Svastika
Svastika · su-asti-ka, “the sign of well-being”
Grammar: masculine and neuter noun, from svasti (well-being; su, well, and asti, it is): “that which brings well-being”.
Meaning: the auspicious sign; and things named for its shape: a kind of prāsāda (temple), a way of laying arrows, a mark on serpents and a joined gesture of the hands.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa uses the word in these places.
- A prāsāda: Parameśvara, teaching Skanda the marks of a prāsāda, gives the nine prāsādas that arise from Trivishṭapa: Vajra, Cakra, Svastika, Vajrasvastika, Citra, Svastikakhaḍga, Gadā, Śrīkaṇṭha and Vijaya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 104).
- In Dhanurveda: Agnideva, teaching Vasishṭha the Dhanurveda, says that warriors first hold the bow in the left hand and the arrows in the right, and, making the released arrows lie in the shape of a svastika, salute the gurus with them (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 249).
- On serpents: in the marks of serpents, the hooded serpents bear the marks of the cakra, the plough, the chatra (parasol), the svastika and the aṅkuśa (goad) (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 294).
- A hasta of nṛtya: in the teaching on the actions of the limbs in nṛtya, the svastika is one of the saṃyuta hastas (gestures of the joined hands), with añjali, kapota, karkaṭa and the others (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 341).
Related terms: Svasti · Svastivācana · Prāsāda · Hasta · Dhanurveda · Maṅgala
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 104, 249, 294, 341