RAS question
'Satyameva Jayate' (Truth alone triumphs), India's national motto, is taken from which Upanishad?
Correct answer: (C) Mundaka Upanishad.
India's national motto, Satyameva Jayate, is taken from verse 3.1.6 of the Mundaka Upanishad, which is attached to the Atharvaveda.
Explanation
Satyameva Jayate comes from verse 3.1.6 of the Mundaka Upanishad, a text attached to the Atharvaveda. The PIB release on the book Mundaka Upanishad directly supports the link: it says India's national motto is part of a mantra from the Mundaka Upanishad and notes that the motto is written below the Asoka emblem, the State emblem. That is why Mundaka Upanishad is the precise answer, not merely because it is one of the major Upanishads, but because the motto's source-text connection and its use on the emblem both point to the same Upanishad.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Isha Upanishad is associated here with the idea of the Lord pervading everything, not with the mantra that supplies Satyameva Jayate.
- (B) Prashna Upanishad is identified through its six questions, while the cited motto is linked to the Mundaka Upanishad.
- (D) Kena Upanishad discusses Brahman, but the source-text connection for Satyameva Jayate is to the Mundaka Upanishad.
Concept
This tests the Ancient Indian history and culture link between Upanishadic literature and national symbols. RAS often repeats such items because they connect textual tradition with recognisable public emblems.