Ayaneshu cha sarveshu yathaabhaagamavastithaaha |
Bheeshmamevaabhirakshantu bhavantaha sarva eva hi || 11 ||
 
All of you should completely protect Bheeshma at all points, situated in each of your various formations.
 
bhavavtaha: all of you
eva hi: must certainly
abhirakshantu: completely protect
bheeshman: Bheeshma
eva: foremost
sarveshu ayaneshu ca: at all points
avasthitaaha: situated
sarve: respectively
yathaa-bhaagam: in your various formations
 
Duryodhana instructed his main warriors to ensure Bheesma’s safety since the Mahabharata war was about to begin.
 
Let’s do a quick recap. The first chapter opened with Dhristrashtra asking Sanjaya to elaborate on the progress of the war, and that led to Duryodhana’s monologue to Drona. After the statement Duryodhana makes in the current verse, he no longer has a “speaking part” in the Gita anywhere.
 
After this verse, we will encounter a series of verses that get us closer to the start of the battle, and closer to the core of the Gita.