"Satyameva Jayate" (satyam-eva jayate सत्यमेव जयते) (Literally: "Truth Alone Triumphs") is a Hindu mantra from the ancient scripture Mundaka Upanishad.[1] Upon independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India.[2] It is inscribed in Devanagari script at the base of the national emblem. The emblem and words 'Satyameva Jayate' are inscribed on one side of all Indian currency. The emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Asoka which was erected around 250 BCE at Sarnath, near Varanasi in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, but does not contain the motto. The origin of the motto is a well-known mantra 3.1.6 from the Mundaka Upanishad.[2] The full mantra as follows:
satyameva jayate nānṛtaṁ
satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ |
yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā
yatra tat satyasya paramaṁ nidhānam ||[3]
In Devanāgarī:
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतम् सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः ।
येनाक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्यात्मकामो यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानं ॥
Meaning:
Popular connotations also include:
The motto of the Czech Republic and its predecessor Czechoslovakia, "Pravda vítězí" ("Truth Prevails") has a similar meaning.