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<div>{{short description|Buddhist symbol on the flag of India}}<br />
{{about|the symbol|the military decoration|Ashoka Chakra (military decoration)}}<br />
{{More information needed|date = May 2011}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}<br />
[[File:Ashoka Chakra.svg|right|thumb|200px|Illustration of the [[Ashoka]] Chakra, as depicted on the [[flag of India]].]]<br />
[[File:Indian relief from Amaravati, Guntur. Preserved in Guimet Museum.jpg|thumb|220px|Depiction of a [[chakravartin]], possibly [[Ashoka]], with a 16-spoked wheel (1st century BCE/CE)]]<br />
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The '''Ashoka Chakra''' is a depiction of the [[Dharma Chakra]]; a wheel represented with 24 [[spoke]]s in buddhism. It is so called because it appears on a number of [[edicts of Ashoka]], most prominent among which is the [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-04|title=The 'Lion Capital': a Buddhist symbol that became India's National Emblem|url=https://www.theheritagelab.in/lion-capital-india-national-emblem/|access-date=2020-08-09|website=The Heritage Lab|language=en-GB}}</ref> The most visible use of the Ashoka Chakra today is at the centre of the [[Flag of India]] (adopted on 24 July 1947), where it is rendered in a [[navy blue]] colour on a white background, replacing the symbol of ''[[Charka wheel|charkha]]'' ([[spinning wheel]]) of the pre-independence versions of the flag.<br />
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India's highest peacetime [[Military orders, awards and decorations|military decoration]] awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield is also called [[Ashoka Chakra (military decoration)|Ashoka Chakra]].<br />
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== Symbolic history ==<br />
When [[Gautama Buddha]] achieved [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] at [[Bodh Gaya]], he came to [[Sarnath]]. There, he found his five disciples [[Assaji]], [[Mahanama (arhat)|Mahānāman]], [[Kaundinya|Kondañña]], [[Bhaddiya]] and [[Vāṣpa|Vappa]], who had earlier abandoned him. He introduced his first teachings to them, thereby establishing the [[dharmachakra]]. This is the motive taken up by Ashoka and portrayed on top of his pillars.<br />
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The 24 spokes represent the twelve causal links taught by the Buddha and [[paṭiccasamuppāda]] (Dependent Origination, Conditional Arising) in forward and then reverse order.<ref>Maha Nayaka Thera, http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110710/Plus/plus_10.html, The correct use of the 'Dharmachakra'</ref> The first 12 spokes represent 12 stages of suffering. Next 12 spokes represent no cause no effect. So, due to awareness of mind, formation of mental conditioning stops. This process stops the process of birth and death i.e. nibbāna. It also depicts the “wheel of time” . The twelve causal links, paired with their corresponding symbols, are:<br />
# [[Avidyā (Buddhism)|Avidyā]] ''ignorance''<br />
# [[Asanskāra]] ''conditioning of mind unknowingly''<br />
# [[Avijñāna]] '' not being conscious''<br />
# [[Namarupa|Nāmarūpa]] ''name and form'' (constituent elements of mental and physical existence)<br />
# [[Sadayatana|Ṣalāyatana]] ''six senses'' (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind)<br />
# [[Sparśa]] ''contact''<br />
# [[Vedanā]] ''sensation''<br />
# [[Taṇhā]] ''thirst''<br />
# [[Upādāna]] ''grasping<ref>See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 149; and, Gombrich (2005).</ref>''<br />
# [[Bhava]] ''coming to be''<br />
# [[jati]] ''birth''<br />
# [[Jarāmaraṇa]] ''old age<ref>See Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 279, entry for "Jarā," retrieved 19 November 2008 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1721.pali{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} . More than simply "old age," the PED provides the additional meanings of "decay, decrepitude"; and, these additional translations are reflected in the Buddha's reputed words in the Jarā Sutta (below). However, for the sake of semantic conciseness, the compound term jarā-maraṇa is here represented as "old age and death."</ref> and death<ref>See Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 524, entry for "Maraṇa," retrieved 19 November 2008 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:3896.pali{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} . The PED further contextualizes maraṇa with "death, as ending this (visible) existence, physical death...." That is, in Buddhism, maraṇa does not refer to death of the conscious process or the end of the associated suffering.</ref>'' – ''corpse being carried''.<br />
These 12 in forward and reverse represent a total 24 spokes representing the [[dharma]].<br />
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== Inclusion in the National Flag of India ==<br />
Ashoka Chakra was included in the middle of the national flag of India. The circular Ashoka Chakra illustrates the progressiveness of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-13|title=What is the meaning of 24 spokes of Ashok Chakra?|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/what-is-the-meaning-of-24-spokes-of-ashok-chakra-1502342983-1|access-date=2020-08-09|website=Jagranjosh.com}}</ref>[https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/evolution-indian-flag-independence-day-15th-august-288436-2015-08-15]<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Chakra (disambiguation)]]<br />
* [[Vergina Sun]]<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{reflist|2|refs = Recommended reading http://www.logopie.com/what-makes-ashoka-chakra-a-great-symbol/}}<br />
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[[Category:Indian culture]]<br />
[[Category:National symbols of India]]<br />
[[Category:Memorials to Ashoka]]<br />
[[Category:Ashoka Chakra| ]]</div>2401:4900:376B:30BA:1:2:8984:1EDB