Satyameva Jayate

Origin

The origin of the motto is the mantra 3.1.6 from the Mundaka Upanishad, which reads:

In the Devanāgarī script

सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः।
येनाक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम्॥

Transliteration

satyameva jayate nānṛtaṃ
satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ
yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā
yatra tat satyasya paramaṃ nidhānam

In English

Truth Alone Triumphs; not falsehood.
Through truth the divine path is spread out
by which the sages whose desires have been completely fulfilled,
reach to where is that supreme treasure of Truth.

The phrase is composed of the words satyam ("truth"), eva (emphatic particle, ~"indeed"), and jayate ("conquers").