ACHARYA NAGARJUNA UNIVERSITY

ACHARYA NAGARJUNA UNIVERSITY

Buddhist preceptor and Philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna founded a university on the banks of river Krishna some centuries ago and made it a great centre of learning. The university was established by Act 43 of 1976 of Andhra Pradesh State Legislature and Governed by Act 4 of 1991 and has been renamed Acharya Nagarjuna University in 2004. The symbolism of th emblem is based on the concept that all human excellence proceeds from truth and culminates in truth. The vase of plenty (Purna Ghata) is a prototype from the Amaravati sculpture of the early centuries. It stands for material prosperity on the one hand and objective knowledge on the other. Its attributes are sasya (fertility), santana (increase), sampat (prosperity) and samriddhi (plenitude). Its face is Vishnu, the sustainer; its neck is Rudra, the apocalyptic transformer; its base is Brahma, the creator. Arising out of the superabundant water of life sprouting from Purna Ghata and transcending the mundane level, illuminated by the resplendent halo of the sun, is the freshly blossoming lotus. The pool of water (manasa sarovara) symbolises the creative. On the apex are the dharma chakra and the lotus representing the creative readiness of the mind to respond to the summons of the creative evolution symbolised by the solar orb. On the apex are the dharma-chakra (the wheel of eternal law) flanked by harinas (deer), overarched by the visva-padma (the cosmic lotus) flanked by makaras (symbols of the cosmic consciousness). The dharma chakra is reminiscent not only of rita but also of the Buddha's promulgation of the law (dharma chakrapravartana). The deers too have a two fold connotation of beatitude and on the other, the highest point of universal consciousness. The motto, in Telugu ‘సత్యే సర్వం ప్రతిష్టితమ్’ is an epigrammatic representation of the entire symbolism of the crest.