नाभिषिक्तॊ नसंस्कारॊ सिम्हस्य क्रियतॆ वनॆ ।
विक्रमार्जित सत्वस्य स्वयमॆव मृगेंद्रता ॥
ನಾಭಿಷಿಕ್ತೋ ನ ಸಂಸ್ಕಾರೋ ಸಿಂಹಸ್ಯ ಕ್ರಿಯತೇ ವನೇ
ವಿಕ್ರಮಾರ್ಜಿತ ಸತ್ತ್ವಸ್ಯ ಸ್ವಯಮೇವ ಮೃಗೇಂದ್ರತಾ

Nobody has appointed Lion as the king of animals. Nobody enthroned it. It is being called as the King by the virtue of its royalty and power.