Satya

is a Sanskrit word, usually translated as "truth" or "essence.“ Across Indian religions, satya is a deeply valued virtue, signifying the alignment of one's thoughts, speech, and actions with reality. In Yoga philosophy, particularly in Patañjali's Yoga Sutras'', Satya'' is one of the five yamas—moral restraints designed to cultivate truthfulness and prevent the distortion of reality through one’s expressions and behavior.

Etymology and meaning

has cognates in a number of diverse Indo-European languages, including the words "sooth" and "sin" in English, "" in Russian, "sand" in Danish, "sann" in Swedish, and "" in Avestan, the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism.
In the Vedas and later sutras, the meaning of the word evolved into an ethical concept about truthfulness. It means being true and consistent with reality in one's thought, speech, and action.

is the root of many Sanskrit words and concepts such as and . The Sanskrit root has several meanings or translations:

"Absolute reality"
"Fact"
"Brahman"
"that which is unchangeable"
"that which has no distortion"
"that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person"
"that which pervades the universe in all its constancy"

is a common prefix in ancient Indian literature. It implies variously that which is good, true, genuine, virtuous, being, happening, real, existing, enduring, lasting, or essential. For example, means true doctrine, means one devoted to the truth. In ancient texts, fusion words based on refer to "Universal Spirit, Universal Principle, Being, Soul of the World, Brahman".
The negation of is, meaning delusion, distorted, untrue, the fleeting impression that is incorrect, invalid, and false. The concepts of and are famously expressed in the Pavamana Mantra found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad| :
is one of the three characteristics of Brahman as described in. This association between, 'truth', and, ultimate reality, is also expressed in Hindu cosmology, wherein, the highest heaven of Hindu cosmology, is the abode of.

Hinduism

Vedic literature

is a central theme in the Vedas. It is equated with and considered necessary to the concept of —that which is properly joined, order, rule, nature, balance and harmony. results from in the Vedas, as it regulates and enables the operation of the universe and everything within it. is considered essential, and without it, the universe and reality falls apart and cannot function.
In the Rigveda, and are opposed to and . Truth and truthfulness is considered as a form of reverence for the divine, while falsehood a form of sin. includes action and speech that is factual, real, true, and reverent to in Books 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of Rigveda. In the Vedas, includes current, future, and past contexts. states, that in Rigveda, " is the modality of acting in the world of, as the truth to be built, formed or established".

Upanishads

is widely discussed in various Upanishads, including the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where is called the means to Brahman, as well as Brahman. In hymn 1.4.14 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Satya is equated to Dharma, as
Taittiriya Upanishad's hymn 11.11 states, "Speak the , conduct yourself according to the ".
The hymns of Upanishads portray truth as ultimately always prevailing. The Mundaka Upanishad, for example, states in Book 3, Chapter 1,
Sandilya Upanishad of Atharvaveda, in Chapter 1, includes ten forbearances as virtues, in its exposition of Yoga. It defines as "the speaking of the truth that conduces to the well being of creatures, through the actions of one's mind, speech, or body."
Deussen states that is described in the major Upanishads with two layers of meanings—one as empirical truth about reality and another as abstract truth about universal principle, being, and the unchanging. Both of these ideas are explained in early Upanishads, composed before, by variously breaking the word or into two or three syllables. In later Upanishads, the ideas evolve and transcend into as truth, and as the Being, Be-ness, real Self, the eternal.

Epics

The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata states, "The righteous hold that forgiveness, truth, sincerity, and compassion are the foremost. Truth is the essence of the Vedas."
The Epic repeatedly emphasizes that is a basic virtue, because everything and everyone depends on and relies on.

Yoga Sutras

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, it is written, “When one is firmly established in speaking truth, the fruits of action become subservient to him." In Yoga sutra, is one of the five, or virtuous restraints, along with ; ; ; and . Patanjali considers as a restraint from falsehood in one's action, words, or feelings / thoughts. In Patanjali's teachings, one may not always know the truth or the whole truth, but one knows if one is creating, sustaining, or expressing falsehood, exaggeration, distortion, fabrication, or deception. is, in Patanjali's Yoga, the virtue of restraint from such falsehood, either through silence or through stating the truth without any form of distortion.

Jainism

is one of the five vows prescribed in Jain Agamas. was also preached by Mahavira. According to Jainism, the underlying cause of falsehood is passion and therefore, it is said to cause .
According to the Jain text Sarvārthasiddhi: "That which causes pain and suffering to the living is not commendable, whether it refers to actual facts or not".
According to the Jain text Puruşārthasiddhyupāya:

Buddhism

The term is translated into English as "reality" or "truth." In terms of the Four Noble Truths, the Pali can be written as,,, and.
'The Four Noble Truths' are the briefest synthesis of the entire teaching of Buddhism, since all those manifold doctrines of the threefold Pali canon are, without any exception, included therein. They are the truth of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the extinction of suffering, and of the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the extinction of suffering.

Sikhism

Sat or truthfulness is one of the 5 virtues in Sikhism.

Indian emblem motto

The motto of the republic of India's emblem is Satyameva Jayate which is literally translated as 'Truth alone triumphs'.