Allahabad Pillar
The Ashoka Pillar at Allahabad in c. 1870 possibly sporting the lion capital fashioned by Captain Edward Smith in 1838.
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| Coordinates | 25°25′52″N 81°52′30″E / 25.43111°N 81.87500°ECoordinates: 25°25′52″N 81°52′30″E / 25.43111°N 81.87500°E |
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| Location | Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Type | Pillar |
| Material | Sandstone |
| Width | 35 inches (0.9 m) |
| Height | 35 feet (10.7 m) |
| Completion date | c. 3rd century BCE |
The Allahabad pillar is an Ashoka Stambha, one of the pillars of Ashoka, an emperor of the Maurya dynasty who reigned in the 3rd century BCE. While it is one of the few extant pillars that carry his edicts, it is particularly notable for containing later inscriptions attributed to the Gupta emperor, Samudragupta (4th century CE). Also engraved on the stone are inscriptions by the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, from the 17th century.
At some point of time, the pillar was moved from its original location and installed within Akbar's Allahabad Fort in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. As the fort is now occupied by the Indian Army, the public are only allowed limited access to the premises and special permission is required to view the pillar.
The Allahabad Pillar is a single shaft of polished sandstone standing 35 feet (10.7 m) high. It has a lower diameter of 35 inches (0.9 m) and an upper diameter of 26 inches (0.7 m). The customary lotiform bell-shaped capital seen in the other Ashoka Pillars is lost as is whichever statue mounted it. However the abacus, adorned by a graceful scroll of alternate lotus and honeysuckle
, that the statue must have rested upon, was found nearby. Cunningham believed that the capital must have been mounted by a single lion. The abacus is almost identical to the one found on the pillar at Sankasya suggesting proximate erection dates.
The Ashokan inscriptions suggest that the pillar was first erected at Kaushambi, an ancient town some 30 kilometres west of its current location which was then the capital of the kingdom of Koshala. It was moved to Allahabad much later when the region came under Muslim rule. The presence of another broken pillar at Kaushambi near the ruins of the Ghoshitarama monastery has led some to believe that the Allahabad Pillar might have been one of a pair, not unlike the ones discovered at Rampurva.
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