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India National Emblem

The Government of India adopted the State Emblem on 26 January 1950 from the Sarnath lion Capital of Ashoka. Originally there are four lions standing back to back mounted on an abacus. However, only three lions are visible in the state emblem, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel (wheel of the law) appears in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and 1eft.
The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad meaning “Truth Alone Triumphs’ are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

In the original of Sarnath Capital, there are lour lions, standing back to back, mounted on abacus with a frieze carrying sculpture in High relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels (chakras) over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).

The emblem forms a part of the official letterhead of the Government of India, and appears on all Indian currency as well. It also sometimes functions as the

national emblem of India in many places and appears prominently on the diplomatic and national Passport of the Republic of India.

The magnificent Peacock is the National Bird of India.

The peacock, perhaps the most beautiful among the male birds is admired for its glistering long blue neck and fan shape crest. The bird has a significant place in Indian legends, literature, folklores and love songs. The courtship dance of the peacock, particularly during the rainy seasons, is indeed spectacular

The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus (Linnaeus), is the national bird of India. The Peacock enjoys full protection from extinction under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act; 1972 as it is never molested for religious or sentimental reasons.

The male of the species is more colourful than the female with glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green train of around 200 elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and it lacks the train.

These birds do not sound as beautiful as they look - they have a loud and coarse call. They move in-groups and they are normally spotted in the forests, villages and nearby fields. They are shy in nature. It feeds on lizards, snakes, grains and insects.
The elaborate courtship dance of the male by fanning out the tail and quivering the feathers is a gorgeous sight. The peacock is widely found in the Indian sub-continent from the south and east of the Indus river, Jammu and Kashmir, east to Assam, south to Mizoram and the whole of the Indian peninsula.