Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1, Verse 11

Chapter 1 – Arjuna Vishada Yoga · Speaker: Sanjaya

Sanskrit verse

अयनेषु च सर्वेषु यथाभागमवस्थिताः ।
भीष्ममेवाभिरक्षन्तु भवन्तः सर्व एव हि ॥

Transliteration

ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu yathābhāgamavasthitāḥ .
bhīṣmamevābhirakṣantu bhavantaḥ sarva eva hi ॥

Meaning

Therefore, all of you, standing firm in your assigned positions at every point of entry in the formation, must above all protect Bhishma from every side.

Word meanings

अयनेषु – at the entry points of the formation
च – and
सर्वेषु – all
यथाभागम् – according to your assigned positions
अवस्थिताः – stationed
भीष्मम् – Bhishma
एव – alone, above all
अभिरक्षन्तु – protect on all sides
भवन्तः – you (respectful plural)
सर्वे – all
हि – indeed

Anvaya (word order)

सर्वेषु च अयनेषु यथाभागम् अवस्थिताः भवन्तः सर्वे एव हि भीष्मम् एव अभिरक्षन्तु ।

Explanation

Duryodhana's speech ends with an order. Ayana means the gateways or fronts of a battle formation, the points through which an enemy might break in. He tells all his commanders to hold their assigned posts and devote their full strength to guarding Bhishma.

Why should an invincible warrior like Bhishma need protection? He had the boon of choosing the moment of his death, and no warrior could defeat him in open combat. The answer lies in Shikhandi. Bhishma had vowed never to raise his weapons against a woman, or one who had once been a woman. Shikhandi had been Amba in a previous life, and in this life too was born female and later became male. Duryodhana feared that the Pandavas would place Shikhandi in front and attack Bhishma from behind that shield, and in the end that is exactly what happened.

There is a second reason. All of Duryodhana's hopes rested on Bhishma. When the commander falls, the army's morale collapses. So he says bhishmam eva, 'Bhishma above all'; the emphatic eva shows the depth of his anxiety.

It is also worth noticing that after this long speech Drona gives no reply. Tradition reads the teacher's silence as indifference to both the flattery and the taunts of his pupil.

Context

Duryodhana's speech, begun in verse 3, ends here. Drona does not answer. In the next verse Bhishma, to cheer Duryodhana, roars like a lion and blows his conch.

Life lesson

An organisation that depends entirely on a single person is weak at its core. Each person firmly doing their duty in their own place is the real security of any group.

Key terms

Ayana: an entry point or front of a battle formation
Yathabhagam: according to one's allotted position
Shikhandi: child of Drupada, Amba in a former life; the means of Bhishma's fall