TEXT
11
ayanesu
ca sarvesu
yatha-bhagam avasthitah
bhismam evabhiraksantu
bhavantah sarva eva hi
yatha-bhagam avasthitah
bhismam evabhiraksantu
bhavantah sarva eva hi
SYNONYMS
ayanesu--in the strategic points; ca--also; sarvesu--everywhere;
yatha-bhagam--as they are differently arranged; avasthitah--situated;
bhismam--unto Grandfather Bhisma; eva--certainly; abhiraksantu--support
may be given; bhavantah--all of you; sarve--respectively; eva--certainly;
hi--and exactly.
TRANSLATION
Now all of you must give full
support to Grandfather Bhisma, standing at your respective strategic points in
the phalanx of the army.
PURPORT
Duryodhana,
after praising the prowess of Bhisma, further considered that others might
think that they had been considered less important, so in his usual diplomatic
way, he tried to adjust the situation in the above words. He emphasized that
Bhismadeva was undoubtedly the greatest hero, but he was an old man, so
everyone must especially think of his protection from all sides. He might
become engaged in the fight, and the enemy might take advantage of his full
engagement on one side. Therefore, it was important that other heroes would not
leave their strategic positions and allow the enemy to break the phalanx.
Duryodhana clearly felt that the victory of the Kurus depended on the presence
of Bhismadeva. He was confident of the full support of Bhismadeva and Dronacarya
in the battle because he well knew that they did not even speak a word when
Arjuna's wife Draupadi, in her helpless condition, had appealed to them for
justice while she was being forced to strip naked in the presence of all the
great generals in the assembly. Although he knew that the two generals had some
sort of affection for the Pandavas, he hoped that all such affection would now
be completely given up by them, as was customary during the gambling
performances.
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