Gita 01.11 – The manipulator misses the one who matters most

 

Audio Link 2 – Gita 01.11 – The manipulator misses the one who matters most

 

ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu

yathā-bhāgam avasthitāḥ

bhīṣmam evābhirakṣantu

bhavantaḥ sarva eva hi

 

Word-for-Word:

ayaneṣu — in the strategic points; ca — also; sarveṣu — everywhere; yathā-bhāgam — as differently arranged; avasthitāḥ — situated; bhīṣmam — unto Grandfather Bhīṣma; eva — certainly; abhirakṣantu — should give support; bhavantaḥ — you; sarve — all respectively; eva hi — certainly.

 

Translation:

All of you must now give full support to Grandfather Bhīṣma, as you stand at your respective strategic points of entrance into the phalanx of the army.

 

Explanation:

Duryodhana now calls out to his various warriors, making his final statement in the Gita. Following this, Bhīṣma blows his conch shell, and thereafter, events will move swiftly until Arjuna breaks down, leading to the beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā’s narration.

 

Duryodhana addresses his army, emphasizing that wherever they are situated, whichever part of the army they are in, and whatever their strategic role (ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu yathā-bhāgam avasthitāḥ), all are important to him. He conveys a sense of importance and inclusiveness to all the warriors of his army and asks them to protect Bhīṣma (bhīṣmam evābhirakṣantu) systematically and properly from all sides. Notably, Duryodhana uses a respectful second-person term (bhavantaḥ) to address the warriors (sarva eva hi), showing his regard for them.

 

Duryodhana is shrewd and understands he has to ensure that all his warriors feel motivated and inspired to fight. Initially, he mentioned a few by name; then, he expressed his confidence in them indirectly by stating that their forces are huge, far greater than those of the Pāṇḍavas. Now, he emphasizes that regardless of their position in the war, each role is important, and from their positions, they must all protect Bhīṣma. Although Bhīṣma was undoubtedly the foremost warrior on Duryodhana’s side, Duryodhana also needed to safeguard the sense of honor of the other warriors who had chosen to fight alongside him.

 

For instance, a cricket team may have a champion with a distinct position, but that does not mean the other players are entirely unimportant; they also have their roles to play. Similarly, Duryodhana is reminding the other warriors that they too have an important role, which is to protect Bhīṣma from all sides.

 

There is a slight concern in Duryodhana’s mind that Bhīṣma, now elderly, may be affected by his age. Although Bhīṣma remains sharp, skilled, and strong, age inevitably takes its toll. Because of this, there might be lapses in his alertness, and when such lapses occur, the enemy could take advantage, potentially wounding, overcoming, or even killing Bhīṣma. To prevent this, the other warriors must also take on the duty of protecting Bhīṣma. Duryodhana calculated that the other warriors would not find this demeaning, as they all understood that as long as Bhīṣma was the commander, they were obligated to fight under him, obey him, and protect him. However, having their roles denied or their value downplayed is something they would not appreciate. So, Duryodhana respectfully addresses them as “bhavantaḥ”—meaning “O respected ones” or “O warriors”—to affirm that their positions are also important.

 

Duryodhana subtly emphasizes this because he does not want the enemy to penetrate their ranks from any position. Bhīṣma, as the commander, will certainly protect his own position, but he cannot be everywhere at once. The enemy might penetrate through other positions and attack from behind, catching Bhīṣma off-guard. Therefore, it is their duty to protect him.

 

So, Duryodhana is doing two things here: he is conveying to his warriors that he values them, while simultaneously reaffirming to Bhīṣma that he holds him in a central position. In this way, Duryodhana is attempting to ingratiate himself with both the warriors and Bhīṣma, ensuring that they all fight for him. Duryodhana carefully uses precise language to play a subtle word game, aiming to influence the characters to act according to his wishes.

 

If we look at the Kurukshetra war, there were occasions when Bhīṣma, while directly fighting with the Pāṇḍavas, held back and did not try to kill them immediately. However, at other times, when the battle became intense and his honor was at stake—particularly when Duryodhana accused him of being partial to the Pāṇḍavas—Bhīṣma fought fiercely. Yet, this fierce fighting was largely a result of Duryodhana’s goading and was external. Internally, Bhīṣma had an intimate bond of love with Kṛṣṇa and was simply acting in alignment with Kṛṣṇa’s wishes. Through his actions, Bhīṣma sought to demonstrate to the world Kṛṣṇa’s love for His devotees.

 

For example, on the eighth evening of the war, Bhīṣma took a vow that he would kill the Pāṇḍavas with five arrows in the next day’s battle. Even while imbuing the arrows with mystic powers, Bhīṣma knew that Kṛṣṇa would not allow the Pāṇḍavas to be killed. While Bhīṣma was reluctant to discharge those arrows, he was even more eager to witness how Kṛṣṇa would protect the Pāṇḍavas. The next morning, when Bhīṣma learned that Kṛṣṇa had instructed Arjuna to ask Duryodhana for the charity of those five arrows, he marveled at Kṛṣṇa’s expertise in protecting His devotees. Subsequently, Bhīṣma made another vow: that either he would kill Arjuna that day, or he would force Kṛṣṇa to break His vow of not lifting any weapons. This was also done to demonstrate to the world how the Lord values His devotees even more than His own word. For any honorable person, one’s word of honor is of utmost importance, but for the Lord, His love for His devotees surpasses even that. To protect Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa was willing to break His vow of not lifting weapons in the Kurukshetra war by lifting the chariot wheel, akin to wielding His Sudarshan Chakra. Thus, we can understand Bhīṣma’s inner mood.

 

Coming back to this verse, Bhīṣma will now initiate the battle by blowing his conch shell, effectively cutting off Duryodhana’s speech. This action is not a result of Duryodhana’s manipulation. Although Duryodhana might congratulate himself, thinking he has influenced Bhīṣma—and Sanjaya will describe his happiness in the next verse—Bhīṣma’s act of blowing the conch shell was his own inner reciprocation with Kṛṣṇa.

 

This “Kṛṣṇa factor” is completely left out of the calculation by Duryodhana, who views the situation purely in material and martial terms. Since Kṛṣṇa is not going to fight or lift weapons, Duryodhana dismisses Him as a non-combatant or a non-entity. However, Kṛṣṇa, whether as a combatant or non-combatant, remains the supreme entity in all circumstances. Ignoring Kṛṣṇa is Duryodhana’s fundamental blunder. Despite all his word jugglery, efforts to appreciate, encourage, and include everyone, he forgets the most important person—the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa.