Lauriya Nandangarh pillar
Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Lauriya Nandangarh pillar is a pillar from Ashoka's time in West Champaran, Bihar. It is a single tall shaft of polished sandstone. It still stands where it was first set up, with its capital (carved top) whole. The capital is one lion sitting on its haunches. Below the lion is a band of geese. The shaft carries Ashoka's Pillar Edicts I to VI. It matters because it is one of the best-preserved Mauryan pillars, showing the high Mauryan polish.
Example
At Lauriya Nandangarh, the pillar stands near a large stupa mound (a mound built over a stupa, a Buddhist monument). Visitors can still read Ashoka's six Pillar Edicts on it in Brahmi script, carved in the 3rd century BCE.
Don't confuse with
- Lauriya Araraj pillar: another Ashokan pillar in Bihar's Champaran region with Pillar Edicts. It has lost its capital.
- Vaishali lion pillar: also topped by a single lion, but it has no Ashokan edict.