ANTAH-ŚATRU

INNER ENEMIES IN THE HINDU PHILOSOPHY

-MANISH RAJAN WALVEKAR
M.A.-I (SANSKRIT &
LEXICOGRAPHY)
DECCAN COLLEGE, PGRI

Main key word- The Hindu

Secondary key word- Philosophy

Indian philosophy is said as all-pervading science. It does not consist mere futile
discussions. Select any branch of science, one will find philosophy at its base. Isn’t it
surprising? Let’s understand this with an illustration. Take the Political science as an
example. Even in the authentic texts of Political science one may find firm footprints of
philosophy. For example, if writer wants to explain qualities of a king, he considers king’s
emotional quotient as well as while describing his adorable qualities he always points out at
their philosophical qualities. This is just a specimen. No matter which science we select from
the Indian tradition, one will find philosophical footprints over there. Because philosophy is
everywhere! It is not only useful for our daily routine but also for our spiritual progress also.
This very world of philosophy deals with our inner enemies with great interest.
Normally we all are acquainted with our inner enemies. They are known as Antah-

śatru (अन्तःशत्र)ु according to the Indian philosophy. Though we are acquainted very well

just for our quick reference the names are- काम (Kāma) -desire), क्रोध (Krodha ) anger, लोभ

(Lobha) greed, मोह (Moha) temptation, मद (Mada) pride, मत्सर (Matsara) jealous, we are
very much aware about their ill-effects. Also we are aware about idealism that everybody
should overcome these inner enemies. But the problem is- everyone considers that he never
has been caught in tongs of these enemies. We just don’t accept that ‘my mind is the resort of
these inner enemies’. This is a fact that everyone has burning ‘EGO’ inside and because of
this one argues that ‘I do not have inner enemies’. Still; there is a need of introspection.
Introspection guides us to observe inner enemies within us and with the help of social-
introspection we can easily find out current scenario as far as inner enemies are concerned.
Because the growth of these inner enemies is depended upon the current scenario. Present
conditions condition our inner enemies. Here, we purposely used the words ‘current
scenario’, because as the time changes, gross form of inner enemies also changes. Still the
essence remains the same. These problems can be dealt with the help of proper and
systematic solutions. Where do these solutions lie? If we peep into the Hindu philosophy, one
can get answers of each and every question. Hindu philosophy very positively deals with
‘Antah-śatru’ as approach of Hindu philosophy is ‘problem oriented’ perspective than
‘solution oriented’ perspective. Let us discuss in detail these inner enemies. One may ask that
why can’t we jump on the solutions instead of knowing these enemies. Answer is- we must
get acquainted with our enemy properly to win against him. That’s the way of defeating our
enemies!
Prior to proceed for the discussion, I would like to draw your attention in

प्रत्याहार(Pratyāhāra). Fight with these inner enemies is just impossible without the strong

shield of प्रत्याहार(Pratyāhāra). प्रत्याहार(Pratyāhāra) is the base. What is

प्रत्याहार(Pratyāhāra)? प्रत्याहार(Pratyāhāra) means to control the sense organs. To conquer

inner enemies as they are very fickle in nature, we have to control them. It’s really a hard
task. We are going to deal with this concept in detail in upcoming article namely
INTRODUCTION TO DHYĀNA-1

What do we mean by ‘inner enemies’? In mudgalopaniṣad 4.2, it is said that, “काम-

क्रोध-लोभ-मोह-मद-मात्सर्य-मित्यरिषड्वर्गः |” (Kāma-Krodha -Lobha -Moha -Mada -mātsarya-
mityariṣaḍvargah) desire, anger, greed, temptation, pride, jealous is called as the group of six
enemies. ( Śrī. Paṇaśīkar, V.L., 2010,) So, the question is ‘WHY’ they are called as ‘Antah-
śatru ’ i.e. inner enemies? What is meant by ‘inner’? Antah or inner stands for mind and
brain. काम (Kāma)- desire, क्रोध (Krodha) anger, लोभ (Lobha) greed, मोह (Moha)
temptation, मद (Mada) pride, मत्सर (Matsara) jealous,-these six enemies are just like an
eclipse. To explain this we can quote Bhagwadgītā – (3.38)
“धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथाऽदर्शो मलेन च |

