Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta Shlok Blog -11
Shlok-11
अयनेषु च सर्वेषु यथाभागमवस्थिताः । भीष्ममेवाभिरक्षन्तु भवन्तः सर्व एव हि ॥ १-१1 ||
English Transcription
Ayaneshu Ch Sarveshu Yathaabhaagamavasthitaah | Bheeshmamevaabhirakshantu Bhawantah Sarva Aiv Hi || 1-11 ||
Hindi Translation
Duryodhan apni fauj se bola ki aap sab log apne nayak, Bheeshma Pita mah ki sabhi morchon par apni apni jagah se drirhata se khade rah kar avian yuddh lad kar nishchit roop se chaaron aur se raksha kare.
English Translation
Duryodhan is telling his army that they need to protect Bheeshma Pitamah from their own places they are at without leaving their places or without losing their confidence from all four sides similar to the manner that Pandavas are protecting Arjun.
Meaning
We saw in the previous few Shlokas where Duryodhan went to his teacher and Guru, Guru Dronacharya, and tried to convince him to be a part of the Kauravas. This was because he knew that the Kaurava army was facing issues and that only a very experienced person and a respected person at the juncture of the battle can help with the cause at hand. Since Pandavas already had Shri Krishna as their frontier, Duryodhan knew he had to anyhow get his teacher and his grandfather, the greatest warrior of all time, Bheeshma Pitamah, to his side.
Duryodhan knew that Bheeshma Pitamah was his grandfather and that he will be able to get his grandfather to his side by convincing him, even if he loved the Pandavas more. But the main task was to convince Guru Dronacharya.
Duryodhan had tried everything in his control, first by praising the Pandavas, then by demeaning them, then by hurting the ego of Guru Dronacharya, and then by massaging Guru Dron’s ego. Duryodhan kept speaking till he made sure that he had somewhat convinced Guru Dron to side with the Kauravas, even when Guru Dron did not say a word. Duryodhan knew that all that he did was try to showcase how bad the Pandavas were and how good the Kauravas were. And then he switched gear to buttering and patronizing Guru Dron so that if not for the glory, then for mercy he agrees to join the Kauravas.
Guru Dron, on the other hand, knew that he loved the Pandavas more but he could see that he was needed by the Kauravas, and also, Pandavas did not come to ask for his help, unlike Duryodhan. Above that, Guru Dron knew that Duryodhan was trying to cleverly mold his mind towards joining the Kaurava army, but not doing so meant leaving his only son, Ashwatthama, to the hands of battle from the side of the Kauravas.
So, if Guru Dron denies to go to the Kauravas, his son will be alone and there will be no question of joining the Pandavas as he will never be able to fight against his own son and the Pandavas didn’t even ask for his help, so it would be like accepting an invitation that was never made in the first place.
Guru Dron was busy in his thoughts as to what to do and how to get out of this, while Duryodhan knew that he had hit the right chord and even if Guru Dron did not say anything, the theory of Silence Is Acceptance will be applied here and Guru Dron had to say yes, if not then and there, then somewhere down the line. His expressions were clear as crystal and Duryodhan was satisfied that his trick had played well.
Now, the last thing was to get Bheeshm Pitamah to join the Kaurava army. When Duryodhan was talking about everything, the war, the Pandavas, and the Kauravas to Guru Dron, Bheeshma Pitamah was nearby and could overhear everything. his meant that he already knew the pitch and it was only time that Duryodhan now focused on why Bheeshma will be beneficial for the Kauravas alongside Guru Dron.
Duryodhan also knew that he cannot keep playing the same record twice so he switched his gear and screamed an instruction to the Kaurava army requesting them to fight with their complete strength and try everything in their might to fight from their pre-decided positions and not change it as per will so that the plan of preventing Bheeshma Pitamah is successful.
The idea was that Bheeshma Pitamah will be saved at any cost by the Kauravas so that the Pandavas and their army can never reach Bheeshma and the Kauravas are safe because there was nobody who could defeat Bheeshma.
Another reason for defending Bheeshma Pitamah from the direct line of attack of the Pandavas was because Bheeshma was the one who had pledged that he will never raise any hand or weapon against a woman in any kind of war, even if it meant Bheeshma losing or dying. Shikhandi, the soldier in the Pandava army was a female in the previous birth and also was a female in this birth during birth time. But Shikhandi went through a blessing from Lord where he was told that he can be a male for some time, once in her life to achieve a certain objective. In the previous birth, Bheeshma and Shikhandi had a rival past and Shikhandi had vowed to kill Bheeshma in his next birth.
Bheeshma knew that he would leave Earth only when someone attacks him while he does not retaliate and thus, it would be Shikhandi only. Bheeshma considered Shikhandi as a male-only and had decided that if Shikhandi came in front of him, he will not pick up any weapons and stop defending himself.
This was why Duryodhan tried to impress Bheeshma by indicating to him that he knew everything and that he will try everything to keep Bheeshma safe and use his expertise for the war.
Duryodhan also knew that he was approaching Bheeshma Pitamah at the end and there can be a repercussion to the same because Bheeshma could be angry or he could blatantly deny it because he hated taking sides. Bheeshma Pitamah was adamant that he will not play politics within his own blood and he didn’t want the war to happen. But he knew he couldn’t even stop it if he wanted.
So Duryodhan tried to impress Guru Dron and Bheeshma by saying that everyone will protect Bheeshma and not let danger even approach him. This was another attempt at subtle patronizing by Duryodhan for Bheeshma.
What Duryodhan didn’t know was that Bheeshma already knew this would happen and he would have to support the Kauravas because any army of anyone is useless without the King and Narayani Sena without Lord Krishna wasn’t very happy to fight against him. So he had to have someone experienced and the needle was always Bheeshma and Guru Dron.
This shlok tells us how desperate times and fear take over the logical decision-making capacity of the people and there is very less to do in such a situation.
Conclusion
Duryodhan was clearly afraid and he was taking desperate measures and actions to keep his point alive. He was trying to convince everyone and this much convincing is only needed to do when the person is actually wrong or has malicious intentions. those who are clear and in the open with no malign interests at heart fight not to win but to prove themselves right and gain their right, legally, lawfully, morally, and ethically.
This is enough for today’s Shlok-11, Chapter-1. We’ll see you tomorrow with Shlok-12, Chapter-1. In case you have missed Shlok-10, Chapter-1 see here.
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