Editing Architecture of India (section)

==== Pillars of Ashoka ====
{{multiple image
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| image1 = N-BR-39 Ashokan Pillar Vaishali (8).jpg
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| caption1 = [[Pillars of Ashoka|Ashokan Pillar]] in [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]]
| image2 = Naxos Sphinx with humans for size.jpg
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| caption2 = [[Sphinx of Naxos]] at [[Delphi]]
}}The [[Pillars of Ashoka]] were built during the reign of the [[Maurya Empire]] [[Ashoka]] c. 250 BCE. They were new attempts at mastering stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period.

There are altogether seven remaining capitals, five with lions, one with an elephant and one with a [[zebu]] bull. One of them, the four lions of [[Sarnath]], has become the [[State Emblem of India]].

The animal capitals are composed of a [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotiform]] base, with an [[Abacus (architecture)|abacus]] decorated with floral, symbolic or animal designs, topped by the realistic depiction of an animal, thought to each represent a traditional direction in India. Greek columns of the 6th century BCE such as the [[Sphinx of Naxos]], a {{convert|12.5|m|adj=on}} Ionic column crowned by a sitting animal in the religious centre of [[Delphi]], may have been an inspiration for the pillars of Ashoka.

===== Flame palmette =====
The [[flame palmette]], central decorative element of the Pataliputra pillar is considered as a purely Greek motif. The first appearance of "flame palmettes" goes back to the stand-alone floral [[Acroterion|akroteria]] of the [[Parthenon]] (447–432 BCE), and slightly later at the [[Temple of Athena Nike]].

Flame palmettes were then introduced into friezes of floral motifs in replacement of the regular palmette. Flame palmettes are used extensively in India floral friezes, starting with the floral friezes on the capitals of the pillar of Ashoka, and they are likely to have originated with Greek or Near Eastern art. A monumental flame palmette can be seen on the top of the [[Sunga]] gateway at [[Bharhut]].