Satyameva Jayate () 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. In the national emblem of India, it is inscribed in the Devanagari script below the Lion Capital of Ashoka and forms an integral part of the emblem. The emblem, including "Satyameva Jayate", is 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
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'(Max Muller (SBE 15)) 'Veritas Vincit', a direct Latin translation. 'Truth alone conquers, not untruth'(Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanishads)–citations from Mehendale '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 Veritas vincit, the national motto of the Czech Republic that has the same meaning.
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