Lion Capital of Ashoka

E25488

capital (architecture) national emblem sculpture

The Lion Capital of Ashoka is an ancient Mauryan sandstone sculpture from Sarnath featuring four back-to-back lions, revered as a symbol of power, courage, and the spread of Dharma in India.

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All labels observed (8)

Label	Occurrences
Lion Capital of Ashoka canonical	10
Ashoka emblem	3
Sarnath Lion Capital	2
Ashoka Lion Capital	1
Ashoka Pillar Lion Capital	1
Lion Capital of Ashoka (from 1949)	1
Lion Capital of Ashoka (original location)	1
Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T198136 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Lion Capital of Ashoka
Context triple: [State Emblem of India, depicts, Lion Capital of Ashoka]

A. Magan Niwas
Magan Niwas is a historic building within Sabarmati Ashram that served as the residence and workplace of Mahatma Gandhi’s close associate Maganlal Gandhi, often called the ashram’s “soul” for his role in managing its daily activities.
B. Shakti Sthal
Shakti Sthal is a memorial in New Delhi dedicated to former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, marking the site of her cremation.
C. Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri is a 16th-century fortified city in Uttar Pradesh, India, built by the Mughal emperor Akbar and renowned for its grand red sandstone architecture and historical significance as a former imperial capital.
D. India Gate
India Gate is a prominent war memorial in New Delhi, India, commemorating Indian soldiers who died in World War I and other conflicts.
E. Red Fort
The Red Fort is a historic 17th-century sandstone fortress in Delhi, India, that served as the main residence of Mughal emperors and now stands as a prominent symbol of India's heritage and independence.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Lion Capital of Ashoka
Target entity description: The Lion Capital of Ashoka is an ancient Mauryan sandstone sculpture from Sarnath featuring four back-to-back lions, revered as a symbol of power, courage, and the spread of Dharma in India.

A. Magan Niwas
Magan Niwas is a historic building within Sabarmati Ashram that served as the residence and workplace of Mahatma Gandhi’s close associate Maganlal Gandhi, often called the ashram’s “soul” for his role in managing its daily activities.
B. Shakti Sthal
Shakti Sthal is a memorial in New Delhi dedicated to former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, marking the site of her cremation.
C. Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri is a 16th-century fortified city in Uttar Pradesh, India, built by the Mughal emperor Akbar and renowned for its grand red sandstone architecture and historical significance as a former imperial capital.
D. India Gate
India Gate is a prominent war memorial in New Delhi, India, commemorating Indian soldiers who died in World War I and other conflicts.
E. Red Fort
The Red Fort is a historic 17th-century sandstone fortress in Delhi, India, that served as the main residence of Mughal emperors and now stands as a prominent symbol of India's heritage and independence.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	capital (architecture) ⓘ national emblem ⓘ sculpture ⓘ
adoptedAsNationalEmblemBy	India ⓘ
adoptionDateAsNationalEmblem	26 January 1950 ⓘ
appearsOn	Indian currency ⓘ Indian passports ⓘ official documents of the Government of India ⓘ
associatedWith	Buddhism ⓘ Dharma ⓘ
builtDuringReignOf	Ashoka ⓘ
builtInCentury	3rd century BCE ⓘ
country	India ⓘ
creator	Ashoka ⓘ
currentLocation	Archaeological Museum Sarnath ⓘ linked to: Sarnath Museum Sarnath Museum ⓘ
depicts	four back-to-back lions ⓘ four lions ⓘ
discoveredBy	F. O. Oertel ⓘ
discoveryYear	1905 ⓘ
dynasty	Maurya dynasty ⓘ linked to: Maurya Empire
feature	24-spoked wheel ⓘ Ashoka Chakra ⓘ bell-shaped lotus ⓘ bull relief ⓘ cylindrical abacus ⓘ elephant relief ⓘ horse relief ⓘ lion relief ⓘ wheel of Dharma ⓘ
foundIn	Sarnath ⓘ
heritageStatus	National symbol of India ⓘ
inscriptionLanguage	Brahmi script ⓘ
inscriptionType	Ashokan edict ⓘ linked to: Ashokan inscriptions
location	Sarnath ⓘ
material	polished sandstone ⓘ sandstone ⓘ
mountedOn	Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath ⓘ
orientation	lions facing four cardinal directions ⓘ
originalFunction	pillar capital ⓘ
religiousSignificance	Buddhist pilgrimage site context ⓘ
style	Mauryan art ⓘ linked to: Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi
symbolizes	Dharma ⓘ courage ⓘ power ⓘ righteous governance ⓘ sovereignty of India ⓘ spread of Dharma ⓘ
usedAs	National Emblem of India ⓘ linked to: State Emblem of India

How these facts were elicited