In India, it’s a tradition for many to mention God’s name before starting any book and this practice recently caught the attention of an American. The curious individual shared on X a photo of a math textbook which he received from his Indian professor nearly 50 years ago. The textbook’s first page featured a Tamil inscription that piqued his interest. Intrigued by the unfamiliar text, he asked for the meaning of the text from the “fine people from India.” The post quickly attracted numerous responses and each person offered a unique explanation of the inscription’s importance.
The man wrote, “Dear fine people from India. Would anyone be able to translate this inscription into English? This book belonged to my Indian Math advisor/professor in college which he gave me to study for the whole year with him. When I graduated, he gave it to me as a gift.”
Dear fine people from India! Would anyone be able to translate this inscription into English? This book belonged to my Indian Math advisor/professor in college which he gave me to study for the whole year with him. When I graduated, he gave it to me as a gift . pic.twitter.com/Km6ev4pUVL— Martin (@martinmrmar) August 15, 2024
Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “It says Shri Ramajayam. Like Lord Ram attained victory, we write it before starting any good endeavour praying to him to help us emerge victorious in our pursuits.”
It says Shri ramajayam. Like Lord Ram attained victory, we write it before starting any good endeavor praying to him to help us emerge victorious in our pursuits.— Killer Trader (@KillerTrader_) August 15, 2024
Another shared, “That language is Tamil. It’s the same state in India to which mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujam belongs.”
yes, that language is tamil. it’s the same state in India to which mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujam belongs to. Sri Rama Jayam means victory to lord Rama (people from this land are highly religious & leave no opportunity to praise the lord)
— mahaa (@OliphauntinX) August 15, 2024
“It’s common to put these sort of inscriptions praising God before starting any educational text (at least that’s how I learned it from my parents),” a comment read.
Hi! as others have mentioned, it says "Shri Ramajayam", and is written in Tamil. It's common to put these sort of inscriptions praising God before starting any educational text (atleast thats how i learned it from my parents)— Tooooo soon (@82923930373a) August 15, 2024
Another wrote, “People with religious beliefs write Sri Ramajayam or variants of such, to seek blessings from God to give them strength and positivity to succeed in the activity they are about to begin. It can be viewed as a form of prayer or belief. To each their own.”
It's in Tamil. People with religious beliefs write "Sri ramajayam" or variants of such, to seek blessings from the God to give them strength and positivity to succeed in the activity that they are about to begin. It can be viewed as a form of prayer or belief. To each their own!— Vidhya K (@itsmevidhya_k) August 15, 2024
An individual shared, “It’s written as a first note on any page to invoke the blessing of Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. When handwritten, the alphabet may look like the side profile of the elephant faced god.”
That little alphabet on top of Sri Ramajeyam -is the tamil alphabet for the 'u' sound. It's written as a first note on any page to invoke the blessing of Lord Ganesha,the remover of obstacles. When handwritten,the alphabet may look like the side profile of the elephant faced god.— Jayasree B (@frostatmidnite) August 15, 2024
One more added, “I love the fact that you retained a copy of the text book your advisor gave you more than 50 years ago.”
I love the fact that you retained a copy of the text book your advisor gave you more than 50 years ago. I also love the replies in this thread offering a more nuanced translation.— SSindia (@007musk) August 16, 2024
Since the American citizen shared the post on X, it has garnered over 1 million views.
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