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Comparison between left-facing "sauwastika" and right-facing "swastika"

The term sauwastika (or sauvastika[1][2]) is sometimes used to distinguish the left-facing from the right-facing swastika symbol, a meaning which developed in 19th century scholarship.[3]


In Buddhism the left-facing sauwastika imprinted on the chest, feet, palms of Buddha and also the first of the 65 auspicious symbols on the footprint of the Buddha.[5][6] In Hinduism the left-facing sauwastika is associated with esoteric tantric practices and often stands for Goddess Kali.[7][8]


Sanskrit sauvastika is the vṛddhi of svastika, attested as an adjective meaning "benedictive, salutatory".[9] The connection to a "reversed" svastika is probably first made by Eugène Burnouf in 1852, and taken up by Schliemann in Ilios (1880), based on a letter from Max Müller, who is in turn quoting Burnouf. The term sauwastika is used in the sense of "backwards swastika" by D'Alviella (1894):


The term has been misspelled as suavastika, a term attributed to Max Müller by Wilson (1896). Wilson finds that "The 'suavastika' which Max Müller names and believes was applied to the swastika sign, with the ends bent to the left [...] seems not to be reported with that meaning by any other author except Burnouf."[11]

Claims of a distinction in Indian religions[edit]

"Left-facing" swastika on a Buddhist temple in Korea.
"Left-facing" swastika from a 1911 edition of Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill

Eugene Burnouf, the first Western expert on Buddhism, stated in his book Lotus de la bonne loi (1852) that the sauvastika was a Buddhist variant of the svastika.

When Heinrich Schliemann discovered swastika motifs in Troy, he wrote to the Indologist Max Müller, who, quoting Burnouf, confirmed this distinction, adding that "the svastika was originally a symbol of the sun, perhaps of the vernal sun as opposed to the autumnal sun, the sauvastika, and, therefore, a natural symbol of light, life, health, peace and wealth." The letter was published in Schliemann's book Ilios (1880):

“In the footprints of Buddha the Buddhists recognize no less than sixty-five auspicious signs, the first of them being the Svastika [...]” (Eugene Burnouf, Lotus de la bonne loi, p. 625); “the fourth is the sauvastika [sic], or that with the arms turned to the left.”


D'Alviella (1894) voices doubts about the distinction:

“Would it not be simpler to admit that the direction of the branches is of secondary importance in the symbolism of the gammadion? When it is desired to symbolize the progress of the sun, namely, its faculty of translation through space, rather than the direction in which it turns, little attention will have been paid to the direction given to the rays.” (p. 68)


See also[edit]



  1. ^ "Swastika - Hindu Symbols". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  2. ^ "swastika (symbol) - Encyclopedia Britannica". 1935-09-15. Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  3. ^ In use from the 1850s, certainly so used by D'Alviella (1894) "sauvastika" is used to classify the geometrical form of symbols in Liungman, Carl G., Symbols: Encyclopedia of Western Signs and Ideograms, HME Publishing (2004) ISBN 91-972705-0-4
  4. ^ "What is the meaning of a Swastika?". Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  5. ^ "Swastika Symbol in Buddhism - Buddhist Swastika". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  6. ^ "Buddhist - The Swastikaphobia Project". Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  7. ^ "Swastika". 1935-09-05. Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  8. ^ "The Swastika or WAN Symbol in Asian Art - The Heart of Buddha". Retrieved 2013-11-22. 
  9. ^ according to Wilson (1819), cited by Monier-Williams.
  10. ^ "'Which Way Am I Spinning?: Debunking the Nazi 'Backwards Swastika' Myth". Retrieved 2013-11-22. 

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