Philosophy:Yato Dharma Tato Jaya

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Yato Dharmastato Jaya is a Sanskrit shloka. The motto of Supreme Court of India is Yato Dharma Tato Jaya, which occurs a total of eleven times in the epic Mahabharata, and means "Where there is Dharma, there will be Victory".[1][2]

Meaning

The phrase comes from Sanskrit: यतः कृष्णस्ततो धर्मो यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः on the battlefield of Kurukshetra War when Arjuna is trying to shake the despondency of Yudhisthira.[3] He says that "victory is ensured for the side standing with Dharma, where Krishna is, there is victory".[4] It occurs again when Gandhari, the mother of Kauravas, having lost all her sons in the war, utters it with the intent: "Where there is Lord Krishna there is Dharma, and where there is Dharma there is Victory".[5]

Reference in Indian scriptures

The phrase is often complemented with another shloka in the Mahabharata which conveys, "Where there is Dharma, there is Krishna".[6] Dhritarashtra is warned using this phrase by Vyasa to discourage the unrighteous ways of his sons.[7] It again occurs in the Stri Parva of Hindu Itihasa Mahabharata.[8] It is also told by Bhisma to Duryodhana in Bhagavad Gita Parva. Yato Dharma Tato Jaya occurs a total of eleven times in the Mahabharata.[3]

In Vidura Niti, when Dhritarashtra is interacting with Vidura, he uses this phrase. He says, "though I know that victory lies on the path of Dharma, even then I cannot forsake my son Duryodhana".[9]

Dharma Viveka, a Sanskrit poem composed by Halayudhvi, ends with this phrase.[10]

In studies

In Bala Vihar, an educational activity for children, Chinmaya Mission uses this message to supplement the concept of Karma.[11] Scholar Alf Hiltebeitel takes this up in detail in his study of Dharma and Bhagwat Gita.[3] Before Alf, the scholar Sylvain Lévi is known to have studied this phrase in detail with varying interpretations.[3][12] In an article of the Indian Defence Review journal, it is characterized as "best sums up the Indian thought", here meaning, "If we are righteous, then victory will be ours [Indias]".[13] In the study of ethics, it is taken to convey that "ultimate victory is that of righteousness".[14]

See also

References

  1. "Why Justices Broke the Code of Silence - Mumbai Mirror -". Mumbai Mirror. https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/miscellanous/why-justices-broke-the-code-of-silence/articleshow/62477133.cms. Retrieved 24 May 2018. 
  2. Joseph, Kurian (2017). "यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः". Nyayapravah XVI (63): 7. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011) (in en). Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 545547. ISBN 9780195394238. 
  4. Sharma, Rambilas (1999) (in hi). Bhāratīya saṃskr̥ti aura Hindī-pradeśa. Kitabghar Prakashan. p. 352. ISBN 9788170164388. 
  5. "Mahabharata and the message it conveys to Protect Dharma". https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/mahabharata-and-the-message-it-conveys-to-protect-dharma. 
  6. Sharma, Arvind (2007) (in en). Essays on the Mahābhārata. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 409. ISBN 9788120827387. 
  7. Pandey, Kali Charan (2011) (in en). Ethics and Epics: Reflections on Indian Ethos. Readworthy. p. 20. ISBN 9789350180334. 
  8. (in hi) The Mahábhárata: an epic poem. Education Committee's Press. 1837. p. 349. 
  9. Satyaketu (in hi). Vidur Neeti. Prabhat Prakashan. p. 108. ISBN 9789350481615. 
  10. Haeberlin, John (1847) (in sa). Kavya-Sangraha: a sanscrit anthology. p. 506. 
  11. Yato Dharmah Tato Jayah. http://chinmayahouston.org/pdfs/bvbooks/Yato-Dharmah-tato-Jayah-Grade-8-Lesson-1.pdf: Chinmaya Mission. pp. Chapter 1. https://www.chinmayapublications.com/grade-08-yato-dharmah-tato-jayah. 
  12. Lévi, Sylvain (1996) (in fr). Mémorial Sylvain Lévi. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 295. ISBN 9788120813434. 
  13. Verma, Bharat (15 January 2013) (in en). Indian Defence Review: Jul-Sep 2010. Lancer Publishers. p. 32. 
  14. Pandey, Kali Charan (2011) (in en). Ethics and Epics: Reflections on Indian Ethos. Readworthy. p. 19. ISBN 9789350180334.