Swastika on Indian Coins

Swastika on Indian Coins

Since the advent of civilization, Mankind has used graphical abstractions to represent cultural or religious concepts, a visible token of the relation between God and man. Christianity is associated with a cross, Islam with a crescent, Jews with Star of David, Hindus with Om/Swastika, Buddhists with the Dharma-chakra (Wheel), etc.

Hindu Swastika Symbol with a "dot" in each quadrant

Symbols are used to represent something else by cause, association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible. For example, a lion is a symbol for courage, and a flag a symbol of patriotism. Red symbolizes passion and anger while blue represents calmness and intuition. The symbol for danger is 'skull and bones', a Nun wearing white symbolizes purity and chastity. The different styles of tying a turban on the head becomes a symbol to easily identify a Sikh, Rajput or a Pathan. The symbol for a married girl in India is red 'sindoor' (vermillion) applied in central parting of her hair and 'bindi' (dot) on her forehead. Fore-finger and middle finger forming a "V" symbolizes Victory while the "Thumbs-up" or down symbolizes feeling good all Ok or down in the dumps, respectively. Symbolism is all pervasive and not restricted to any one nation, region, religion or culture.

Nearly everything we dream is symbolic, and as our dreams are the playground of our unconscious minds, symbolism must then be deeply couched in what makes us individuals and how it effects our lives. One may see a rose and shrug it as 'a rose is a rose is a rose' but for a romantic at heart, the rose symbolizes love, passion, beauty and all what is truly worth living. Understanding symbolism is therefore tantamount to unlocking the mental barriers we frame unconsciously and to set it free from any encumbrances to enhance our experience and delve deeper beyond the realm of what appears apparently only skin deep.

Symbols carry different meaning depending upon one’s cultural background. A symbol held in high esteem and reverence in one culture may either be not understood or held in utter contempt and disdain by others. Gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon are shown with multiple heads and arms symbolizing the many different forms of achieving the one true God, Brahman. However, the Muslim culture absolutely frowns upon such symbolism as idolatry. Dragons in Chinese culture symbolize power, strength and prosperity however In Norse mythology, dragons are brutal beasts which must be slain. This means that the essence of symbolism is not ones language or writing but cultural learning and its application that helps bond an individual and society around whatever symbol it chooses as representing its idea, beliefs and values. People therefore use symbols as a means of their collective identity and also to cooperate with each other and make sense of the world around them.

A symbol may be universal or specific to one culture, region or religion. The common dress code and uniform worn by Police, Doctors and Lawyers symbolizes law and authority, medical and legal profession, respectively. The iconic "Mickey Mouse" symbol of Walt Disney Studios universally signifies fun and entertainment.

Many millennia ago, the Swastika also came to signify one such Universal symbol. It will surprise many that the Swastika is NOT an exclusive symbol of India and Hindus although it is used most extensively in Indian sub-continent especially by the Hindus and Buddhists.

Derived from the Sanskrit "svastika," or any lucky or auspicious object, particularly a mark made on a person or thing for good luck. From "su," meaning 'well,' and "asti," meaning 'to be; thus 'well-being.' With the suffix "ka," it becomes 'thing associated with well-being,' 'lucky charm,' or 'thing that is auspicious.'

It is described as an equilateral cross with half the length of the arms bent ninety degrees either clockwise or counter-clockwise, normally oriented horizontally and vertically and with a dot in each quadrant in the Hindu version.

Found carved 7,000 years ago on cave walls in France; used by the Druids; found adorning ancient Greek pottery and covering the robes of Astarte and the Greek goddesses Athena and Artemis; discovered in extensive use by Schliemann at Troy; displayed on the floor of the synagogue at Ein Gedi built during the Roman occupation of Judea; displayed in a long list of churches and mosques throughout the ages; found on Norse weapons and implements; in use by numerous Tibetan faiths, Cao Dai of Vietnam, and Falun Gong of China; used extensively in Hinduism, Buddhism, and as the only holy symbol in Jainism; found among numerous Mesoamerican and Native American faiths, including the Navajo until 1933; incorporated into the seal of Madam Blavatsky's Theosophical Society; used by the 1917 Russian Provisional Government in the center of new bank notes (Alfred Rosenberg having been there at the time); placed on the spines of books by Rudyard Kipling; used by the Boy Scouts of America; displayed on the Laguna Bridge in Yuma, Arizona; used by Coca Cola in 1925 on novelty items; used by the Finnish Army and Air Force until 1944; used as the emblem of the British National War Savings Committee during Word War One; used by the US Army's 45th Infantry Division until the 1930s; found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures, and iconography in India and Nepal; included on Chinese food packaging to indicate vegetarian products for strict Buddhists; shown on Japanese maps to indicate the location of temples; and used as the name of the Alberta, Canada Hockey team until around 1916.

