Jinamanjari 1996 04 No 13

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

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equates it with the worldly concerns of laukika from whose bonds triratna provide escape.
Although the svastika does not appear as prominently in the Buddhist context as it does in Jainism, even here there are some cases in which it is employed. Most apparently this symbol occurs occasionally on the exterior of the vedika rails surround early stupas. As Susan Huntington points out, the gate systems around these early Buddhist stupas were often staggered in order to emulate the design of a svastika.30 This symbol was recognized as being an auspicious design signifying and marking the sacredness of the site.
Similarly, in Hinduism the svastika is, and has been, represented adorning the images of gods and goddesses where its function as a mangala, once again, works to signify sacredness. Despite much discussion on its possible links to solar imagery, however, no consensus has been reached as to its specific significance. 31 It is due to the svastika's pervasive presence in many religious systems without any set meaning which strongly suggests that its initial meanings, even by the fifth century B.C.E., had been lost. Its potency, however, as a marker of spiritual authority and sacredness had been remembered. Ultimately, it was in the quest for legitimacy in garnering public support that the svastika was absorbed into these three religious systems where it served to display sacred presence, religious authority, and spiritual power.
The final images from the Indus culture to be explored are those depicting animals which have retained their importance within religious contexts even to the present. I have singled out bulls and snakes as examples because both of these animals are displayed prominently in seals depicting scenes of ritual activity and play a role in contemporary religious practices. Specifically, the bull occurs as part of the procession standing before the horned-being in the tree represented on the seal from Mohenjo Daro that was mentioned earlier (fig. 3). The snakes appear in conjunction with an image of the
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