Sanchi: East Gate, from west, detail of sculptures topping highest lintel

At the highest level of all the gates are the iconic symbols of Buddhism: the Triratna, also called the 'Three Jewels' (the uppermost figure, top right), the Wheel of the Law and the Lotus of the Cosmos, Each 'Jewel' of the Triratna reminds the believer of the three-fold aspect of his religion: the Buddha's life, his teachings (dharma) and his Order (Samgha), The conception of Buddha's laws as acting like a wheel comes from the literary descriptions of his first sermon at the Deer Park about which it is said: 'He set the Wheels of Law in motion,' This motif appears either as a wheel proper, set at the crowning of columns or carved over the empty throne at the Bodhi tree of Buddha, or it appears in conjunction with the lotus flower s it does in this case, The lotus itself is the most familiar Indian symbol for life in Indian art since it has existed for centuries before the coming of the first Buddha as a fertility symbol at which time it also represented all life or the procreative power of the universe, Many adaptations of the flower have been made to make it fit any type of composition, It can be subordinated as filler ornaments, act as a framing device, form a cluster to represent the 'tree of life' or appear as a single flower held by the goddess of fertility and other human-form beings