Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v7.c47.7282

v7.c47.7282

‘The origin of its name is less disputed. Sanskrit has the credit—*su* (well) *asti* (is) *ka* (a noun ending) *Svasti* (it is well), India has said at the beginning of any auspicious act, and “it is well” is the meaning of the sign throughout the ages. “Life is beneficent.” It indicates—we quote from a woman writer on symbolism—“That the maze of life may bewilder, but a path of life runs through it: *It is well* is the name of the path, and the key of life eternal is in the strange labyrinth for those whom God leadeth.” A rival interpretation finds in the word another Sanskrit element, the *swa* (self) of *swaraj* and similar words, relating the svastika to the good that comes from one’s own efforts, but that view has found little acceptance. In general man has seen in the sign an assurance that somewhere in this fluid difficult chaotic life there is stability and benevolence, and he reads it as an assurance that he should struggle on in hope.’