What is the classical feature of Ashokan pillars?
They had capitals topped with lion sculptures.
Ashokan pillars, erected by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, are tall monolithic columns of highly polished Chunar sandstone. Their most celebrated feature is the animal capital at the top, the finest being the Lion Capital of Sarnath with four back-to-back lions, which is now India's national emblem.
Other capitals carry a single lion (Lauriya Nandangarh, Vaishali) or a bull (Rampurva). The pillars are found mainly in north India along trade and pilgrimage routes, not only in the south; they were carved from stone, not bronze and silver; and they carried Ashoka's edicts on dhamma rather than serving as fire altars.
Hence, the classical feature of Ashokan pillars is that they had capitals topped with lion sculptures.
Important Questions from Mauryan Empire
Which of the following is not correctly matched ?
Which of the following Ashokan inscriptions indicates that he did not abolish the Capital Punishment?
Who of the following had first deciphered the edicts of Emperor Ashoka?
Ashoka was ruler of which of the following dynasty?
With the reference of Srilankan literature which are the sources for knowing Mauryan Literature ?
