
Swastik (or Swastika) means different things in different cultures and religions and because it's so incredibly popular and spreads across cultural boundaries it can be a symbol of both good and bad depending on the context. In Hinduism though, Swastik is a symbol of good though and stands out because of the incredibly insightful philosophical depth involved in the idea behind it!
Yes, Swastik (or Swastika) is an extremely special symbol in Hinduism and I'll be elaborating on it in more details in the rest of the article but before that let me provide some background information first -
Archaeological origin and history of Swastika (Swastik) -

Now, I'd like to explain Swastik (Swastika) from a religious point of view -
Swastik (Swastika) in Hinduism and India - Swastik (Swastika) has been a symbol of good luck from time immemorial in Indian (Hindu) homes. Swastik (Swastika) can be seen drawn at doors, walls and many auspicious places in Hindu homes to signify good luck and well being. Swastik (Swastika) is also found even more prominently around many festivals and coming from a hindu family. As a kid, I've drawn Swastik (Swastika) myself on the walls in my home around Diwali for a long time.
Meaning of Swastik (Swastika) in Hinduism religion - Swastik, even if overall a symbol of good luck and well being, might mean different things in different sects/region/aspects of Hindu religion. I'll go over all of the below -
1) Swastik (Swastika) is associated with the symbolism of Lord Vishnu - 108 diffrent symbols are associated with Lord Vishnu and Swastik is one of them. Swastik (Swastika) can be seen drawn on the right palm of Lord Vishnu or sometimes held in hand or held or drawn in

2) Swastik (Swastika) as a symbol of Brahma (one of the Trinity in Hinduism) - One interesting thing about Swastika is that if it's viewed from above then it looks as if its pointing in all directions simultaneously! This coincides with the four "all seeing" faces of Brahma and therefore at times Swastik might be associated with the symbolism for Brahma.
3) Swastik (Swastika) as a symbol for Surya (Sun god) - This sort of follows from the previous points in many ways. Sun is sometimes associated with various symbolisms used for Lord Vishnu and Swastik can be sometimes used as a symbolism for Surya (sun god) too! Also, since the top-down Swastik (Swastika) has this peculiar multi-directional (or direction-less depending on how you look at it) characteristic, it's again associated with the mid-day Sun's rays falling in all directions simultaneously. So, as you may observe, this association is pretty strong from both religious and nature worship point of view and even more so in the ancient times when nature worship was indeed at it's pinnacle.
4) Swastik (Swastika) as a symbol of life and preservation - This sort of follows from

5) Swastik (Swastika) as a symbol of stability - This is kinda part of the whole overall well being thing but there is one more thing I should note about the structural aspect of Swastika. Swastika, as (might be) originated from the Basket weave design, also signifies stability because this basic structural component, of the big structure (let's say a basket), ensures that the big structure (based on Swastik design) will hold. This basic idea adds to the well being aspect as can be noticed and makes Swastik (Swastika) even more important.
6) Swastik (Swastika) as part of Ashtamangala - Ashtamangala (or Ashta-Mangala) is part of a tradition in Hinduism (and Hinduism's offshoots) that refers to eight sacred symbols as an offering to God (gods) on various auspicious occasions. These symbols might differ from region to region and sects to sects but Swastika has been seen to occur quite prominently in various combinations along with other symbols like Conch/Shell, Sinh (Lion), Bull, Lotus, Wheel, Mirror, Matsya / Meen (fish), Elephant, Dhwaja (Flag/Banner), Kalasha (vase) etc. It's even more prominent in Ashtamangalas in Shwetamber Jainism but in other Ashtamangalas sometimes Swastik is replaced by related symbols like Endless Knot and such.
7) Swastik (Swastika) as a symbol of Ying-Yang (wàn 萬) in China and Manji/Omote (萬) in Japan -

