Rock Edict Monument

Ashoka, about 260 BC
Dhauli, near Bhubaneshvar

Seen face-on from below, the Ashokan elephant appears truly monumental, although it is actually only four feet high! This is one of the oldest sculptures in India; its preservation out in the open, exposed to all conditions of weather, seems almost miraculous.

Elephants are royal animals as well as symbols of Buddhism (recall that Buddha's conception was depicted in art by a dream of his mother, Maya, in which a white elephant entered her womb); both royal and religious meanings clearly apply here.