Sanskrit Non-Translatables- Book Review

Sanskrit Non-Translatables: The Importance of Sankritizing English by Rajiv Malhotra and Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji 

Genre: Non-Fiction, Indian Culture, Ancient India, Language 

4.5 Stars 

Have you wondered how cultures are replaced and wiped off altogether overtime? Many ‘pagan’ or the non-Abrahamic civilizations died an unnatural death as the West tried to civilize anything that didn’t align with its ideas and thoughts. 

Some survived, barely. India is one such land. Among the various elements that resisted the forceful conversions, the subtle manipulations, and the brutal genocides, language is one crucial factor that has stood the test of time. 

Of course, any progressive sepoy from India will parrot that Sanskrit is a dead language. And they’ll do it with such contempt that one wonders whatever did a language do to them? Are they not speaking their mother tongue that has originated from the very dead language? 

And what do we say about how the ideas, inventions, and philosophies from ancient Bharat are first ridiculed, removed from the public’s memory, and then patented by the West, with claims that it was their own invention? 

Your turmeric latte and cow-hugging farms are the latest examples. (Read The Secret Doctrine by Madame Blavatsky if you want to know more about Bharat’s role in various branches of Science and Spirituality, among other subjects).

The modus operandi has been the same, be it in Ireland, Scotland, Africa, or India. Replace the local customs, create an equivalent in the new culture, and wipe off the roots of the original culture to declare that the adopted culture is superior and the only valid one in the entire world.

A recent attempt has been made to do the same to Onam, a Hindu festival. It was our luck that the attempts were refuted. But we know they won’t stop trying. If you are wondering why this is so dangerous to a culture, remember what happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving Day. Imagine celebrating a day that saw the genocide of millions of Native Indians who were the true owners of the land.

How many of today’s generation know that Halloween is much more than a costume party? How many know what happened to the Native Indians? How many know that Thanksgiving was not a New England custom but rather a harvest festival celebrated by the Natives? How can you stop a Native American child from looking down upon their ancestors when that’s all they are taught in the name of oneness and sameness?

Now, imagine what could have happened to a language as intricate as Sanskrit and land as diverse as Bharat.

Why is it that we lament how translating Russian is hard as a single dash could change the entire meaning? Why are that only languages like Russian or Urdu that do not have equivalents in English? What makes one declare that the same is not the case with Sanskrit? 

From being a land of universities like Takshasila and Nalanda, which attracted scholars from across the world, why is India struggling to regain its dignity and establish its ancient language? We know what had happened to the universities, no matter what a progressive scholar wants us to think. Books don’t burn themselves, nor do build crumble overnight. 

Sanskrit is much more than just a language. It is the root that holds the country deep down and keeps it alive. Kill the root, and you kill a country. Plain and simple. 

Sanskrit Non-Translatables talks about how even the simplest words in Sanskrit have been given wrong and superfluous meanings, which led to the ancient scripts being reduced to nothing more than a jumble of words. A word without its original meaning has no value in a paragraph. That is what has been happening with Sanskrit.  

The book explains how by learning the actual meanings of Sanskrit words and not equating them with insufficient English terms, we can save the language from being butchered and declared useless. This is an attempt to prevent the dilution of diverse identities. In a world that wants to have a diverse workforce, why is being an Indian Hindu a bad thing? 

If one can see Islamophobia, why can’t they see Hinduphobia? After all, there are more than a dozen Islamic countries while even India isn’t a Hindu nation. Aren’t our identities being replaced with the so-called polished and civilized versions as the West wants us to be? Why should we not resist this attack on our identity?

Sanskrit Non-Translatables explains how a Sanskrit word should be understood. It talks about Shabda- Brahman- the dhvani (sound) and artha (meaning), interconnected in a Sanskrit word. 

A Sanskrit word starts with vibrations. Call it energy waves if it makes things easier to understand. The vibration is a combination of the sound and the object. It is a manifestation of the sound and its meaning. 

An alphabet is called an Akshara in Sanskrit, which means imperishable. That’s how the language is, eternal and indestructible. The book explains the role of Vyakaranam (grammar), Madhyama (medium), and the importance of the Bija mantra, the source of vibrations in Sanskrit. 

There is an easy-to-understand table in the book for ready reference about how-

• Kavya is not poetry
• Kama is not lust
• Naga is not naked
• Atman is not soul
• Prema is not love
• Shakti is not Energy 

And many more. There is another chart at the end of the book that explains the difference between the Sanskrit word and its so-called English equivalent. There is a detailed bibliography in case one wants to look up the references. 

Sanskrit Non-Translatables is much more than an attempt to decolonize the brainwashed generations. It is about teaching the citizens that they should try to look beyond the popular opinions and learn how a culture has been able to survive as many attacks. It is a nudge to understand that one has to take pride in their culture if they need to have an identity of their own. It won’t take long to be a faceless admirer of the West if one were to hack off their own roots in ignorance and misplaced superiority. 

If you have felt offended by the review, you are not going to understand the book. I wouldn’t waste my time trying to convince you otherwise. 

If my review made you curious, I suggest you pick up the book. The writing is dry and sounds more like a thesis paper at times. But you will gain new insight into how civilizations have been destroyed. Remember that there are people out there who have no idea about the origins of their land because there is no one left to tell them the truth. Fluttering aimlessly like a leaf in the gusty wind may sound poetic but it’s not how a country or an individual should be.

And if the review made you order the book without a second thought, I wish you the very best. May you learn the intricacies of this beautiful language. It is not easy. I’m a newbie too, and still am guilty of trying to find equivalents in English. I’m trying to change that and hope you will also try. We don’t have to apologize for being Hindus or for learning Sanskrit. 

Remember- Sanskrit is not a dead language. It is the root, and we will nourish it back to its original glory.

This review has been posted as a part of The Thousand Reviewers Club. Thank you, Indic Academy and Indic Book Club, for a copy of the book.