The limbs are also interpreted as representing the four seasons, the four directions, and the four yugas, or epochs (Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali). 4) Other faith traditions originating in India also regularly use the swastika, with similar auspicious meaningįor Buddhists, the swastika signifies the Buddha’s footprints and heart. 5) The swastika is India’s version of one of humanity’s most enduring, ancient symbols For Jains, the swastika is the symbol of the seventh tirthankara (literally “ford-maker,” one of the liberated souls showing the way for others in the Jain tradition), with the arms symbolizing one of the four places a soul can be reborn in the cycle of birth and death. In fact, the oldest known use of the symbol dates back to the end of the last Ice Age. A figurine carved with a recognizable armed plus sign dating to 10,000-13,000 BCE was found in Ukraine. How these ancient people interpreted the symbol is unknown. In the Balkans, the symbol has been used for at least the past 8,000 years. 6) Peoples throughout the world used their own version of the symbol The Indus-Saraswati civilization used the swastika extensively, with archeological evidence dating back to at least 4,000 BCE showing its usage. People in what’s now Greece and Turkey used it. The Phoenicians used it as a symbol of the sun. And petroglyphs in Armenia have been found using swastika-like symbols. In Africa, pottery found in the region of Kush (modern Sudan) show clear armed plus signs. West African cultures have also used the symbol. Neolithic cultures in China used the symbol too, well predating the spread of Buddhism. In North America, native peoples have long used swastika-like symbols.
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