It is alternatively spelled in contemporary texts as svastika, and other spellings were occasionally used in the 19th and early 20th century, such as suastika. The word was first recorded by the ancient linguist Pāṇini in his work Ashtadhyayi. The word swastika has been used in the Indian subcontinent since 500 BCE.
In Hinduism, the right-facing symbol (clockwise) ( 卐) is called swastika, symbolizing surya ("sun"), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol (counter-clockwise) ( 卍) is called sauwastika, symbolising night or tantric aspects of Kali. The word swastika comes from Sanskrit: स्वस्तिक, romanized: svastika, meaning "conducive to well-being". It is also commonly used in Hindu marriage ceremonies and Diwali celebrations. However, the swastika remains a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain countries such as Nepal, India, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, China and Japan. As a consequence, its use in some countries, including Germany, is prohibited by law. As a result of World War II and the Holocaust, in the West it continues to be strongly associated with Nazism, antisemitism, white supremacism, or simply evil. In the Western world, it was a symbol of auspiciousness and good luck until the 1930s when the German Nazi Party adopted a right-facing ('clockwise') form and used it as an emblem of the Aryan race. It generally takes the form of a cross, the arms of which are of equal length and perpendicular to the adjacent arms, each bent midway at a right angle. It continues to be used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indic religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The swastika symbol, 卐 or 卍, is an ancient religious symbol in various Eurasian cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. The adoption of the swastika by the Nazis and neo-Nazis is the most recognisable modern use of the symbol in the Western world.