शत्रवश्चेन्द्रियाण्येव सत्यं यातमसत्यताम् । प्रहरत्यात्मनैवाऽऽत्मा मनसैव मनो रिपुः ॥ ११ ॥
śatravaścēndriyāṇyēva satyaṁ yātamasatyatām | praharatyātmanaivā’’tmā manasaiva manō ripuḥ || 11 ||
Translation
The senses are enemies; the real has turned into unreality; the self strikes the self, by the mind the mind is the enemy.
Word by word
- śatravaś
- (śatravaḥ) enemies
- ca
- and
- indriyāṇi
- the senses
- ēva
- indeed
- satyaṁ
- the real
- yātam
- has turned
- asatyatām
- into unreality
- praharati
- strikes
- ātmanā
- the self
- ātmā
- self
- manasā
- by the mind
- manō
- (manaḥ) the mind
- ripuḥ
- is the enemy
Meaning
A verse of inversions. The senses, given to know the world, are enemies; the real (satya), the Self, has come to seem unreal, while the body is taken as real, the commentary says; and the self harms the self, the mind is its own foe. This echoes the Gītā (6.5-6): "the self is the friend of the self, and the self is its enemy". The reader is pointed to the place where the battle actually is: within.