Also known across Europe and Asia as Crooked cross, Cross cramponned, Cross gammadion, tetragammadion, gammadion, Fylfot, Sun wheel, Sun Cross, Tetraskelion, Thor's hammer, Hooked cross, hakenkruis, Hakakross, Hakenkreuz, hakaristi, Hakekors, Hakkors, croce uncinata, Black Spider, Omote Manji, and Ura Manji.

According to Carl Sagan in the famous TV serial "Comet," the Swastika design is one of the variations of comet tail patterns depicted in an ancient Chinese manuscript. He suggested that a comet may once have passed so closely to Earth that the jets of gas streaming from it, bent by the comet's rotation, became visible and seared the symbol into the global consciousness. Others see the source of the Swastika as associated with the Sun, while still others imagine it as a symbol for the rotation of the night sky around Polaris.

The Swastika is much older than Christ, Buddha, and even Hinduism. As per another view, the Swastika represents the Sun and its movement across the North Sky. Four lines extend out from the center as the Sun's rays, forming a "Cross". Each ray extends into another line, clockwise, to represent the Sun's east to west motion across the Northern Sky. "Swastik" - "Swa" means Sun, and "tik" means mark. Swastika literally means "Mark of the Sun" in ancient Sanskrit.

The Swastika is known now as a Nazi symbol of Hitler's Germany, but it predates most of Western cultures.

It is common in Hindu temples much older than Christ or Buddha. The original symbol is common around the world because it represents a global icon, the Sun. The first farmers realized the Sun provides warmth, light, life, and everything else around us. The Sun is the closest thing to a natural "God", which is why so many ancient cultures worshiped it. Since man first learned to farm, he has worshiped the Sun, and the Swastika is a very common symbol of the Sun.

Gallery

The below trace the use of Swastika on Indian Coins since pre-Christ to Medieval times. The swastika is noticed for the first time on coins of post-Maurya city states and continue right up to the time of the Sultanate period and Mughals before being abandoned under British rule and re-introduced post-independence in Republic India coins.

Satavahanas, Satakarni I, 100 BC, Vidarbha, Copper, 1.21g, Swastika to top left of Ujjaini symbol

Eran-Vidisha, 200 BC, Copper (2), 1.98g & 2.43g, Swastika with Taurine arms

Kaushambi, 200 BC, Cast Copper Karshapana, 5.6g, Lanky bull type, Multi-symbols incl Swastika

Saurashatra (Gujarat), 100 BC, Copper, 5.83g, Double Swastika with Nandi-pad arms

Taxila, 185-160 BC, Half Karshapana, 4.85g, Rectangular Bronze, Multi-symbols incl Swastika

Taxila, 185-168 BC, Bronze, 1.5 Karshapana, 12.21g, Elephant-Lion type incl Swastika symbol

Taxila, 185-160 BC, Bronze, 2.3g, Swastika in reverse direction

Ujjain, 200-100 BC, Copper, 5.03g, Shiva / Ujjaini symbol with Swastika within orbs

Ujjain, 200 BC, Copper, 1.81g, Multi-symbols with Swastika to left

 Sunga Kingdom, 150 BC-100 AD, Cast Copper, 3.22g, Swastika above Elephant

Satavahana, Satkarni I, 100 BC, Copper, Nasik, 4.30g, Swastika above Lion

Paratrajas of Baluchistan, Koziya, 230-270 AD, Copper drachm, 1.98 gm, Swastika with brahmi legend around

Vidarbha, 200 BC, Cast Copper, 3.86g, Swastika with Taurine symbol

Kuninda, Amogabhuti, 200-100 BC, Silver Drachm, 2.1g, Swastika on top left

Chutus of Banavasi / Anandas of Karwar, Mulananda, 78-175 AD, Lead, 9.55g, Swastika to left of Tree-in-railing

Blog Post Author: Mitresh Singh