Hindu temple on YouTube–why the swastikas?

Lorraine, our education resources coordinator, has been uploading some of our short documentaries on YouTube, and I noticed an interesting dialog in response to the Hindu Temple video.  One viewer commented:

whats up with the nazi logos : (

Other viewers responded to explain that the swastika is actually an ancient Indian auspicious symbol.

There is an interesting and quite long wikipedia article about this symbol.

One Response to “Hindu temple on YouTube–why the swastikas?”

  1. xensen  on May 26th, 2009 at 9:43 am

    The ancient Indian symbol later spread through East Asia. A good source on the meaning of the swastica in Chinese art is Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art by Terese Bartholomew.

    The swastica was a good luck symbol introduced into China from India with Buddhism. In 693 Empress Wu recognized the swastika as the source of all auspiciousness, and it was given the pronunciation wan–a homophone of the Chinese word for “ten thousand” or “infinity,” also pronounced wan. As an auspicious symbol, the swastika appears in both Ming and Qing dynasty decorative arts.

    The book considers the swastika in conjunction with bats, cranes, peach blossoms, ribbons, and other traditional Chinese symbols.


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