Yato_Dharma_Tato_Jaya
Yato Dharmastato Jayah
Sanskrit verse from the Mahabharata
Yato Dharmastato Jayah (Sanskrit: यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः, romanized: yato dharmastato jayaḥ) is a Sanskrit shloka that occurs a total of 13 times in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. It means "Where there is Dharma, there will be Victory".[1][2]
| Translations of यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः | |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit | यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः |
| Assamese | যতো ধর্মস্ততো জযঃ |
| Bengali | যতো ধর্মস্ততো জযঃ |
| Hindi | यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः |
| Marathi | यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः |
| Odia | ଯତୋ ଧର୍ମସ୍ତତୋ ଜୟଃ |
| Tamil | அறமெங்கோ வெற்றியங்கு |
| Telugu | యతో ధర్మస్తతో జయః |
| Gujarati | યતો ધર્મસ્તતો જયઃ |
| Glossary of Hinduism terms | |
The phrase comes from the Mahabharata verse 13.153.39.[3] On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, during the Kurukshetra War, when Arjuna tries to shake the despondency of Yudhisthira;[4] he states "victory is ensured for the side standing with Dharma".[5] 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 Dharma, there is Victory".
The phrase is often complemented with another shloka in the Mahabharata. [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 Bhishma to Duryodhana in Bhagavad Gita Parva. Yato Dharmastato Jayah occurs a total of eleven times in the Mahabharata.[4]
In Karna-Upanivada Parva, Karna while accepting his mistakes in front of Krishna, also said this.
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 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.[4] Before Alf, the scholar Sylvain Lévi is known to have studied this phrase in detail with varying interpretations.[4][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 [India's]".[13] In the study of ethics, it is taken to convey that "ultimate victory is that of righteousness".[14]
- Dharma
- Karma
- Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah, another shloka about dharma
- "Why Justices Broke the Code of Silence - Mumbai Mirror -". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- Joseph, Kurian (2017). "यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः". Nyayapravah. XVI (63): 7.
- www.wisdomlib.org (2021-09-17). "Mahabharata Verse 13.153.39 [Sanskrit text]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 545547. ISBN 9780195394238.
- Sharma, Rambilas (1999). Bhāratīya saṃskr̥ti aura Hindī-pradeśa (in Hindi). Kitabghar Prakashan. p. 352. ISBN 9788170164388.
- Sharma, Arvind (2007). Essays on the Mahābhārata. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 409. ISBN 9788120827387.
- Pandey, Kali Charan (2011). Ethics and Epics: Reflections on Indian Ethos. Readworthy. p. 20. ISBN 9789350180334.
- The Mahábhárata: an epic poem (in Hindi). Education Committee's Press. 1837. p. 349.
- Satyaketu (19 January 2021). Vidur Neeti (in Hindi). Prabhat Prakashan. p. 108. ISBN 9789350481615.
- Haeberlin, John (1847). Kavya-Sangraha: a sanscrit anthology (in Sanskrit). p. 506.
- Yato Dharmah Tato Jayah. Chinmaya Mission. pp. Chapter 1.
- Lévi, Sylvain (1996). Mémorial Sylvain Lévi (in French). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 295. ISBN 9788120813434.
- Verma, Bharat (15 January 2013). "Indian Defence Review: Jul-Sep 2010". Lancer Publishers: 32.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Pandey, Kali Charan (2011). Ethics and Epics: Reflections on Indian Ethos. Readworthy. p. 19. ISBN 9789350180334.