Sanskrit Tattoo Ideas
Sanskrit Tattoo Words & Phrases
Short, meaningful Sanskrit words and phrases commonly chosen for tattoos, with correct Devanagari, transliteration and meaning.
mokṣa
Liberation — freedom from the cycle of rebirth.
satyam eva jayate
Truth alone triumphs.
aham brahmāsmi
I am Brahman — one of the Upanishads' great declarations of unity with the ultimate reality.
vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam
The whole world is one family.
ekaṃ sat viprā bahudhā vadanti
Truth is one; the wise call it by many names.
karuṇā
Compassion.
sāhasam
Courage, boldness.
śāntiḥ
Peace.
dhairyam
Patience, fortitude.
asti
"It is" / "exists" — a simple, complete philosophical statement of being.
tat tvam asi
"That thou art" — another central Upanishadic statement of identity with the absolute.
prema
Love.
Before you get inked
Sanskrit Devanagari script uses conjunct consonants and diacritic marks (mātrā) that are easy to get subtly wrong — a missing or misplaced mark can change a word's meaning entirely, and this happens often with tattoos copied from unreliable sources online. Before finalising, have the exact Devanagari checked by someone genuinely literate in Sanskrit, and always show your tattoo artist the Unicode text (not just a photo) so they can trace it accurately.
Looking for something else?
See our Sanskrit Words page for everyday vocabulary, Sanskrit Mantras for sacred chants, or Sanskrit Quotes for longer inspirational lines.