तथोल्बेनावत
ृ ो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावत
ृ म ् ||”
(Dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśo malena ca |
tatholbenāvṛto garbhas tathā tenedamāvṛtam)
As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an embryo by the amnion, so is this
covered by that.
In Hindu philosophical texts काम (Kāma) and क्रोध (Krodha ) go hand in hand, as in
Bhagwadgītā (2.62,63) says -
 “ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते |

सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ||

क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मति

ृ विभ्रमः |
स्मति
ृ भ्रंशाद्बद्धि
ु नाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ||”
(Dhyāyato viṣyān pumsah saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
Saṅgāt sañjāyate Kāmah kāmāt krodho’bhijāyatekrodhād bhavati samMoha h
sammohāt smṛtivibhramah
smṛtibhramśād buddhināśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati )
When a human thinks of the objects, affection to them arises; from affection wish is born;
from desire resentment (anger) arises.
From anger comes delusion; from delusion the harm of memory; from harm of memory the
destruction of perception; from the destruction of discrimination one perishes.
(Sampādaka Rāykar G. K., śake 1891,)
काम (Kāma) distracts human mind. Our senses always chase their subjects. If one
does not get his desired things, he become restless and consequently it leads to Krodha
(क्रोध). So, conquering काम (Kāma) is so essential to avoid क्रोध (Krodha ) and repercussions
causing due to this. The word ‘Kāma’ is not restricted only to the sexual enjoyments but it
also includes material wants. Hindu philosophy never denies enjoying the material pleasures.
But it always perpetuates ‘HOW’ to enjoy? Hindu philosophy has included काम (Kāma) as
one of the Puruṣārtha-s. Puruṣārtha-s are four important goals of human life. One should
strive to achieve them. That’s why concept of ‘Puruṣārtha-s’ is very important. After
acquiring Dharma and Artha, one should go for ‘काम (Kāma)’. Hindu philosophy always
tries to keep a balance between the material enjoyments and spiritual enjoyments. One should
enjoy but not at the cost of our ‘inner peace’. And if one does not restrict the काम (Kāma),
क्रोध (Krodha ) will take place. So, one can say that excessive काम (Kāma) hinders our
mental peace and gives birth to क्रोध (Krodha ) which is nothing but doubling this hindering.
In Manusmṛti (7th chapter, 45th verse) also concept of ‘सप्तव्यसनवर्ग’ (saptavyasanavarga-
group of seven types of trouble) is based on काम (Kāma) and क्रोध (Krodha ). Even treatise
on politics, Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra gives several examples from mythologies and history to
establish a clear but undesirable relationship between inner enemies and destruction. For
instance, King Vena, King Puru etc. kings lost their lives and kingdoms too. Why did he give
such examples? Because mere theory is not capable to preach good things. Good things are
hard to digest. That’s why he gives real and popular examples to preach such things. What
can we say out of this is काम (Kāma) and क्रोध (Krodha ) possess constructive nature and
destructive nature. It’s our responsibility to mould them in a constructive way. Though they
can be used to hinder of inner peace, we can use their potential for constructive purpose. काम
(Kāma) is something which is essential for human, because without recreation one cannot
survive. Even Kauṭilya too perpetuates this feature of काम (Kāma). As well as क्रोध (Krodha )
can be used to destroy evil things. It means क्रोध (Krodha ) can be converted into पुण्यप्रकोप
(Puṇyaprakopa)- anger in favour of sane things.
Generally, लोभ (Lobha ) and मोह (Moha ) are treated as synonyms of each other.
लोभ(Lobha ) has been derived from the root √लुभ ् गार्ध्ये (lubh-gārdhye) to steal and √लुभ ्
विमोहने (lubh vimohane)-to infatuate. मोह (Moha ) has been derived from the root √मुह्
वैचित्ये (muha vaicitye- to disturb the mind). It means लोभ (Lobha ) captures human mind
and मोह (Moha ) shakes human mind. लोभ (Lobha ) is earliest step of mind prior to मोह
(Moha ). Bhagavadgītā considers लोभ (Lobha ) is outcomes of rajoguṇa and मोह (Moha ) is
outcome tamoguṇa. Let us see what is told in Bhagavadgītā, 14.12,22

