[INDOLOGY] Tattoo design

[Madhav Deshpande]

Thank you, Dean. Looking at the picture again, I think you have come up
with a better reading. Best,

Madhav

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]


On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 7:08 AM Dean Michael Anderson via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> In looking more closely at the lettering based on the comments here, I'd
> say it almost certainly seems to be showing *ātmatattvam*.
>
> The word is found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.5 and according to this site,
> also in the Upanishads:
> http://sanskrit.segal.net.br/en/mw?id=23512#23512
> which translates it as "the true nature of the soul or of the supreme
> spirit S3vetUp."
>
> Gavin Flood -- is he on this list? -- talks about it in *The Concept of
> Mind in Hindu Tantrism* which can be found as a pdf via Google.
>
> So it seems to be a consistent representation of a tantric yantra and
> mantra associated with *ātmatattvam.*
>
> The appeal of such a tattoo to a young seeker of Indian wisdom is clear.
>
> Best,
>
> Dean
>
> On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, 07:05:44 PM GMT+5:30, Valerie J Roebuck via
> INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>
> Dear Colleagues
>
> Thank you very much for all your helpful replies, which I have forwarded
> to Jackie Hirst.
>
> Most suggestions have centred round the idea that the characters were an
> attempt to write the mahāvākya *tat tvam asi*, but there is also the
> possibility that it is *ātmatattvam*, which seems closer to the lettering
> we have, though perhaps less likely to be known by a non-specialist. If it
> is the former, it seems a very good message for the young man to have left
> to his family.
>
> Again, many thanks.
>
> Valerie J Roebuck
> Manchester, UK
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On 12 Apr 2022, at 21:19, Valerie Roebuck via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Dear indology list
>
> Could you please advise Dr Jackie Hirst about the tattoo design shown in
> the attached picture?
>
> She says: ‘It is a sketch, now in the possession of a father, that was
> found in the effects of his son, a young man who died tragically
> recently, and the family are keen to know what it means. He was interested
> in the Upaniṣads and the *Bhagavad Gītā* amongst other things and
> frequently sketched lotuses. Would anyone be able to shed more light on
> this as a particular (basic indication of a) *yantra* and/or on the
> particular (mainly nāgarī) characters which do not seem to make sense as a
> word/words - could they be (an attempt to indicate) specific individual seed
>  *mantra*s? or?  If anyone has any further ideas, and how to convey them
> sensitively to the family, please reply to the list and/or to Jackie direct
> (jacqueline.hirst at manchester.ac.uk - Honorary Research Fellow South Asian
> Studies).  With many thanks.'
>
> Below is a Dropbox link to the design in question. It’s shared with the
> permission of the family.
>
>
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/ic44yzw6mfp1jo1/Brett%20Holscher%20tattoo%20picture.jpg?dl=0
>
> Valerie J Roebuck
> Manchester, UK
>
>
>
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