'Satyameva Jayate', inscribed below the National Emblem of India, is taken from the:

The national motto "Satyameva Jayate" ("Truth alone triumphs") is taken from a verse of the Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.6).

About the verse:

• The full verse begins "Satyameva jayate nanritam", meaning "Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood".
• It goes on to say that the path of the gods (devayana) is laid out by truth, by which the sages reach the supreme abode of truth.

About the Mundaka Upanishad:

• It belongs to the Atharvaveda.
• It is a verse Upanishad with three chapters (mundakas), each with two sections.
• It distinguishes between "lower knowledge" (apara vidya), which includes the Vedas and the Vedangas, and "higher knowledge" (para vidya), the knowledge of the imperishable Brahman.
• It contains the famous image of two birds sitting on the same tree: one eats the fruit (the individual self), while the other only watches (the supreme self).
• "Mundaka" may refer to a "shaven head", perhaps because it was meant for ascetics.

About the National Emblem:

• It is adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath.
• It was adopted on 26 January 1950.
• "Satyameva Jayate" is written below it in the Devanagari script.
• The use of the emblem is regulated by the "State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005".

Popularisation of the motto:

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya popularised the phrase "Satyameva Jayate" during the freedom movement; he used it as the motto of the Indian National Congress session that he presided over in 1918.

Other national mottoes from Sanskrit texts:

Many Indian institutions use mottoes from the Upanishads and the Gita; for example, Doordarshan's "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" and LIC's "Yogakshemam Vahamyaham" (from the Gita).

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Katha Upanishad belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda.
• ✗The Isha Upanishad is a short verse Upanishad.
• ✗The Chandogya Upanishad contains "Tat tvam asi".