लोभः प्रवत्ति
ृ रारम्भः कर्मणाशमः स्पहृ ा |
रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवद्ध
ृ े भरतर्षभ ||
प्रकाशं च प्रवत्ति
ृ ं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव |
न द्वे ष्टि संप्रवत्त
ृ ानि न निवत्त
ृ ानि काङ्क्षति ||
(Lobhah pravṛttirārambhah karmaṇāśamah Spṛhā
Rajasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha
Prakāśam ca Pravṛttim ca Moha meva ca Pāṇḍava
Na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati)
Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, longing—these arise when Rajas is
predominant, O Arjuna!
Light, activity and delusion,—when they are present, O Arjuna, he hates not, nor does he
long for them when they are absent!
(Sampādaka Rāykar G.K., śake 1891)

लोभ (Lobha ) plays its role at material level and so मोह (Moha ) at mental level. Conquering
लोभ (Lobha ) can restrict लोभ (Lobha ) and मोह (Moha ) too. There are some exceptions, in
some cases one cannot prove that मोह (Moha) is an outcome of Lobha (लोभ). मोह (Moha)
arises if its motif is so strong. It means मोह (Moha) can directly occupy our mental sphere.
So, one needs to control the both as they are inter-dependent and independent too.
Mada (मद) means Ahaṅkāra (For more information- please read this article-
‘Ahaṅkāra. Here we should consider its one of the shades i.e. pride, vanity etc.) Ahaṅkāra is
different than that of the Mada (मद). Mada (मद) has dark shade. Mada (मद) can be
explained as- ‘अहं करोमीति वथ
ृ ाभिमानः |’ (Aham karomīti vṛthābhimānah - futile pride of “I
am doing something”). Due to Mada (मद) one shows something which he does not possess
and this vṛthābhimāna leads to dishonoring of someone’s social status.
Matsara (मत्सर) means jealousy. Hindu philosophy is very liberal as it accepts each and
every opponent very sportingly. For instance – even though Cārvāka denies Veda and
censures Vedic religion, Hindu philosophy treats him as an opponent and systematically
counters his philosophy. Feeling jealous about something shows one’s degraded state of
mind. Let us see what is told in Akṣyupaniṣad (mantra 13)-
मदाभिमानमात्सर्यलोभमोहातिशायिताम ् | बहिरप्यास्थितामीषत्त्यजत्यहिरिव त्वचम ् |
(Mada -abhimāna-mātsarya-Lobha -Moha -atiśayitām | bahir api asthitām īṣat tyajati ahir
iva tvacam )
As a serpent sheds its slough, so sheds he even a slight affection to outer object when
intensified by pride, conceit, intolerance, greed and delusion
(Śrī. Paṇaśīkar, V.L., 2010, )

Final question is how to tackle and control these inner enemies? How to use them in a
constructive way? We discussed their features but in the modern age it is highly important to
conquer these enemies. Hindu philosophy has different ways to deal with them. But;
Bhagwadgītā (2.28) gives an excellent solution which covers exact sense of ratharūpaka
(illustrated in the form chariot) of Kaṭhopaniṣad (1.3.3)
आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव च |
बुद्धि ं तु सारथि ं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च ||
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः |
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ||
(ātmānam rathinam viddhi śarīram rathameva ca |
Buddhim tu Sārathim viddhi manah pragrahameva ca |)
(Yadā Samharate cāyam kūrmo’aṅgānīva sarvaśah
Indriyāṇīndriyarthebhyas tasya Prajñā pratiṣṭhitā)

