A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c9.s1.22

c9.s1.22

The magnificent Sārnāth capital discovered in 1905, unquestionably the best extant specimen of Asokan sculpture, was executed late in the reign between 242 and 232 B. C. (Plate XIII). The column was erected to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha first 'turned the wheel of the law', or in plain English, publicly preached his doctrine. The symbolism of the figures, whether in the round or in relief, all refers to the commemoration of that event for the benefit of the Church Universal. The four lions standing back to back on the abacus once supported a stone wheel, two feet nine inches in diameter, of which only fragments remain.³