Lauriya Areraj Ashokan Pillar

The Lauriya Areraj Ashokan Pillar is a Mauryan-era monolithic sandstone pillar located in Lauriya village near Areraj town in East Champaran district, Bihar. Erected by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, it stands about 11.5 metres tall and bears six Major Pillar Edicts inscribed in Brahmi script. Protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, it is one of the best-preserved Ashokan pillars and an important Buddhist heritage site in northern Bihar.

Visitors can expect to see a tall, highly polished single-stone sandstone pillar standing in an open, fenced compound near Areraj town. The pillar is about 11.5 metres high with a plain shaft tapering upwards, inscribed with Ashokan edicts in Brahmi script. The lion capital originally atop the pillar is now absent. The site is quiet and open with agricultural fields around, information boards explaining the edicts, and space to walk around and view the inscriptions at close range.

Erected by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, the Lauriya Areraj pillar is one of the surviving Pillars of Ashoka. Made of polished Chunar sandstone, it carries six Major Pillar Edicts inscribed in Brahmi script that propagate Ashoka's principles of dhamma, moral conduct and administration after his embrace of Buddhism. It is a protected monument of the Archaeological Survey of India and represents Mauryan art and epigraphy.

The pillar is an important Buddhist heritage site and a symbol of Ashoka's patronage of Buddhism. The edicts inscribed on it are significant for understanding early Indian script, language and ethical teachings. It is revered as part of Bihar's ancient Buddhist circuit and attracts visitors interested in Mauryan history and Buddhist culture.