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Re: where did the swastika come from?

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by ParsuRam2011 

Dear hinduwarrior,

I am posting this article which appeared in THE TRIBUNE a year ago. It is  still available on the net and u can find the original article.   

THE MYSTIQUE of SWASTIKA  By Shiv Darshanlal Sharma

A SURVEY of literature reveals that the Swastika symbol is generally  referred to as the gamma-like cross by western scholars because it can be   resolved into four gammas joined at right angles. It is perhaps one of the   most ancient symbols associated with the sun. The most ancient Swastikas   have been discovered in Susa in Persia, Mohenjodaro and Harappa in   Pakistan and Sammarra in Mesopotamia. It has been seen on terracotta   articles as well as ancient vases of Greece, Cyprus, Crete and Rhodes. On   an Athenian vase it appears thrice. On a vase now at Vienna it is depicted   as an ornament on the breast of Apollo. It was a favourite symbol on the   coins of ancient Greece and India. Swastika is also found engraved on   funeral urns which have been dug up in northern Italy.

 It is found as a religious and ornamental symbol in ancient Egypt. The   excavations undertaken recently by the Turkish Government at   Aladja-Hoyuk uncovered the so-called standards made out of Swastika   symbols. These metallic articles were buried along with corpses during the   22nd century B.C. Probably these were kept there to ensure the safety and   wellbeing of the deceased. In Lycaonia, on a Hittite monument, it appears   as an ornament on the border of the robe of a person engaged in offering   sacrifice. In the designs on jars excavated in Cappadocia, spirals,   Swastikas and Crosses are found. All these vases belong to the Hittite age,   about 2200-1200 B.C. Swastika, called as ‘flyfot’, was a popular artistic and   sacred symbol throughout the Teutonic age in Europe. It appeared on   jewels and weapons, not only of Gallic, but also of German and   Scandanavian people. When placed beside a human head, it represented   God. In company with the thunderbolt and the wheel it is seen inscribed on   the altars of the Gallic-Roman period. It is regarded as the sacred symbol   in Roman England. It adorned the floor of the thresholds of the famous   Roman villa excavated at Lullingstone in Britain.

