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 pre-independence versions of the flag. The Ashoka Chakra can also been seen on the base of the Lion Capital of Ashoka which has been adopted as the National Emblem of India. The Ashoka Chakra was created by Ashoka during his reign. Chakra is a Sanskrit word which also means "cycle" or "self-repeating process". The process it signifies is the cycle of time—as in how the world changes with time. A few days before India became independent in August 1947, the specially-formed Constituent Assembly decided that the flag of India must be acceptable to all parties and communities. A flag with