Help with solving what is written in this shambhala wristband
25 May 2022 22:02
Fernando Navas
New MemberHello, all!
I need help with a translation.
I bought this bracelet some time ago, when I was visiting a fóguāng shān (佛光山) Buddhist temple nearby. It has a large red bead with something written in it, but I didn’t really bother back then. At the time I had no knowledge of Chinese language and just supposed it was something in Chinese.
Time passed, I learned a bit of Chinese and took a look at the bracelet again. This time, I looked at the inscriptions on the red bead and there was no way that was Chinese.
After some time, I concluded it was Sanskrit with a weird calligraphy, but I have no idea if it is Hindi, Nepali, or other, so I tried my best to figure out the characters separately.
The characters I came up with were म ह आ द ख त, but I have no idea if that is in the correct order, if it is more than a word or even if these are the correct characters at all! I will post a couple of photos of the bead and hope someone can help me decipher this one.
Cheers from Brazil!
Gyan Prakash
ModeratorInteresting, please send more photos.
Fernando Navas
New MemberHi, Gyan
That’s all there is to see! Just those 6 symbols seen in the photos I posted.
They follow that order of the photos, from left to right, but I can’t be sure which one is the first. I am guessing the first symbol is म and that whatever it is written also starts with म, but it’s really just a guess!
Not much to work on, I know. Sorry!
Sonam Aparna
New MemberIt says Om Mani Padme Hum
Or as Tibetans would pronounce it, Om Mani Peme Hum
This is the core mantra of Tibetan Buddhism. It means I bow to the jewel in the lotus (lotus being symbolic of enlightenment)
The script is Tibetan script, derived from Sanskrit, sure, but not the same as Hindi.
Fernando Navas
New MemberHi, Sonam!
Thank you very, very much! That pretty much solved most of it!
However, after looking into it, I don’t think it is Tibetan Script either. I think the best match was Ranjana Nepali Script (I will post a photo). Far from
Hindi too, I know, but I had absolutely no knowledge of the language before I started trying to figure this one out.
And after an even closer look, I believe there are two characters with swapped places! You see, I believe the characters “ma” and “dme” are in the wrong positions.
So, the bead actually reads “Om dme ni pa ma húm”
Probably made by someone here in Brazil that, like me, was not really sure about the inscription.
Thank you for helping me with this one!