Which other cultures is Swastika associated with apart from Hinduism? 

You’ve probably seen the Swastika symbol adorning the walls of temples or the doors of your home. In the Indian culture, it is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. However, you’d be surprised to know that the Swastika is found not only in India but throughout the world. Thor’s hammer is one example where you can spot this symbol! Thor is a German deity represented by the left-hand Swastika. The symbol has been seen in early Christian art as well as in South and Central America. But what makes the symbol so unique? In India, the four arms are thought to represent the movement of the sun through the sky, but other religions have different interpretations. Let’s take a look at how these religions perceive the Swastika. 

Swastika in Hinduism 
The Swastika symbol is quite significant to Hindus and is used to mark the front pages of religious books, doors and offerings to Gods. But did you know that there are two kinds of Swastika? They have the same appearance, but their hands move in opposite directions. They are known as the right- and left-hand Swastikas. The right-hand Swastika is a solar symbol because its arms are in sync with the sun’s movement, which appears to go from the east, then south to west in the northern hemisphere. How fascinating! On the other end, the left-hand Swastika represents the goddess Kali and magical practises. Next time you come across a Swastika, make sure to see whether the hands are in the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. In Jainism, the Swastika has a different meaning. Its four spokes are thought to represent the four locations of rebirth: The animal world, hell, Earth or the spirit world. Such unique perspectives to the same thing!  

Swastika in Buddhism 
In Buddhism, Swastika indicates the beginning of their sacred texts, just like in Hinduism. They view it as representing peace, fortune, fertility and prosperity. The Swastika has importance in China and Japan too, thanks to Buddhism. The symbol represents Lord Buddha’s feet or footprints. In India, the symbol is regarded by Buddhists as the heart-seal of Buddha. 

Swastika in Nazi Germany 
The history of Europe is also influenced by the Indian Swastika symbol owing to the increased interest in Indian ancient civilisations. Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist, found the hooked cross at the location of ancient Troy while conducting extensive excavations. He made a connection between it and similar shapes found on German pottery and hypothesised that it was ‘a significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors.’ Other academics and thinkers from Europe connected the symbol to a common Aryan culture that pervaded both Europe and Asia. Based on this, we know that Swastika was widely used in Europe at the start of the 20th century. 

Particularly, the Swastika symbol immediately conjures up images of the Nazis. How did a sign created in India come to be associated with Adolf Hitler? It is thought that the Germans discovered many similarities between their language and Sanskrit during Hitler’s dictatorship. As a result, they believed to share a common Aryan ancestry with Indians. Nevertheless, the symbol’s German name was not Swastika. Hitler changed its name to the Hakenkreuz to distance it from its Indian origins and got rid of the four dots that are positioned inside each arm.