Swastika
<p >The <b>swastika</b> (also known as the <i>gammadion cross</i> or <i>cross cramponnée</i>) is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol" title="Symbol" >symbol</a> that generally takes the form of an equilateral <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross" title="Cross" >cross</a>, with its four legs bent at 90 degrees (as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character" title="Chinese character" class="mw-redirect" >Chinese character</a>: 卐 or 卍).<sup id="cite_ref-MigSym_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#cite_note-MigSym-1" >[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-CambDict_2-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#cite_note-CambDict-2" >[2]</a></sup> It is considered to be a very sacred and auspicious symbol in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" >Hinduism</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism" >Buddhism</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism" title="Jainism" >Jainism</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-p.97_3-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#cite_note-p.97-3" >[3]</a></sup>
It appears as a decorative element in various cultures since at least the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic" title="Neolithic" >Neolithic</a>, and is mostly known as a symbol in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_religions" title="Indian religions" >Indian religions</a>, denoting "auspiciousness", adopted as such <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_use_of_the_swastika_in_the_early_20th_century" title="Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century" >in pre-WWI-Europe</a> and later, and most notably, by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party" title="Nazi Party" >Nazi Party</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany" >Nazi Germany</a>. Because of its use in Nazism, in many Western countries the swastika is<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_stigma" title="Social stigma" >stigmatized</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Rosenberg_4-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#cite_note-Rosenberg-4" >[4]</a></sup> while it remains commonly used as a religious symbol in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" >Hinduism</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism" >Buddhism</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-p.97_3-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#cite_note-p.97-3" >[3]</a></sup>
The word <i>swastika</i> derives from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit" >Sanskrit</a> <i>svastika</i> "lucky or auspicious object". The older term <i>gammadion cross</i> derives mainly from its appearance, which is identical to four Greek <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma" title="Gamma" >gamma</a> letters affixed to each other.
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