Prehistoric rock art featuring hand and foot motifs, dating back over forty thousand years, represents the oldest signs of human creativity and identity in locations such as Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, India. This art, inscribed in rock shelters and caves, reflects the life of hunter-gatherers from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods. This research examines the cultural connections of these symbols with the symbolism of Buddha's footprint in Buddhist tradition and Vishnu's footprint in Vaishnavite worship, in order to trace cultural continuity from the Stone Age to organized religions in the subcontinent. The primary objective of the study is to investigate the transformation of these motifs from simple human symbols in petroglyphs to cosmic and liberating signs in Buddhist and Vaishnavite religions. The main research questions revolve around how these prehistoric symbols have provided a foundation for sacred religious symbols, and how these motifs have evolved from initial ritual functions to doctrinal symbols. Rather than positing a formal hypothesis, this study suggests that these motifs, centered on the concept of “presence in absence” and protective functions, may have served as a conceptual substrate that later religious traditions adapted and reinterpreted. The methodology of this research is hybrid and interdisciplinary, encompassing comparative semiotic analysis, analysis of sacred texts, examination of written sources, artifacts registered in museums, and available photographs to comprehensively trace cultural links from prehistory to organized religions. The findings suggest that hand and foot motifs in rock art appear to have transitioned from ritual functions such as communication with spirits and social identity toward doctrinal applications, as seen in Buddhist Buddhapada, which is associated with the path to Nirvana, and Vaishnavite Vishnupada, which is linked to moksha and cosmic preservation. This potential continuity implies that prehistoric symbolic practices could have influenced later religious iconography, while ethnographic observations indicate that contemporary tribal communities may still engage with related motifs in rituals centered on fertility and protection. The results emphasize the necessity for future research such as archaeological excavations and ethnographic analyses to better understand the evolutionary process.