india-II

India's National Flag   Tricolor Flag   India's National flag is a tricolor. All the three colors have a great significance. The three colors are at the top, saffron ("kesari") ,in the middle white, and at the bottom, green in equal proportion . The ratio of the width of the flag is two to three. There is a navy blue wheel, ("chakra") in the white band. The wheel, ("chakra") consists of twenty four spokes. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. At one time it was also depicted as Bapuji's charkha. The colours of the flag stand for the 4 P's: Design of the national flag was adopted by the constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947. Its use and display are regulated by a code. India's National Emblem   Ashoka Chakra The National Symbol is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka, who ruled from 272 BC to 232 BC. In the original pillar, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of Law (Dharma Chakra). In the State Emblem adopted by the Government of India on January 26 1950, only three lions are visible, while the fourth is hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left, and the outlines of the other wheels on the extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words "Satyameva Jayate" from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.