Kings across East Asia, whether it’s China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia consider the lion as the symbol of kings. In front of Chinese palaces, there is the male and female lion, the male holding under his paw a globe representing the world while the female holds a lion cub under her paws. What is interesting is that lions do not exist in East Asia—they never have. And yet, the lion is an important and integral part of East Asian visual culture. The city of Singapore means the city of the lion, but there were never any lions in the region of Singapore. The same applies to Sri Lanka whose national symbol is the lion. Their king came from India and he was the son of a lion. This could mean the spread of the Narasimha cult that once thrived on the eastern coast of India in Kalinga and Andhra.

But were there lions in India then? Some scientists say that some Asiatic lions did roam once in the dry jungles of Gujarat, Malwa and Deccan regions. This is why in India the lion became the symbol of the king. Kings sit on the lion throne—Singhasan. Across India, Rajput, Sikh and other martial communities identify themselves with the lion with names like Singh and Simha. Goddess of kings, Durga, is visualised riding a lion. It is the symbol of Buddha and Jain Tirthankara Mahavira, as well as King Ashoka. In temples we find images of lions dominating elephants. We are therefore culturally conditioned to be convinced that the Asiatic lions once roamed across India but are now restricted to Gir. However, there are animal experts and historians who argue rather convincingly that lions are not native to India. They were probably imported by Indian kings for their hunting grounds and zoos, as in East Asia, to demonstrate royal power.