Namaste
A rather random question of mine but I was wondering, what is the general attitude within Sanatana Dharma towards tattoos? I know of course that mehndi is a long tradition but what about permanent tattoos, especially of sacred text or imagery? For example the actress Esha Deol has tattoos on her shoulder blades of Om and the Gayatri Mantra. I am not sure how I personally feel about such tattoos...on the one hand I could see the significance of having sacred syllables placed on one's body (provided it is not done on the feet or any other place of disrespect) and on the other hand I could also see it as being taken to mean the mantras are being used as mere decoration for the body. (The issue of non-Hindus getting such tattoos as purely a fashion statement is another issue entirely.)

Now, I don't have or plan to get any such tattoos. But I am curious what the position of HDF members is on them. I also hope I don't offend anyone...as I said before, I don't know anything about the historical background & current views towards such tattoos and could just be over-analyzing them.