Common Errors In Sanskrit Tattoos
Found on the internet!How do errors creep in Sanskrit Tattoos translation?
Here are the main types of errors that I have seen many times in online pictures of Sanskrit Tattoos:
- Not knowing Sanskrit – and just looking up an online-dictionary. Dictionaries help Sanskrit tattoo translation only if you already know the language.
- Not knowing the nuances of expressions – and ways of saying (expressions change across cultures) and thus doing literal translation which can be hilarious. “You make me wild” becomes “You make me forest-dweller.”
- Not knowing the nuances of the pronunciation – and getting affected by heavy Indian accent. The accent becomes a problem during translations and writing correctly, since Sanskrit is 100% phonetic.
- Not having an image – but just the translation in Sanskrit fonts. Even a UNICODE font text when pasted in an image editing software becomes complete trash, if it has even one ligature or vowel mark that goes before the consonant.
E.g. कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते – if you copy paste this text in an image editing software, you will see that it renders differently! Go ahead, try it, and if it looks exactly the same, please let me know the software you are using!
I am here to help you!
Do yourself a favor and don’t do an ‘over the shelf’, ‘online dictionaries’ etc. kind of DIY or a literal translation.
Nothing is sadder than spending time, energy, emotions and in the process getting it incorrect.
I offer full end-to-end personalized service, I ensure that we both are clear on the message, and nuances of the translations.
Before your next Sanskrit tattoo, make sure to send me an email or a message on Instagram or Facebook.
Error: “The Wrong t“
The famous Rihanna tattoo is incorrect because the wrong ‘t’ is used in the third word.
Instead of the dental ‘t’, it uses the retroflex ‘ṭ’, making a beautiful word for ‘austerity’ into a non-existent word.
Error: “The wrong n“
There are two errors in this one.
One, it uses the wrong ‘n’, instead of the ‘n’ from the fourth group, it uses ‘ñ’ from the second group of consonants.
Two, the ‘:’ is an error. It could have been at the end of the word to make the word of a ‘masculine’ gender.
Three, the third letter from end (right) is a vowel letter, instead it’s accent mark should have been applied to the previoud consonant. Instead of ‘svapna-sādhakaḥ’ it is svapnaḥ-saadhaka’
Error: “shva written like dha“
The word is ‘shvasihi’ (to breathe), but the way it is written it is more like ‘dhasihi’ which has no meaning.
Error: “Unclear accent marks”
The words are ‘shāntiḥ’ three times.
But the accent mark for ‘i’ is so small it is hardly visible.
The ‘n’ without the vowel mark is also very small, almost like a dot.
Error: “Extra accent mark”
The word prajñā means complete knowledge and is feminine. By putting the ‘:’ (ḥ) at the end, it was either an attempt to make it masculine, or it becomes plural.
Both ways, it is not the intended meaning.
Error: “Wrong spelling”
The first word’s last letter has an extra accent mark indictating absence of vowel.
There is vowel at the end of the first word.
Instead of ‘mana’, it has been written as ‘man’.
Error: “Mother of all ‘Do-It-Yourself’ Sanskrit translation error”
This is indeed, hands down, the most outrageous error out there. The reasons for this are an attempt to type in Sanskrit script, using a Unicode font in an image editing software.
If you do not know the script inside out, such errors can never be caught! This is ‘Phoenix’which turned into a wrongly written ‘Honkish’
Error: “Wrong accent mark, wrong word split”
The famous quote from Upaniśad is ‘mātṛdevo bhava’ but it has been rendered here as ‘mātru devo bhava’. The first word should not be split.
The original sentence means ‘You be of the thought that mother is divine’, sometimes shortened to ‘Mother is divine’.
Error: “Not Sanskrit”
This is Hindi, not Sanskrit.
Since Hindi uses the same script as Sanskrit, and is a modern language with millions of speakers, you may find an Indian friend in your circle who can do a decent enough Hindi translation.
But even literal Sanskrit translation is not easy, what to say of translations that capture the nuance of the message!
Error: “Macabre Massacre of the Divine”
This is the famous Gayatri Mantra, with unforgivable errors!
One, many vowel accent marks are missing, which means all ‘bhu’, ‘dhi’ etc all become ‘bha’, dha’ etc.
– bhūrbhuvaḥ -> bhabhavaḥ
– svaḥ -> tpvaḥ (seems like)
– tatsaviturvareṇyaṃ -> tattpaviturvaraṇyaṃ
– dhimahi -> dhamāha
Two, incorrect mergeing of ‘r’ and accent mark of ‘e’ giving rise to impossble letter.
Error: “Incorrect font rendering”
This is a classic example of what happens when you type or copy/paste Indic Unicode fonts in an image editing software.
They fail miserably to do the correct font rendering of the ligatures and consonant clusters.
In the first word (on left), the second word should have the vertical bar removed, instead of the small accent below.
In second, the second letter should have been rendered differently. But bigger issue is the last bar with a curve on top – this is the vowel mark for ‘i’ and should have been right after the first letter, and not at the end!
Error: “Macabre massacre, part 2”
This is again an example ‘Do-It-All-Wrong-Yourself’ syndrome.
The entire English phrase is typed as is in an online web ‘transliterator’ (not a translator). If the person doesn’t know Sanskrit script or language, they won’t know what mess has been made here.
The phrases in Sanskrit script are not only nonsense, they also represent a lack of understanding translation, transliteration and font mapping.
Error: “Script issues”
Online Sanskrit transliterator mitook as translator!
Sometimes, the error is just way beyond description.
Error: “bha becomes tha”
The word is ‘abhaya’ lack of fear.
But the way it is written, the middle letter has become ‘tha’ instead of ‘bha’.
Error: “The extra h“
The famous Vhictoria tattoo!
Sometimes, the mother tongue of the writer can influence how the words are spelled.
For example, almost all Southern Indian names have an extra ‘h’ after a ‘t’ or a ‘d’ in their English spelling and it causes havoc for Sanskrit words, where the meaning can completely change.
In this case, the extra ‘h’ sound after ‘V’ is because of the way it is pronounced in Marathi.
The search stops here!
