Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 46

SATYAM EVA JAYATE NĀNRTAM
M.A.MEHENDALE Deccan College, Poona
The above passage is quite well known. It occurs in the Mundaka Upanişad (3.1.6) of the Atharva Veda, and the first part of it has now been inscribed as the motto of the Indian nation. The passage has been mostly taken to mean "Truth alone conquers, not falsehood."
In the above interpretation satyam and anrtam are taken to be the subjects, but this does not seem to be correct. Both satyam and anstam have to be regarded as the objects, and a rşi is to be understood as the subject. Taken this way, the sentence would mean "A sage obtains only the Real (i.e., the Brahman), not the unreal." This construction was already seen by Deussen? who translates “Wahrheit ersiegt er (i.e. the ativādin cf. Chånd. 7.16), nicht Unwahrheit."
This interpretation will be found to be in harmony with the spirit of the Upanişads in general and that of the Mundaka in particular, According to these
philosophical texts the highest goal of a sage is to obtain unity with brahman which is the ultimate Reality or satyasya satyam. Whatever is lower than this satya is anrta or unreal, and a sage does not seek after that. About the real and unreal forms of brahman we read in the Maitri 6.3: dve vāva brahmano rūpe mārtaṁ cāmūrtam cal atha yan murtam tad asatyam yad amurtam tat satyam / tad brahma taj jyotih.
It will be useful to cite here in full the stanza from the Mundaka (3.1.6) in order to be able to understand the context and appreciate the correctness of the above interpretation.
satyam eva jayate nänrtam, satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ/
yenākramanty rşayo hy āptakāmā, yatra tat satyasya paramam nidhānam/
Here in the last three quarters of the stanza we are told that the heavenly path by which the sages go is laid out by the Real, and the place where the sages reach is the highest abode of the Real. Therefore, when the subject matter is the path taken by the sages to reach the abode of the Real, it would be improper to give a worldly meaning like 'truth alone conquers' to
So, for example, Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads. Max Müller (SBE 15), "The true prevails, not the untrue." Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanişads, "Truth alone conquers, not untruth." Hillebrandt, Aus Brahmanas und Upanişaden. "Die Wahrheit allein siegt, nicht das Unrecht." Sechzig Upanishads des Veda(Istedition, 1987). The same interpretation is also intended by J. Hertel, see below pp.407.
Also cf. Br. 2.3.1 dve vāva brahmano rūpe murtar caivāmūrtam ca, martyaṁ cāmstar ca, sthitam ca yac ca,sac ca tyac ca.
Madhu Vidya/21