Tag: tattoo images
Why Sanskrit Tattoo Designs And Not Kanji?
by Tim Newton on Jan.05, 2009, under Sanskrit Tattoo Designs Articles
Why Sanskrit tattoo designs? Why not Hebrew or Arabic tattoo designs? Or tattoos in other old languages? Right now, the only competitor to Sanskrit is Chinese/Japanese words used in tattoos.
So why is Sanskrit so popular in tattoo designs? Partly due to the whims and vagaries of fashion, and partly because it looks elegant. Consider the flowing curves joined by horizontal lines at the top. This makes them natural for tattoo designs. Armband tattoos, even tribal tattoos can be designed from Sanskrit words.
Compared to Sanskrit, Chinese/Japanese words tend to look blocky. They just do not flow as well. Mind you, they can represent very complex ideas in very few words. Ancient Chinese and Japanese aristocrats created beautiful and complex poems with just a few words. The most witty of them could create poems with more than one meaning. Unfortunately, all this richness of ideas is lost in the modern world today, where almost no one has the necessary depth of literary and artistic education to appreciate poetic tattoos inked in Chinese/Japanese.
It is no wonder that Sanskrit tattoo designs beat out their Chinese/Japanese counterparts, especially in this part of the world – they just look too darned good!
How Do Indian Religious Authorities View Sanskrit Tattoo Designs?
Like practitioners of other major religions, Hindus look at the human body as a creation of God which should not be defaced with tattoos and piercings. And definitely not using holy scripts.
But while the holy man condemns such mistreatment of the human body, the society around him often has different ideas. Even in India, the home of Sanskrit, piercings in the form of ear rings and nose studs are common, especially for women. While Sanskrit tattoo designs are not widely flaunted, they are present. Rules have even appeared on how these tattoos should be maintained.
For the modern Hindu who wants to sport a Sanskrit tattoo, the area he chooses to place it must be stripped of hair. This area of flesh must never be touched by dirt.
How Does The Public View Sanskrit Tattoo Designs?
Well, in India, tattoos inked in Sanskrit are becoming more widely accepted. You can now see people with one or two religious symbols inked as a tattoo on their flesh. The most popular of the tattoo images is the Om symbol.
Fortunately, the rest of us are not in India. So we are not subject to the same strict set of rules regarding tattoo placement as the Hindus.
A Sanskrit tattoo design quoting one of the stanzas from the Mahabharata or Bhagavad Gita epics sure looks very impressive. If you understand the real meaning of your tattoo, it can help to inspire you when you are striving to overcome some obstacles in your life.
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Revive The Ancient Sanskrit Language In Your Tattoos
by Tim Newton on Dec.29, 2008, under Sanskrit Tattoo Designs Articles
Like any other fashion fad, tattoos come and go. Today, the time for tattoos has come again. The sleeve tattoos in tribal designs of yester-year is out of fashion, relegated to punks and rebels. Fashionable tattoos today are more subtle and spiritual, like Sanskrit tattoo designs.
Sanskrit is the origin of many modern languages in South Asia, East Asia and South East Asia. According to Sir William Jones, the noted 18th century philologist, Sanskrit, ancient Greek and Latin all share a common root. Sanskrit script is horizontal in nature, with a bar on top and many curved edges. It is elegant and perfect for artistic rendering. You can have a single word like “Om” (often interpreted as universal peace in modern spiritual writings) in lower back tattoos, or a motto (like “Satyameva Jayate” – “Truth alone triumphs”) in an armband tattoos.
Do you have someone you would like to remember forever? Translate his or her name into Sanskrit and have it inked into your “in memory” tattoo design. It is more unique than using our everyday Roman alphabet, and you do not have to make any awkward explanations to your future boyfriend or girlfriend why you have someone else’s name tattooed on your buttocks.
One of the major religions in the world, Hinduism, uses Sanskrit for its religious texts. Another major religion, Buddhism, also has religious texts in Sanskrit (Although it mostly uses Pali). If you want to commemorate some wonderful event or miracle in your life, why not do it using Sanskrit tattoo designs. Of course, if you are Christian, using Latin in your “in memory” tattoo design is perfectly fine too.
The oldest surviving Hindu religious text is the Rig Veda, written in Sanskrit, dated to 1500 BC. Two other great Hindu epics exist – the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Sanskrit tattoo designs using some of the magnificent verses from these ancient writings would make a great conversation piece. So would using some of the beautiful “sutra” Buddhist verses, written in Pali or Sanskrit. Tattoos like these are ideal for someone more spiritually inclined.
Sanskrit tattoo designs make for a beautiful alternative to other popular tattoo images like the celtic cross or flower tattoos.
Are you looking for the perfect tattoo design? Click here to join TattooMeNow. Get immediate access to thousands of tattoo designs.
