaishali, Bihar (with pillar and animal capital): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Ashoka_pillar_at_Vaishali%2C_Bihar%2C_India.jpg .

For readers who may not know it, Sarnath was where Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarnath , http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/sarnath.htm .

[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]