Ashoka all fish and castration of animals during certain periods such as Chaturmasa and Uposatha. Ashoka also abolished the royal hunting of animals and restricted the slaying of animals for food in the royal residence. Because he banned hunting, created many veterinary clinics and eliminated meat eating on many holidays, the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka has been described as "one of the very few instances in world history of a government treating its animals as citizens who are as deserving of its protection as the human residents". The Ashoka Chakra (the wheel of Ashoka) is a depiction of the Dharmachakra (the
Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) the edge. Reverse: Blank in the center, with "Ashoka Chakra" in Hindi along the upper edge on the medal and the same name in English along the lower rim. On either side is a lotus design. The center is blank, perhaps with the intent that details of the award be engraved there. There is no indication of the class on the pre-1967 awards, and, in fact, there is no difference between these medals & the post-1967 awards. Ribbon: 32 mm, dark green with a 2 mm central saffron stripe. To date, 84 people have been awarded the "Ashoka Chakra".</small> Ashoka