The
State emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath
Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions,
standing back to back, 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 wheels over a bell-shaped lotus.
Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital is
crowned by the Wheel of the Law -"Dharma
Chakra".
In
the State emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26
January 1950,only three lions are visible, the fourth being
hidden from view. The wheel appears in
relief in the center of the abacus with a bull
on right and a horse on left and the
outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped
lotus has been omitted. The words Satyameva
Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning ‘Truth
Alone Triumphs’, are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari
script.