   The mystique of SwastikaBy Shiv Darshanlal SharmaA SURVEY of   literature reveals that the Swastika symbol is generally referred to as the   gamma-like cross by western scholars because it can be resolved into four   gammas joined at right angles. It is perhaps one of the most ancient   symbols associated with the sun. The most ancient Swastikas have been   discovered in Susa in Persia, Mohenjodaro and Harappa in Pakistan and   Sammarra in Mesopotamia. It has been seen on terracotta articles as well   as ancient vases of Greece, Cyprus, Crete and Rhodes. On an Athenian   vase it appears thrice. On a vase now at Vienna it is depicted as an   ornament on the breast of Apollo. It was a favourite symbol on the coins of   ancient Greece and India. Swastika is also found engraved on funeral urns   which have been dug up in northern Italy. It is found as a religious and   ornamental symbol in ancient Egypt. The excavations undertaken recently   by the Turkish Government at Aladja-Hoyuk uncovered the so-called   standards made out of Swastika symbols. These metallic articles were   buried along with corpses during the 22nd century B.C. Probably these   were kept there to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the deceased. In   Lycaonia, on a Hittite monument, it appears as an ornament on the border   of the robe of a person engaged in offering sacrifice. In the designs on jars   excavated in Cappadocia, spirals, Swastikas and Crosses are found. All   these vases belong to the Hittite age, about 2200-1200 B.C. Swastika,   called as ‘flyfot’, was a popular artistic and sacred symbol throughout the   Teutonic age in Europe. It appeared on jewels and weapons, not only of   Gallic, but also of German and Scandanavian people. When placed beside a   human head, it represented God. In company with the thunderbolt and the   wheel it is seen inscribed on the altars of the Gallic-Roman period. It is   regarded as the sacred symbol in Roman England. It adorned the floor of   the thresholds of the famous Roman villa excavated at Lullingstone in   Britain.Swastika is marked on a number of early Christian tombs. It was an   archaic custom to mark the tombs with this symbol or to place vases with   Swastika symbols in tombs. It was performed to ensure the safety of the   departed soul or to fend off demonic spirits. Subsequently, the Swastika   was replaced by the Cross. Swastika has been discovered at several   locations in the New World. It was considered as an auspicious sign by   some of the original inhabitants of America. Swastika is found in   monumental remains of the primitive Mexicans and Peruvians and on   objects exhumed from prehistoric burial mounds within the limits of the   USA.It was revived by Hitler when he made it the national emblem of Nazi   Germany. He believed that this ancient Aryan sign brought prosperity and   victory. It has been the sacred symbol of the Buddhists and the Jains. It   bears the name of Swastika when the limbs are bent towards the right, and   Suavastika when they are turned to the left. It is believed that the first   represents Lord Ganesha, while the second represents goddess Kali.   According to the other school of thought, the first stands for the sun, for   light and life; the second stands for night and destruction. Indians inscribe it   on the opening page of their account books. In ceremonies associated with   marriages, mundan, the worship of luxmi etc the Swastika is worshipped as   the symbol of Ganesha. It is marked along with the sign of   Navagrahas.Swastika is one of the eight types of yogic seats mentioned in   the Vayaviya-samhita of the Shiv Purana. The discovery of Swastika in   almost all parts of the globe has given rise to so many   interpretations.Certain authorities believe that Ganesha on his Vahana, the   rat, symbolised a sun-god, overcoming the animals. Which, in archaic   mythology was a sign of night. The cult of sun worship is probably the most   primitive one. The sun brings joy, light and life for mankind. People   belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation believed in sun worshipping, which   is evident from the discovery of a number of signs and symbols associated   with the sun. These signs are found on several so-called punch marked   coins that have been excavated from many places in India. These are   called Vishnu Chakras. Vishnu’s incarnations are said to have killed their   enemies by using these chakras. Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra can be   referred to in this connection. Like Indra, Vishnu is said to have subdued   serpents. Krishna defeated Kalinaga while Vishnu is depicted as reclining on   Sesnaga, who has one thousand hoods.According to Vayu Purana, "the lord   of serpents, who lives on the Devakuta mountain, has one hundred hoods   and is marked with the Chakras (Swastika) of Vishnu." According to the   same source, Brahma was practicing severe penance, as a result of which   sweat came from his body which gave rise to the serpent world, which had   marks of Swastika on them. It is interesting to note that on prehistoric   bowls found at Sammarra, serpents are shown as moving around the sun.   Being a symbol of the sun, the chakra represents life and movement, which   transform the dwarf into the giant or the microcosm into macrocosm or   again the centre into its diameter.Aladja-Hoyuk, which is identified with the   Hittite city Ariana, was the seat of the cult of sun god. The Buddhists   inherited reverence of Swastika from the belief that Lord Buddha is the   incarnation of Vishnu, and carried it to Tibet, China, Japan and Korea.   Swastika is found on the images of the lord. It is seen on the footprint of   Lord Buddha. In China, swastika found a place among written characters,   where it contains the notion of abundance, prosperity and long life. In   Japan, it represents the number 10,000. The Chinese empress Wu   (684-704 A.D.) decreed that it should be used as sign for the sun. The seal   of the Harappan period shows a man carrying a manger with propitiatory   offering for a tiger standing in front of him. On the reverse the same   inscription is repeated, besides a row of five Swastikas as auspicious   symbols signifying security and good luck.According to K.N. Shastri, the   sealing was obviously an amulet against possible dangers arising from the   depredations of tigers. Ideas and beliefs migrate with traders, soldiers and   migrants. The ancient western Asia had trade relations with the people of   the Indus. Valley. It is evident from the discovery of Indus Valley seals in   Mesopotamia at the level dating between 2300 and 2000 B.C. Some   particular seals found in Crete proved to be of exactly of the same material   as those found in the Indus Valley. The figures of animals and birds with   fish in their beaks appearing on vases found from the tombs in Sammarra   (dating 4000 B.C.) are significantly similar to that painted on potteries   found from tombs in Harappa.The pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) was regarded   as sacred both in Harappa and Elam (It may be due to the fact that this is   the only plant in the plant kingdom which releases more amount of oxygen   day and night, than any other plant). These instances prove that Palestine,   Elam and Harappa had close trade and cultural relations. The appearance   of the Swastika on vases belonging to this period proves that the symbol of   Swastika was travelling from one place to other along with the normal   merchandise.The Swastika was a very popular symbol in ancient Turkey,   where it was frequently applied by the smiths of Anatolia. It is interesting to   note that two kinds of Swastikas, one revolving to the right and other to the   left have been excavated from a tomb in Aladja-Hoyuk. These could be   interpreted as the rising and setting the sun. The Swastika is found on the   megalithic pottery from Kunnatur, Coorg and Coimbatore. It has also been   traced on a red ware belonging to the Chalcolithic phase on the site of   Rangpur. These instances prove that the sacredness of the Swastika was   the most primitive belief in India. It seems that the people of the Indus   Valley, who inherited this symbol, believed in sun worship and spread this   cult to Elam. Mesopotamia and Asia Minor or the people of these countries   got it from Indians migrants even before the prosperous settlements of the   Indus Valley came into being. A scene of Swastika worship is found in the   rock paintings of Paria Bari. It is mentioned in the Puranas that the masses   worshipped the solar deity in its symbolic forms of disc, wheel, lotus and   Swastika.The discovery of the Swastika in the New World should not be   explained away by the so-called theory of independent origin. It may have   been carried to the New World by Asian Traders in the most archaic times.   Some historians claim that long before the voyage undertaken by   Columbus, America was discovered by the Phoenicians, and the Chinese.   The discovery of images, said to be of the Lord Buddha, in America is really   a significant event  .

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