Jain swastika

Four arms for four states of being.

Also known as: Jain four-armed symbol, Sathiyo

CulturalReligiousStandard profile

Meanings

The swastika as used in Jain practice, read as the four states into which a soul may be born.

Culturally establishedTradition
Represents in Jain use the four states of existence into which a soul may be reborn.
Contexts: History, Religion
Culturally establishedTradition
Drawn in rice at Jain temples as part of ritual practice, together with the three dots and crescent that complete the figure — the arms and the marks above are read as one composition and not as a symbol with decoration.
Contexts: History, Religion
Historically documentedVerified fact
In continuous religious use across South Asia for several thousand years, entirely unconnected with its twentieth-century appropriation in Europe; the two uses share a shape and nothing else.
Contexts: History, Religion

Visual description

An equal-armed cross with each arm bent at a right angle, drawn upright, commonly with three dots and a crescent above it.

Symmetry: radial
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

The symbols of religious and spiritual traditions
Religious-studies scholarship and the traditions' own published accounts · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity of a symbol and for the account a tradition gives of it, attributed to that tradition. Never cited for the truth of any religious claim. Where a symbol is sacred, restricted or contested, the record says so and does not reproduce restricted material.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27

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Meanings

The swastika as used in Jain practice, read as the four states into which a soul may be born.

Culturally establishedTradition

Represents in Jain use the four states of existence into which a soul may be reborn.

Contexts: History, Religion

Culturally establishedTradition

Drawn in rice at Jain temples as part of ritual practice, together with the three dots and crescent that complete the figure — the arms and the marks above are read as one composition and not as a symbol with decoration.

Contexts: History, Religion

Historically documentedVerified fact

In continuous religious use across South Asia for several thousand years, entirely unconnected with its twentieth-century appropriation in Europe; the two uses share a shape and nothing else.

Contexts: History, Religion

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

The symbols of religious and spiritual traditions
Religious-studies scholarship and the traditions' own published accounts · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity of a symbol and for the account a tradition gives of it, attributed to that tradition. Never cited for the truth of any religious claim. Where a symbol is sacred, restricted or contested, the record says so and does not reproduce restricted material.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27