The Sandakada pahana seen in the premises of Abhayagiri today, was not carved as a footstone. The footstones of Abhayagiri were square shaped stones with a single stem of creepers carved on them. The Sandakada pahana symbolizes the Lotus Sutra and this would have been above the entrances to the Abhayagiri Vihara.


The outer semicircle symbolizes fire or the flames of Sansara. (suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end)

The chain of animals in the second semicircle  represents the sansara chakra. 

The third semicircle is an entangled creeper,  which represents the complexity of the mind. 

The fourth semicircle shows swans picking Up each creeper  and untangling it and a piece of creeper is seen in each beak  this signifies bringing clarity to our complex  and deluded minds

In the next semicircle, a single twine is pictured, representing the non-deluded, enlightened mind 


In the middle of the Sandakada pahanna, there is a lotus flower, this represents the state of Buddahood 

What the Moonstone illustrates is that through adhering to the practice of the Lotus Sutra, we can extinguish the fires of the sansara chakra and clear our complex mind and achieve enlightenment.