Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 14: Daśaratha Grants Kaikeyī her two Boons
Text 2.14.7
सत्यमेकं पदं ब्रह्म सत्ये धर्मः प्रतिष्ठितः।
सत्यमेवाक्षया वेदाः सत्येनैवाप्यते परम्॥
satyam ekaṁ padaṁ brahma satye dharmaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ
satyam evākṣayā vedāḥ satyenaivāpyate param
satyam = truthfulness; ekam = is the supreme 2; padam = goal; brahma = Brahman Himself; satye = on truthfulness; dharmaḥ = dharma; pratiṣṭhitaḥ = is founded; satyam eva = is true; akṣayāḥ = the inexhaustible; vedāḥ = body of Vedic knowledge; satyena = by truthfulness; eva = only; āpyate = can be attained; param = the supreme goal.
Truthfulness is the supreme goal, Brahman Himself. Dharma is founded on truthfulness. The inexhaustible body of Vedic knowledge is true. The supreme goal can be attained only by truthfulness.
Ekaṁ padaṁ brahma can also refer to Brahman in His feature as the single syllabled Oṁ for the Smṛti (Bhagavad-gītā 8.13) states:
om ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma
“Oṁ is the Absolute in the form of a single syllable.”
“Dharma is founded on truthfulness” means “Truthfulness is the summit of dharma.”
The inexhaustible Vedas primarily establish [adherence to] truthfulness.
NOTE. As Lord Rāma will explain towards the end of this Canto, the Veda speaks nothing but the truth. Prabhupāda explains:
Śāstra is without the four principal defects that are visible in the conditioned soul: imperfect senses, the propensity for cheating, certainty of committing mistakes, and certainty of being illusioned. These four principal defects in conditioned life disqualify one from putting forth rules and regulations. Therefore, the rules and regulations as described in the śāstra—being above these defects—are accepted without alteration by all great saints, ācāryas and great souls. (Bhagavad-gītā 16.24 purport)