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The Wheel at the Centre: The Ashoka Chakra

Minimal art of the Ashoka Chakra disc ringed by sweeping saffron and green arcs

The wheel of the law

Reduced to a disc and two arcs, the flag still speaks. This composition floats the 24-spoke wheel on white and lets one saffron ring and one green ring orbit it — the whole tricolour implied by geometry alone.

The wheel has earned the spotlight. It is the Dharma Chakra of Emperor Ashoka, taken from the Lion Capital he raised at Sarnath in the third century BCE — the “wheel of the law” that has turned at the flag’s centre since 1947. Its colour is as exact as its spokes: the specifications fix it in navy blue under IS 1803.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the Ashoka Chakra come from?

From the Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka at Sarnath — it is the Dharma Chakra, the ancient wheel of the law, placed at the flag’s centre in 1947.

How many spokes does the Ashoka Chakra have, and what colour is it?

Twenty-four spokes, and the specifications fix its colour as navy blue under IS 1803.

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