Bravehearts
The four Chakras
Find out how the National War Memorial is built, and what its design means.
Soumya explains how the memorial is built, and the design carries its meaning. It has four concentric circles (circles one inside another) around a 15-metre-tall obelisk (a tall, narrowing stone pillar) with the eternal flame, the Amar Jawan Jyoti.
From the centre outwards:
| Chakra | Means | What's there |
|---|---|---|
| Amar Chakra | Circle of Immortality | the obelisk with the eternal flame |
| Veerta Chakra | Circle of Bravery | a covered gallery with six bronze murals (large wall pictures) of brave battle actions |
| Tyag Chakra | Circle of Sacrifice | walls shaped like the ancient Chakravyuh battle formation, covered with granite tablets, each for one fallen hero, names in golden letters |
| Raksha Chakra | Circle of Protection | a row of trees, each standing for the soldiers who guard the nation |
The flame "symbolises the immortality of the spirit of fallen soldiers, with the promise that the nation will never forget their sacrifice".
The trees of the outer circle are a reassurance to citizens that they're safe from any threat.
Read the four names in order and you have the whole idea: immortality at the centre, then bravery, then sacrifice, and protection on the outside, facing the world.
The Amar Jawan Jyoti has a history. This flame, kept burning day and night, was first lit under India Gate in January 1972, to remember the soldiers of the 1971 war, with a rifle and a helmet beside it. When the new memorial opened, a new flame was lit, and the old flame at India Gate was later merged with it.
Soumya was moved by this interminable (never-ending) flame, "a metaphor for eternal stories of courage and valour".
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