Satyameva Jayate
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"Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit: सत्यमेव जयते satyam-eva jayate; lit. "Truth alone triumphs.") is a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture Mundaka Upanishad.[1] Upon independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India.[2] 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 north 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 ॥६॥
- Transliteration
satyameva jayate nānṛtaṁ
satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ
yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā
yatra tat satyasya paramaṁ nidhānam[3]
- In English
Popular connotations
Popular connotations also include:
- 'Truth stands Invincible'
- 'Truth alone triumphs*'
- 'Truth alone conquers, not falsehood'
- 'The true prevails, not the untrue' [5]
- 'Truth alone conquers, not untruth' [6]
- 'Truth Alone Triumphs, not (na) that against Sacred law (Rta)
- Vaimaye Vellum (Tamil : வாய்மையே வெல்லும்)
- Pravda vítězí ("Truth prevails", a motto of the Hussite movement and the official motto of Czechoslovak/Czech presidents)
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.[7]
References
- ^ "Hindus laud Mick Jagger for singing in Sanskrit - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
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(help) - ^ Sanskrit Documents. "muṇḍakopaniṣat" (PDF).
- ^ Swami Krishnananda. "The Mundaka Upanishad:Third Mundaka, First Khanda".
- ^ (Max Muller (SBE 15))
- ^ (Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanishads) - citations from Mehendale
- ^ "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).