The emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, an ancient sculpture dating back to 280 BCE during the Maurya Empire.

It is based on the Lion Capital of Ashoka, a sculpture that was originally erected at the Sarnath, a place where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, now in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Following the end of British rule on 15 August 1947, the newly independent Dominion of India adopted an official state emblem on 30 December 1947.

[5] On 26 January 1950, a representation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka placed above the motto, Satyameva Jayate, was adopted as the State Emblem of India.

[6] The emblem forms a part of the official letterhead of the Government of India and appears on all Indian currency as well.

The abacus is girded with a frieze of sculptures in high relief of The Lion of the North, The Horse of the West, The Bull of the South and The Elephant of the East, separated by intervening wheels, over a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration.

[7] Forming an integral part of the emblem is the motto inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script: Satyameva Jayate (Sanskrit: सत्यमेव जयते; lit.

Some of the autonomous district councils established by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India have also adopted an official emblem.