"Ashoka Chakra" on the base of "Lion Capital of Ashoka" which has been adopted as the National Emblem of India. The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four "Indian lions" standing back to back. It was originally placed atop the Ashoka pillar at Sarnath.(Ashoka was an Indian emperor, of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled from from 273 BC to 232 BC). This Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath has been adopted as the National Emblem of India and the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the center of the National Flag of India.

The wheel - "Ashoka Chakra" has 24 spokes and each spoke depicts one hour of the day, portraying the prevalence of righteousness all the 24 hour of it.

The significance of the colours and the chakra in the National Flag was amply described by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan(who later became the first Vice President of India) in the Constituent Assembly which unanimously adopted the National Flag. Dr. S.Radhakrishnan, described:

"Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation of disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to soil, our relation to the plant life here on which all other life depends. The Ashoka Wheel in the center of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principles of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change."