The deeper philosophical insights into the real meaning of Swatik (Swastika) in Hinduism - Above points that I made do the job of explaining the contextual meaning and significance of Swastika in Hinduism and related religions. The most important and often overlooked or misunderstood aspect of Swastik (Swastika) is the one related to the Chinese Ying-Yang symbolism. Before I go about explaining this aspect of philosophy behind Swastika, let me explain why I chose the Chinese Ying-Yang symbol here. The Chinese Ying-Yang symbol is closely related to a major Hindu philosophy called Nivritti and Pravritti! Ying-Yang is basically about the duality of the universe and in some context it can refer to the the Evolution and Involution of nature the same was Pravritti and Nivritti do. I understand that the very topic of Nivritti and Pravritti deserve it's own article (if not a few books) so I won't be able to do justice to the topic of significance of Nivritti and Pravritti in Hinduism in the current post but I promise to write another fuller article dedicated to Nivritti and Pravitti and how they relate to Hinduism; suffice to say here that Nivritti is involution and Pravitti is evolution of nature and how human life unfolds.
In other words, Pravitti is about a human's actions

So this was about the meaning of Swastik (Swastika) in Hinduism with some light thrown on the origin of the symbol and how it applies to some core philosophies around the world. If you'd like to write a comment or ask a question, please feel free to use the comment box below. I'll appreciate any comments and corrections from the knowledgeable readers and will be happy to elaborate more on my understanding of Hinduism and it's core philosophies.
Came acx ur blog by chance..Thanx.. twas quite informative. .looking for more such religious articles from u.
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Thank you for the comment. I'm glad you found it informative. I've more articles about core Hinduism and ancient Hindu/India mathematics and sciences in pipeline and will be coming out soon. In the meantime, if you have any topics that you would like to explore more about, please free to make suggestions and I'd be happy to write some articles on it..
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it was wonderfull reading above about the Swastik.i would like to know if the swastik is been made in oppsite directions what would be its impact.(if you can plese mail at naranggautam@hotmail.com)
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thanks..... I was searching for the meaning of SWASTIKA....
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ReplyDeleteSWASTIK in India is the most important symbolic sign being used after the sign ‘ohm’ in Hindu religion.the word swastika is originates from two words of Sanskrit language.‘Su’ and ‘As’ of which literal meaning is “good omen”.
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ReplyDeleteone more thing I heard about swastik is ...its symbol of Ganesha. in every pooja first thing draw with kumkum is Swastik
ReplyDeleteGood article, but it can also be added that the Swastika , ( pre Purranas) is associated with the Rig Veda's Indra 's lighting bolt ( Vajra / Vidyut) as a symbol of the divine mind. See the works of Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, Dr. R.L. Kashyap for more information on this , as well as Vamadeva Shastri.
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Hari
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Hari
Swatika is a symbol, that is true but as wethink that it is a sign of good omen or auspjcious symbol is small part of it. SWASTIK - SWA + ASTIK. Swa meaning 'I' and Astik means 'Exists'. This is a symbolical representation of the fourmaha vakyas of Vedas
ReplyDelete1) Prajnanam Brahma
2) Ayam atma Bhahma
3) Tat twam asi
4) Ahqm Bhahmashmi
This reflects the idea of the indestructable and non-changing nature of our existence. I Exist - which declares the true nature of us. We are all One in the form of Bhahman or Pure Consciousness (Shuddha Chaitanya). We are all pervading, mixed in all but still detached from all and only exist as the Eternal Witness (Sakshi Swarup). Our nature remains same with moving wheel of time (rotating swastik symbol) where we remain as ever existing 'Brahman' in the center as well as throughout the four yugas (Four arms of swastik). I Exist, thus is the most important and posibly the most auspiscious declaration which reflects the idea that we are immortals - Amritasya Putra. We are deathless.
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I have a few lines on my palm as anybody has. But somthing unuaual has occured from the last few months. I see a clear and bold swastika on my right palm under the pointer finger. I have also got a similar swastika in the middle of the palm . i have one more swastika on my left palm closer to the thumb on the mound. I have no idea what this means and i would like to know .I would be happy to know the significance of this phenomenon...thank you.
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