• shawn1122@sh.itjust.works
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    8 hours ago

    The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit root swasti, which is composed of su ‘good, well’ and asti ‘is; it is; there is’.

    With well-being (swasti) we would follow along our path, like the Sun and the Moon. May we meet up with one who gives in return, who does not smite (harm), with one who knows. — The Rigveda V.51.15

    Didn’t know that the symbol spread far and wide. That’s some very interesting history (minus the Nazis).

    • thomas@lemmy.ca
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      7 hours ago

      It is quite a simple symbol to draw, so different cultures have probably came up to it independently.

        • serendepity@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          The Swastika may be an Indian symbol but the Indo-Aryans did not originate in India. There is a lot of historical evidence that Indo-Aryans originated as a steppe culture in Central Asia around the neolithic to early bronze period and then spread to Europe and East Asia. This is also why the structure of so many Indo-European languages is similar; they all have a common ancestor in the Proto-Indo-European language.