Crossbow (German: Hakenkreuz) or Swastika (Sanskrit: स्वास्तिक) - Cross with equal sides with broken arms at right angles and turned to the right (卐) or to the left (卍).
The expression comes from the Sanskrit word "swasti", which means good.
The Thai greeting with clasped hands (as in prayer) has the same roots and the same meaning.
The swastika is a widely used symbol in the Dharma religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism). Hinduists often decorate the swastika with one dot in each quadrant. In India it is a very common and common symbol, so it is part of several devanagari alphabets.
It is also part of modern Unicode. Often found in religious texts, wedding invitations, ornaments, etc. It is used for marking religious flags in Jainism and Buddhist temples in Asia.
There is archaeological evidence that forms of swastika date back to the Neolithic. In the 1920s the swastika was borrowed as a Nazi symbol and has been a controversial symbol ever since. In the Western world, the swastika is best known as a symbol of Nazism, which distorts the historical meaning of the symbol of the East.
It is also found in other Asian, European, African and Native American (Indian) cultures, sometimes as a geometric motif, sometimes as a religious symbol.
Although in Europe this symbol can be found on many buildings and monuments, its use in the Western world is avoided due to its connection with Nazi Germany.
