Ashoka_Chakra.pdf

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Illustration of the Ashoka Chakra,

as depicted on the National flag of

the Republic of India.

Depiction of a Chakravartin, possibly

Ashoka, with a 16-spoked wheel (1st

century BCE/CE)

Ashoka ChakraFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the Buddhist Dharmachakra,

represented with 24 spokes. It is so called because it appears on a

number of edicts of Ashoka, most prominent among which is the

Lion Capital of Sarnath.

The most visible use of the Ashoka Chakra today is at the centre of

the National flag of the Republic of India (adopted on 22 July

1947), where it is rendered in a Navy-blue colour on a White

background, by replacing the symbol ofCharkha (Spinning wheel)

of the pre-independence versions of the flag.

According to Hindu religion, Puranas mentioned that only 29 Rishis

wielded the whole power of the Gayatri Mantra. These 24 rishi in

Himalayas are represented through the 24 letters of Gayatri Mantra.

The all the 24 spokes of Dharmachakra are representation of all

these 200 rishi of Himalayas in which Vishvamitra is first and

Yajnavalkya is last who governs the religion (Dharma). Ashok

Chakra is symbol of Dharmchakra and also known as Samay

Chakra in which all the 24 spokes represented 24 hours of the

day and symbol of the movement of the time.

When Buddha achieved nirvana (Enlightenment) at Gaya, he

came to Sarnath on the outskirts of Varanasi. There He found his

five disciples (panch vargiya Bhikshu) Ashwajeet, Mahanaam,

Kaundinya, Bhadrak and Kashyap, who had earlier abandoned

him. He preached his first sermon to them, thereby promulgating

the Dharmachakra. This is the motif taken up by Ashoka and

portrayed on top of his pillars. This is the origin of the chakra in

the Indian flag and it asserts the strong ties of India with the

Buddhist faith. It is also known as Bhavachakra.

However, the 12 out of 24 spokes represent the twelve causal

links taught by The Buddha. The twelve causal links, paired withtheir corresponding symbols, are:

Avidylack of knowledge - a blind person, often walking, or a person peering out1.Saskra constructive volitional activity - a potter shaping a vessel or vessels2.Vijna consciousness - a man or a monkey grasping a fruit3.Nmarpa name and form (constituent elements of mental and physical existence) - two menafloat in a boat

4.

ayatana six senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) - a dwelling with six windows5.Spara contact- lovers consorting, kissing, or entwined6.

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Vedanpain - an arrow to the eye7.Ta thirst- a drinker receiving drink8.

Updna grasping[1] - a man or a monkey picking fruit9.Bhava coming to be - a couple engaged in intercourse, a standing, leaping or reflective person10.Jti being born - woman giving birth11.

Jarmaraa old age[2] and death[3] - corpse being carried12.

These 12 in reverse represent a total 24 spokes representing the Life-The Dhamma(Pali).

24 Spokes of Ashok Chakra according Hindu religion:

1. Love

2. Courage

3. Patience

4. Peacefulness

5. Magnanimity

6. Goodness

7. Faithfulness

8. Gentleness

9. Selflessness

10. Self-Control

11. Self Sacrifice

12. Truthfulness

13. Righteousness

14. Justice

15. Mercy

16. Gracefulness

17. Humility

18. Empathy

19. Sympathy

20.Spiritual Knowledge




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21. Moral Values

22. Spiritual Wisdom

23. The Fear of God

24. Faith or Belief or Hope

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President, described the flag as follows:

Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation of disinterestedness. Our leaders mustbe indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work.

The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct.

The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all

other life depends.

The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truthor satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under thisflag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life inmovement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel

represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.[4]

See also

ChakravartinLion Capital of AshokaNational Emblem of IndiaNational Flag of India

BhavachakraThe Buddha and His Dhamma

Notes

^ See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 149; and, Gombrich (2005).1.^ See Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 279, entry for "Jar," retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "U. Chicago" athttp://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1721.pali . More than simply "old age," thePED provides the additional meanings of "decay, decrepitude"; and, these additional translations are reflectedin the Buddha's reputed words in the Jar Sutta (below). However, for the sake of semantic conciseness, thecompound term jar-maraa is here represented as "old age and death."

2.

^ See Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 524, entry for "Maraa," retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "U.Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:3896.pali . The PED furthercontextualizes maraa with "death, as ending this (visible) existence, physical death...." That is, inBuddhism, maraa does not refer to death of the conscious process or the end of the associated suffering.

3.

^ http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf4.

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