Know the atman to be the master of the chariot; the body, chariot; the intellect, the charioteer;
and the mind, the reins.
When, like the tortoise which extracts its limbs on all sides, he withdraws his senses from the
sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes stable
(Śrī. Paṇaśīkar, V.L., 2010)
If an individual soul wants to attain this highest stage then he has to control his sensory
organs with the help of mind. Mind should be also controlled by the brain. A good chariator
does not allow horses to go wherever they want; on the other hand he drives them to the
desired destination. It means inner enemies are caused by our fickle organs and can be
controlled only by the organs. It is not an overnight process. It takes time. Conquering organs
including mind is not an easier task. It needs great concentration.
 Now-a-days it is really a hard task to deal with distractions. We cannot sit for a
lecture for 2-3 hours constantly. We need a ‘break’ during the lecture. Or we always seek a
cheerful weekend or else we often try to spend our mind to relax our mind. Actually, taking a
break is a general human tendency; but we should not tempt for this. We should not make it
habitual. We have too much ‘लोभ (Lobha)’ for mobile and related facilities. Using mobile is
not bad but its usage shouldn’t cause distraction. We have to eliminate ‘लोभ (Lobha)’. And
normally young generation is addicted to this facility. If we observe our daily schedule then
we would realise that we lose our precious time doing useless tasks. Let us take an example-
We do anything like spending many hours on WhatsApp, Facebook etc. just to ‘relax’ our
mind. This relaxation often takes place in a day. Another thing is now-a-days one has to
strive for LOVE because; today people spell L-O-V-E as L-U-S-T. Why this is happening? It
is because of inner enemies only. That’s why Hindu philosophy is not old rather this
philosophy crosses the boundaries of age and time. This philosophy never preaches us to
avoid material pleasures, but it guides us to limit and to restrict their usage. It always tries to
ensure the limited and sustainable use of material things. Here, Bhagavadgītā(2.41) guides
us- व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः || (Vyavasāyātmikā buddhih) - single one-pointed determination –
perpetuated in Gītā (Sampādaka Rāykar G. K., śake 1891,) is highly important. And even
yama-s and niyama-s are also helpful. If we attain that position where ‘Antah-śatru
(अन्तःशत्र)ु ’ will reach at their lowest limit, we will become like this as told in Gītā 2.70

आपर्य
ू माणमचलं प्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति सर्वे |
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ||
(Āpūryamāṇam acalam pratiṣṭham
Samudramāpah praviśanti yadvat
Tadvatkāmā yam praviśanti sarve
Sa śantimāpnoti na Kāmakāmī)

He attains peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, filled from all
sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who is full of desires
(Sampādaka Rāykar G. K., śake 1891)
So, let us try to conquer inner enemies and attain विष्णोः परमं पदम!!!!!
् (Viṣṇoho paramam
padam- the highest bliss and peace of mind)

REFERENCES
A) ORIGINAL SOURCES AND TRANSLATIONS
1) Upaniṣadam Samuccayah, Ānandāśram Sanskṛt Granthāvalī
2) Bhagat, Harī Raghunāth, 1922, Sārtha Upaniṣadsaṅgraha, Aṣṭekar company Pune,
Pahilī āvṛttī .
3) Sampādaka Rāykar Gajānan Kāśināth,, śake 1891, Sārtha śrīmadbhagavadgītā, Jay
Hind Prakāśan,
4) Īśādī nau Upaniṣad, Sam-2068, Gītāpress Gorakhpur, Navam Punarmudraṇam,
5) Bāpatśāstrī , Vīśnu Vāman, śake 1840, Chāndogya-Upaniṣad-bhāśyārtha, Prakāśak
Vīśnu Vāman Bāpat,
6) Śrī. Paṇaśīkar, Vāsudeva Lakṣmaṇa, 2010, Īśādyaṣtottaraśatopanīṣad, Coukhambā
Vīdyābhavan, Punarmudran Sanskaran
7) Cāphekar, Nalinī, 2014, Vedāntasāra, Prakāśak-śrī.Cāphekar, Punarmudrit tṛtīya
āvṛttī,
8) Translated and annotexed by Kangle, R. P, Kautilya Arthashastra (English) –,
University of Bombay, 2nd Edition1972.

B) REFERENCE MATERIAL
1) Dīkṣit śrīnivās, 2013, Bhāratīya tattvajñāna, Phaḍke Prakāśana, āvṛttī 11
2) Sādhle, Gajānan śambhu, 1940, Upaniṣadvākyamahākośa , Gujrāthī printing
press.
3) Jośī, Mahādevaśāstrī, 1962, Bhāratīya Sanskṛtikośa, Bhāratīya
Sanskṛtikośamaṇḍala, Puṇe, Prathamāvṛttī
4) Bhāve, Vīnobā, June 2010, Aṣtādaśī, Sampādaka –Paramdhāma, Prakāśan, āvṛttī
6,