Fig. 13_b_. SPIRAL AND VOLUTE. Triskelion (three-armed). Fig. 13_c_. SPIRAL AND VOLUTE. (Five or many armed.) Fig. 13_d_. OGEE SWASTIKA, WITH CIRCLE.] NAMES AND DEFINITIONS OF THE SWASTIKA. The Swastika has been called by different names in different countries, though nearly all countries have in later years accepted the ancient Sanskrit name of Swastika; and this name is recommended as the most definite and certain, being now the most general and, indeed, almost universal. It was formerly spelled s-v-a-s-t-i-c-a and s-u-a-s-t-i-k-a, but the later spelling, both English and French, is s-w-a-s-t-i-k-a. The definition and etymology of the word is thus given in Littre's French Dictionary: _Svastika_, or _Swastika_, a mystic figure used by several (East) Indian sects. It was equally well known to the Brahmins as to the Buddhists. Most of the rock inscriptions in the Buddhist caverns in the west of India are preceded or followed by the holy (_sacramentelle_) sign of the Swastika. (Eug. Burnouf, "Le Lotus de la bonne loi." Paris, 1852, p. 625.) It was seen on the vases and pottery of Rhodes (Cyprus) and Etruria. (F. Delaunay, Jour. Off., Nov. 18, 1873, p. 7024, 3d Col.) Etymology: A Sanskrit word signifying happiness, pleasure, good luck. It is composed of _Su_ (equivalent of Greek [Greek: eu]), "good," and _asti_, "being," "good being," with the suffix _ka_ (Greek [Greek: ka], Latin _co_). In the "Revue d'Ethnographie" (IV, 1885, p. 329), Mr. Dumoutier gives the following analysis of the Sanskrit _swastika_: _Su_, radical, signifying _good_, _well_, _excellent_, or _suvidas_, prosperity. _Asti_, third person, singular, indicative present of the verb _as_, to be, which is _sum_ in Latin. _Ka_, suffix forming the substantive. Professor Whitney in the Century Dictionary says, Swastika--[Sanskrit, lit., "of good fortune." Svasti (_Su_, well, + _asti_, being), welfare.] Same as fylfot. Compare _Crux ansata_ and _gammadion_. In "Ilios" (p. 347), Max Müller says: Ethnologically, _svastika_ is derived from _svasti_, and _svasti_ from _su_, "well," and _as_, "to be." _Svasti_ occurs frequently in the Veda, both as a noun in a sense of happiness, and as an adverb in the sense of "well" or "hail!" It corresponds to the Greek [Greek: euestô]. The derivation _Svasti-ka_ is of later date, and it always means an auspicious sign, such as are found most frequently among Buddhists and Jainas. M. Eugene Burnouf[3] defines the mark Swastika as follows: A monogrammatic sign of four branches, of which the ends are curved at right angles, the name signifying, literally, the sign of benediction or good augury.