Ayaneshu Cha Sarveshu

Duryodhana now issues a direct command to his commanders: "Hold your assigned positions at every front, and above all, protect Bhishma from every side."

He knows that Bhishma is the spine of the Kaurava army. As long as Bhishma stands, the Kaurava formation holds. Losing him early would be devastating. So Duryodhana makes his priority clear: Bhishma's safety comes first. From a military standpoint, this is sound strategy: guard your strongest asset.

Yet there is an irony here that the Mahabharata does not miss. Bhishma was so powerful that he needed no one's protection. Duryodhana's urgent command reflects his own insecurity more than any real danger to the grandsire. He fears the Pandavas might find a way to bring Bhishma down. And eventually, they did.

This is Duryodhana's final instruction in this passage. He first listed the Pandava warriors, then the Kaurava warriors, and now he gives his strategic directive. Immediately after this, Bhishma blows his conch to signal the start of hostilities.

In the Mahabharata, Bhishma served as the Kaurava commander for the first ten days of the war. Once he fell, the Kaurava army began its decline. Duryodhana's worry, it turned out, was well-founded.