The Rampurva capitals are the

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of a pair of Ashoka Pillars discovered in by A. C. L. Carlleyle. The archaeological site is called Rampurva, and is located in the West Champaran district of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, situated very close to the border with

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. The lion capital is now in the

Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...

Kolkota Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

, while the bull capital is located at the center of the porch of the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

, the Indian Presidential Palace.

Buddhist significance

Waddell Waddell may refer to: Places * Waddell, Arizona ** New Waddell Dam, on the Agua Fria River * Waddell Barnes Botanical Gardens, Macon, Georgia * Waddell Creek, a stream in California * E. E. Waddell Language Academy, Charlotte, North Carolina * ...

in 1896 suggested that the death or

parinirvana In Buddhism, ''parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') is commonly used to refer to nirvana-after-death, which occurs upon the death of someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth a ...

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

was in the region of Rampurva: "I believe that Kusīnagara, where the Buddha died may be ultimately found to the North of

Bettiah Bettiah is a city and administrative headquarters of West Champaran district ( Tirhut Division) - (Tirhut), near Indo-Nepal border, north-west of Patna, in Bihar state of India. History In 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahmin of ...

, and in the line of the Açōka pillars which lead hither from

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

(Pāțaliputra)." Modern scholarship, based on archaeological evidence, believes that the Buddha died in Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh).

Rampurava lion capital

The lion pillar is inscribed with the Major Pillar Edicts of the

Edicts of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expres ...

, Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI.''Buddhist architecture, Huu Phuoc Le, Grafikol, 201
p.36-40
/ref>

Rampurva bull capital

The Rampurva bull capital is noted as one of the seven remaining animal

from the Pillars of Ashoka. It is composed of a lotiform base, with an abacus decorated with floral designs, and the realistic depiction of a zebu bull. The abacus in particular displays a strong influence of

Greek art Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods (with further developments during the Hellenistic Period). It absorbed influences of ...

: it is composed of

honeysuckles Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both conti ...

alternated with stylized

palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...

s and small rosettes. A similar kind of capital can be seen at the basis of the

Sankassa Sankissa (also Sankasia, Sankassa and Sankasya) was an ancient city in India. The city came into prominence at the time of Gautama Buddha. According to a Buddhist source, it was thirty leagues from Savatthi.''Dhammapadatthakathā'', iii, 224 Af ...

elephant capital. A similar frieze is also visible on the

Diamond throne The Vajrasana (; ''diamond throne''), or Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha, is an ancient stone slab located under the Bodhi tree, directly beside the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. The slab is thought to have been placed at Bodhgayā by emp ...

built by Ashoka at

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...

. These design likely originated in Greek and Near-Eastern arts."Buddhist Architecture" by Huu Phuoc Le, Grafikol, 2010, p.4

/ref> The bull is without inscriptions, presumably because its twin pillar, the Rampurava lion pillar already had them and therefore there was no need to repeat. It is thought that the bull symbol is not related to the bull Nandi (bull), Nandi of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, as Ashoka was quite eclectic in his choice of animals for his pillars anyway: lions, elephants, camels, geese, and horses are known. File:Rampurva Pillar excavation 1877.jpg, Rampurva pillar excavation 1877. File:Rampurva pillars.jpg, Remains of the pillars today. File:Original Rampurva bull at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New delhi, India.jpg, Original Rampurva bull up the stairs of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

References

{{reflist Monumental columns in India Indian inscriptions History of Bihar Mauryan art Archaeological sites in Bihar Sculptures from Bihar

Buddhist significance

Rampurava lion capital

Rampurva bull capital

See also

References