This paper addresses issues and methods of translating Hindi and Sanskrit literature to English, where translation is seen as a cultural negotiation process rather than a direct transfer of linguistic information. The study points out the structural, lexical, and semantic disparities between the Indian languages and English that make the translation process challenging. Syntactic variability, lexical gaps, and polysemy are the major linguistic issues, with the culturally embedded words like dharma, karma, and moksha being unsuitable to be directly translated. Also, cultural and philosophical complexities, based on religious practices, social practices and symbolic systems, also compound the issue of translation. To get an insight into how translators negotiate meaning in languages, the paper examines significant theoretical perspectives, such as dynamic equivalence, domestication and foreignization, and Skopos theory. It also examines genre-specific issues in poetry, epics, and prose, where both aesthetic form and semantic integrity are especially challenging to maintain. The study reveals how translators strike a balance between readability and cultural authenticity through case studies of the translation of Ret Samadhi (Tomb of Sand) and the adaptation of the Mahabharata. Several strategies are distinguished, such as literal and free translation, cultural substitution, foreignization, and using paratextual materials, such as glossaries and footnotes. The research results indicate that there is no universal approach to it, but it is better to adopt a context-driven, flexible method of translation. In the end, the paper shows that translation is indeed very important in facilitating cross-cultural knowledge, conserving literary heritage, as well as increasing the global coverage of Indian literature, and also in redefining meaning across cultures.
Kumar et al. (2026) studied this question.