The symbol is part of the government of India's official letterhead, and also appears on all Indian currency. It also works in many places as India's national emblem, and appears prominently on Indian passports. On its base the Ashoka Chakra (wheel) features in the center of India's national flag.
Under the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Inappropriate Usage) Act, 2005, the use of the emblem is limited and prohibited, under which no person or private entity is permitted to use the emblem for official correspondence.
The actual capital of Sarnath features four Asian lions standing back and forth, symbolizing power, courage, trust and pride, mounted on a circular base. There is a horse and a bull at the bottom, and a wheel (Dharma chakra) at its centre. The abacus is girded with a frieze of high relief sculptures of The Lion of the North, The Horse of the West, The Bull of the South and The Elephant of the East, separated by wheels, over a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying life's fountainhead and creative inspiration. The polished capital is crowned with the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra), carved from a single block of sandstone.
Just three lions are visible in the finally adopted logo, the fourth being concealed from view. In the center of the abacus, the wheel appears in relief, with a bull on the right and a galloping horse on the left, and outlines of Dharma Chakras on the left and right. Right beneath the abacus are a horse and a bull. The bull stands for hard work and steadfastness while the horse stands for loyalty, speed and energy. It omitted the bell-shaped lotus beneath the abacus.
The motto engraved under the abacus in the Devanagari script forms an integral part of the emblem: Satyameva Jayate (Sanskrit: "Truth alone triumphs;" lit. "Truth alone triumphs"). This is a quotation from Mundaka Upanishad, the final part of the sacred Hindu Vedas.