Nepal Swastika : Nepal  

Nepal Swastika - Travel guide

Nepal

Swastika

Swastika, a Sanskrit word which means doing good for all, is a very ancient oriental symbol. This symbol can be seen in wood-carvings , bronze castings, thangka paintings and many other traditional forms of art. In Buddhism, the four hands of Swastika signifying Maitree (friendship), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (happiness) and Upershya (indifference), are four divine merits ortalents. This theory is very dominant in our culture. According to Sadhanmala (one of the most authentic Buddhist texts), the four merits represent four ideal ways to Nirvana every aspirant should mediate on. It is believed that the Mahayanists, in due course of time, developed an iconography based on all those four merits and soon created Swastika to proudly add to their pantheon of gods. The many deities were all given the same merit names like Maitree, Karuna, Mudita and Upekshya. Hindus as well Buddhists worship them in Nepal. Among many such deities of Nepal, the four most beautifully built bronze statues of these merit gods can be seen in Hiranyavarana Mahavihar (Golden temple) of Patan built by Vaskar Varma in 12th century.