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Satyameva Jayate (Sanskrit pronunciation: [sɐt̪jɐmeːʋɐ d͡ʒɐjɐt̪eː]; lit. 'Truth alone triumphs') is a part of a mantra from the Hindu scripture Mundaka Upanishad. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India on 26 January 1950, the day India became a republic. It is inscribed in the Devanagari script at the base of the Lion Capital of Ashoka and forms an integral, part of the Indian national emblem. The emblem and the words "Satyameva Jayate" are inscribed on one side of all Indian currency and national documents.

Origin

The origin of the motto is the mantra 3.1.6 from the Mundaka Upanishad, which reads:

In the 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

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.

The phrase is composed of the words satyam ("truth"), eva (emphatic particle, ~"indeed"), and jayate ("conquers").

Popular connotations

Popular connotations also include:

• 'Truth stands Invincible'
• 'Truth alone conquers, not falsehood'
• 'The true prevails, not the untrue'
• 'Veritas Vincit', a direct Latin translation.
• 'Truth alone conquers, not untruth'
• 'Truth Alone Triumphs, not that against Sacred law (Rta)
• Vaymaiye Vellum (Tamil: வாய்மையே வெல்லும்)

The slogan was popularized 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.

See also

• List of Indian state mottos, for mottos adopted by individual states of India
• Truth prevails, the national motto of Czech Republic that has the same meaning

References

1. ^ "Mundaka Upanishad". IIT Kanpur. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
2. "Motto for State Emblem" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
3. Department related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs (25 August 2005). "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. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. "The Mundaka Upanishad with Shankara's Commentary". Wisdom Library. 21 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
5. Swami Krishnananda. "The Mundaka Upanishad:Third Mundaka, First Khanda". swami-krishnananda.org. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
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). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2014.

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