As noted in the background introduction, the wheel symbolized the moral power of a great king; and for Buddhists it became the primary symbol for the Buddha’s dharma, or teaching, regarding the nature of reality. As mentioned earlier, figures surround the wheel, standing with their hands folded. The lower of the two images, which includes (though not clearly distinguishable in this image) several deer at the bottom of the pole, most likely shows worship at the famous “deer park” at Sarnath in northern India, where the Buddha gave his first sermon after his enlightenment.