The national emblem of Nepal () is the primary symbol used by the

Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal () is the central executive authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The government is led by the Prime Minister of Nepal, prime minister (K. P. Sharma Oli, K.P. Oli since 15 July 2024) who selects all the o ...

and its agencies. Officially adopted on 28 May 2008, the emblem was later modified in 2020 to incorporate a revised political map of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The updated design includes the country's territorial claims over the

Kalapani territory The Kalapani territory is an area under Indian administration as part of Pithoragarh district in the Kumaon Division of the Uttarakhand state, K. C. SharadKalapani's new 'line of control' Nepali Times, 10 September 2004, p. 6 but it is al ...

Lipulekh Pass The Lipulekh Pass () is a Himalayan pass on the border between Uttarakhand, India and the Tibet region of China, near their trijunction with Nepal. Nepal has had ongoing claims to the southern side of the pass, called Kalapani territory, ...

, and

Limpiyadhura Kuthi Valley (or Kuti Valley) is a Himalayan valley situated in the Pithoragarh District, Kumaon division of the Uttarakhand state of India. Located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand at an elevation of , it is the last valley before the border ...

, which were added to Nepal’s official map. This change was reflected in the emblem on 13 June 2020. The emblem features

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

, green hills symbolizing the hilly regions, and the yellow background representing the fertile Terai plains. It also includes the hands of a man and a woman joined together, symbolizing

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

, with a wreath of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

—the national flower—around it. An alternative version of the emblem, used in some instances, presents slight stylistic differences, especially in the depiction of the map and the national flower.

Features

It contains the

flag of Nepal The national flag of Nepal is the world's only non-rectangular symbol which is used as both the National symbol, state and civil flag of a sovereign country. The symbol is a simplified combination of two single pennon, pennants, known as a doubl ...

, green hills symbolising the hilly regions of Nepal and yellow colour symbolising the fertile

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...

region, a man's and a woman's hands joining to symbolise

, and a garland of

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

(the national flower) also called Lali Guransh (). Atop this is a white

silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

in the shape of Nepal.

Motto

At the base of the design a red scroll carries the national motto in (), which translates as 'Mother and Motherland are greater than

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

.'People's Daily Online – Nepal to change new coat of arms
/ref> The phrase below was quoted by

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

when his brother

Lakshmana Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and i ...

expresses desire to stay back in Lanka.

Historical arms

Before 28 May 2008, the modern emblem was preceded by an

arms of dominion Arms of dominion are the arms borne both by a monarch and the state in a monarchy. In this respect they are both the national arms and the arms of the nation's monarch, who is the monarchy's sovereign, and are thus simultaneously the personal ar ...

of the monarch, generally consisting of a white cow, a green

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

, two

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

soldiers (one carrying a

kukri The kukri () or khukuri (, ) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout ...

and a bow; the other a rifle), peaks of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, two crossed Nepalese flags and kukris, the footprints of

Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...

(the guardian deity of the Gurkhas), and the royal headdress. It also contained the same red scroll with the national motto. From 1935 to 1962, the arms also bore the secondary motto in . File:Coat of Arms of Shah dynasty.gif, Coat of arms of the Gorkha Kingdom under the

Shah dynasty The Shah dynasty (), also known as the Shahs of Gorkha or the Royal House of Gorkha, was the ruling Chaubise Thakuri dynasty and the founder of the Gorkha Kingdom from 1559 to 1768 and later the unified Kingdom of Nepal from 1768 to 28 May ...

File:Coat of arms of kingdom of Nepal, 1935.jpg, Coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...

(1935) File:Arms Achievement of Nepal 1935.jpg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Nepal (1935–1946) File:Coat of arms of nepal in 1946.jpg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Nepal (1946–1962) File:Coat of arms of Nepal (1962–2008).svg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Nepal (1962–2008) File:Emblem of Nepal (alternative).svg, Emblem of Nepal (2008-2020)

Subnational emblems

Nepal is divided into seven

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

, each of which have adopted a distinctive emblem.

References

External links

Infos
at indianest.com (archived 17 March 2006) *

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...