How a mantra of Hindu god Narasimha appeared on a Russian barrel used in Ukraine war

A few weeks ago, a screenshot of a YouTube video went viral on social media platforms, piquing the curiosity of Indians, with many online users pointing out the Devanagari letters painted in white colour on a barrel. 

The original video was uploaded by a popular military channel in April. It featured close-up shots of the 2S7 Malka (pion) tank with the caption that it is the largest mobile artillery in the world. A couple of soldiers in military uniforms demonstrated how the tank is loaded and fired. The narrator says that the tank has been in use by both Ukraine and Russia since it was made in the 1980s during Soviet era. 

The first few seconds of the clip showed the barrel where a line was written in Sanskrit, which followed Devanagari script. Users in comments identified that it was a holy mantra of Lord Narasimha, a Hindu god. By using magnifying tools, it could be confirmed that ‘Om’ was painted on the barrel followed by the line ‘Ugram Veeram Mahavishnu Jwalantham Sarvtomukham’. 

Assuming that the soldiers were from the Russian side, the comments speculated that one of the three soldiers seen in the video must be an Indian who could have written it. Another popular theory in the comments section was that an Indian company supplying defense parts to Russia must have printed it. What could be the story behind a Hindu mantra appearing on a Russian tank? 

The video did not provide any details on the nationality of the soldiers or the location where it was shot. A closer look at the sleeve patch on the combat uniform revealed that it was in red colour with a white coloured lambda in a thick white circle. Online search of similar patches showed that it is used by the ‘O’ group of the Russian forces who serve at the frontline. One of the soldiers wore boots with ‘Chesla’ written on them. It was confirmed by one of the Indian soldiers who served at the frontline that the boots were those of private companies found in Russia and not provided by the Russian defense. One of the soldiers carried a medical kit, typically signifying it’s a unit serving in the war zone. Since the video showed the cannon being fired and the artillery has an effective firing range of 37 km, a rough conclusion was drawn that the location could be Horlivka, Makiivka or Radensk regions based on past sightings of 2S7 Malka tanks. However, the exact location was confirmed as Krasnoarmeysk based on the source of the footage. 

Reverse image search of a couple of frames from the video led to a Russian article. A Moscow-based newspaper had published the piece in January. According to the bylines, the author and photographer is Dmitry Kornev. The video, too, was most likely recorded by the author, which was used without credits by the YouTube channel. All three of the soldiers were interviewed, who encouraged fellow Russians to serve their homeland. The location was identified as an area near Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk region, which is witnessing intense fighting. The soldiers spoke highly about the effectiveness of the machine and said they moved away within 20 minutes of firing it. According to the article, there were 320 2S7 Malka units on the Russian side. 

From the interview and close-up photos, it did not appear that they were Indians. The question eludes on how and why the Sanskrit text appeared on the barrel. 

The most plausible and convincing answer would probably lie in the ISKCON temples spread across Russia. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a spiritual movement which began in India and spread to the world. It has multiple centres in Russia. A member of ISKCON in Moscow said that the Narasimha mantra was a daily prayer within the group, and it is possible that some of their members saving at the frontline must have painted it on the barrel to symbolise bravery and ferocity. Similar instances could be taking place on the other side, as Ukraine has around 54 ISKCON temples and a large number of followers.