Ashoka Chakra - Wikipedia Ashoka Chakra This article is about the symbol. For the military decoration, see Ashoka Chakra ( military decoration ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2011 ) Illustration of the Ashoka Chakra, as depicted on the flag of India. Depiction of a chakravartin, possibly Ashoka, with a 16 - spoked wheel ( 1st century BCE / CE ) The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the dharmachakra ; represented with 24 spokes. It is so called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka, most prominent among which is the Lion Capital of Ashoka. The most visible use of the Ashoka Chakra today is at the centre of the Flag of India ( adopted on 22 July 1947 ), where it is rendered in a navy blue colour on a white background, replacing the symbol of charkha ( spinning wheel ) of the pre-independence versions of the flag. India 's highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self - sacrifice away from the battlefield is also called Ashoka Chakra. Symbolic history When Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, he came to Sarnath, on the outskirts of Varanasi. There, he found his five disciples Assaji, Mahānāma, Kondañña, Bhaddiya and Vappa, who had earlier abandoned him. He introduced his first teachings to them, thereby establishing the dharmachakra. This is the motive taken up by Ashoka and portrayed on top of his pillars. However, 12 out of the 24 spokes represent the twelve causal links taught by the Buddha and pratītyasamutpāda ( conditional arising ). The first 12 spokes represent 12 stages of suffering. Next 12 spokes represent no cause no effect. So, due to awareness of mind, formation of mental conditioning stops. This process stops the process of birth and death i.e. nibbana. The twelve causal links, paired with their corresponding symbols, are : Avidyā ignorance Sanskāra conditioning of mind unknowingly Vijñāna consciousness Nāmarūpa name and form ( constituent elements of mental and physical existence ) Ṣaḍāyatana six senses ( eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind ) Sparśa contact Vedanā sensation Tṛṣṇā thirst Upādāna grasping Bhava coming to be Jāti being born Jarāmaraṇa old age and death -- corpse being carried. These 12 in reverse represent a total 24 spokes representing the dharma. Notes Jump up ^ See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede ( 1921 -- 25 ), p. 149 ; and, Gombrich ( 2005 ). Jump up ^ See Rhys Davids & Stede ( 1921 -- 25 ), p. 279, entry for `` Jarā, '' retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from `` U. Chicago '' at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1721.pali. More than simply `` old age, '' the PED provides the additional meanings of `` decay, decrepitude '' ; and, these additional translations are reflected in the Buddha 's reputed words in the Jarā Sutta ( below ). However, for the sake of semantic conciseness, the compound term jarā - maraṇa is here represented as `` old age and death. '' Jump up ^ See Rhys Davids & Stede ( 1921 -- 25 ), p. 524, entry for `` Maraṇa, '' retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from `` U. Chicago '' at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:3896.pali. The PED further contextualizes maraṇa with `` death, as ending this ( visible ) existence, physical death... '' That is, in Buddhism, maraṇa does not refer to death of the conscious process or the end of the associated suffering. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ashoka_Chakra&oldid=813131555 '' Categories : Indian culture National symbols of India Memorials to Ashok Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2016 Articles with permanently dead external links Articles needing additional references from May 2011 All articles needing additional references Use dmy dates from May 2011 Use Indian English from December 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Talk About Wikipedia অসমীয়া বাংলা Čeština Ελληνικά Español فارسی Galego ગુજરાતી हिन्दी ಕನ್ನಡ Magyar മലയാളം मराठी नेपाली Português తెలుగు Edit links This page was last edited on 1 December 2017, at 23 : 39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: number of spokes in the wheel of indian flag
Answer: 24 spokes