Satyameva Jayate

National Emblem of India

"Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit: सत्यमेव जयते satyam-eva jayate; lit. "Truth alone triumphs.") is a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture Mundaka Upanishad.[1] Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India in 26 January 1950.[2][3] It is inscribed in script at the base of the national emblem. The emblem and the words "Satyameva Jayate" are inscribed on one side of all Indian currency. The emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka which was erected around 250 BCE at Sarnath, near Varanasi in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is inscribed on all currency notes and national documents.

Origin

The origin of the motto is well-known mantra 3.1.6 from the Mundaka Upanishad. The mantra is as follows:

In Devanāgarī script

सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः ।
येनाक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम् ॥

Transliteration

satyameva jayate nānṛtaṃ
satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ
yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā
yatra tat satyasya paramaṃ nidhānam[4]

In English

Truth alone triumphs; not falsehood.
Through truth the divine path is spread out
by which the sages whose desires have been completely fulfilled,
reach to where is that supreme treasure of Truth.[5]

Popular connotations also include:

  • 'Truth stands Invincible'
  • 'Truth alone triumphs*'
  • 'Truth alone conquers, not falsehood'
  • 'The true prevails, not the untrue' [6]
  • 'Truth alone conquers, not untruth' [7]
  • 'Truth Alone Triumphs, not (na) that against Sacred law (Rta)
  • Vaimaye Vellum (Tamil: வாய்மையே வெல்லும்)
  • Satya Matra Vijayotsvagalu [kannada(ಕನ್ನಡ)language:ಸತ್ಯ ಮಾತ್ರ ವಿಜಯೋತ್ಸವಗಳು]

The slogan was popularised and brought into the national lexicon by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1918 when serving his second of four terms as President of the Indian National Congress.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hindus laud Mick Jagger for singing in Sanskrit - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  2. ↑ "Motto for State Emblem" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive.
  3. ↑ Department related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs (2005-08-25). "One hundred and sixteenth report on the state emblem of India (Prohibition of improper use) Bill, 2004". New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi: 6.11.1. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  4. ↑ "The Mundaka Upanishad with Shankara's Commentary". Wisdom Library.
  5. ↑ Swami Krishnananda. "The Mundaka Upanishad:Third Mundaka, First Khanda".
  6. ↑ (Max Muller (SBE 15))
  7. ↑ (Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanishads) - citations from Mehendale
  8. ↑ "Minutes of the first meeting of the National Committee for Commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya 26 July 2011 at 6.00 pm - 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi" (PDF).


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