Divya KathaAbhimanyu was the sixteen-year-old son of Arjuna who broke into the chakravyuh, the Kaurava army's wheel-shaped battle formation, on the 13th day of the Kurukshetra war. He knew how to enter it but not how to get out, and when the Pandavas who were meant to follow him were held back, he fought alone until several great warriors attacked him together and killed him.
That is the story in two sentences. Here is how it happened, and why it still moves people thousands of years later.
Abhimanyu ki kahani in short (संक्षेप में)
अभिमन्यु अर्जुन और सुभद्रा के पुत्र थे और श्रीकृष्ण के भांजे। लोककथा के अनुसार उन्होंने माँ के गर्भ में ही चक्रव्यूह में प्रवेश करने का रहस्य सुन लिया था, पर बाहर निकलने का नहीं। महाभारत युद्ध के तेरहवें दिन द्रोणाचार्य ने चक्रव्यूह रचा और सोलह वर्ष के अभिमन्यु ने उसे तोड़ दिया, लेकिन जयद्रथ ने बाकी पांडवों को पीछे ही रोक लिया। भीतर अकेले लड़ते अभिमन्यु को कई महारथियों ने एक साथ घेरकर मार डाला। उनकी कहानी साहस, अधूरे ज्ञान के खतरे और युद्ध के नियम टूटने की कीमत सिखाती है।
Who was Abhimanyu? (अभिमन्यु कौन था)
Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna, the greatest archer of the Pandavas, and Subhadra, the sister of Krishna and Balarama. He grew up largely in Dwarka under the eye of his uncle Krishna and trained with weapons from childhood. Before the war he married Uttara, princess of the Matsya kingdom. When he died she was carrying their son Parikshit, who would later rule Hastinapur.
How did Abhimanyu learn the chakravyuh in the womb?
The best-known part of Abhimanyu's story begins before he was born. In the popular retelling, Arjuna was describing to the pregnant Subhadra how to break into the chakravyuh (चक्रव्यूह), a spiralling formation of soldiers that closed behind anyone who entered. The unborn child listened. But Subhadra fell asleep before Arjuna explained how to come back out, so Abhimanyu only ever knew half of the secret.
In the Mahabharata's own telling (the Drona Parva), Abhimanyu simply says that his father taught him how to break the formation, but that he would not be able to come out of it if trouble came. Whether you hear the womb story literally or as a picture of what children absorb from their parents, the idea has stayed in Indian life for centuries. People still say they are "trapped in a chakravyuh" when they are caught in a problem they walked into knowingly.
What happened on the 13th day of the Mahabharata war?
After Bhishma fell, Drona took command of the Kaurava army and promised Duryodhana he would capture Yudhishthira. On the thirteenth day he arranged his troops in the chakravyuh. On the Pandava side only four warriors knew how to break it: Krishna, Arjuna, Krishna's son Pradyumna, and Abhimanyu. Krishna and Arjuna had been drawn away to fight the Samshaptakas, warriors sworn to keep Arjuna busy elsewhere.
Yudhishthira turned to Abhimanyu. The young warrior agreed, on the condition that the other Pandavas follow through the gap he made, and he broke through the first line.
Why couldn't Abhimanyu exit the chakravyuh?
Two things trapped him. The first was the half-knowledge he carried: he knew how to break in, not how to break out. The second was Jayadratha, king of Sindhu. Years earlier, after being humiliated by the Pandavas in the forest, Jayadratha had done penance to Shiva and received a boon that he could hold back all the Pandavas except Arjuna for one day. He used that day now. He sealed the breach behind Abhimanyu, and Bhima, Yudhishthira and the others could not follow. Abhimanyu was inside, alone.
Abhimanyu vadh: how did Abhimanyu die?
What followed is one of the most painful passages in the Mahabharata. Abhimanyu fought his way deeper into the formation, defeating great warriors one at a time and killing many, including Duryodhana's son Lakshmana. Unable to stop him fairly, several maharathis, among them Drona, Karna, Kripa, Ashwatthama and Kritavarma, attacked him together, against the rules of war both sides had agreed to. Karna cut his bow from behind. His horses and charioteer were killed, then his sword and shield were broken.
He fought on with a chariot wheel in his hands, then with a mace, until the son of Duhshasana struck him down.
His death changed the war. That night Arjuna vowed to kill Jayadratha before sunset the next day or enter the fire himself, and the fourteenth day became one of the fiercest of the war.
What does the story of Abhimanyu teach?
- Courage is not the absence of risk. Abhimanyu knew he might not get out and went anyway, because his side needed him.
- Half-knowledge is dangerous. Knowing how to start is not the same as knowing how to finish. Learn the whole of a thing before you stake everything on it.
- When rules break, everyone loses. The unfair attack on Abhimanyu is often seen as the moment the war lost the last of its honour, and it hardened both sides for the days that followed.
- Some promises outlive us. Abhimanyu's line continued through Parikshit, the one child of the Pandava family who carried the kingdom forward.
Watch the story in one minute a day
You can watch Abhimanyu's story told in his own voice, from his mother's womb to the seven gates, as one-minute Hindi episodes in the Divya Katha app. Each one is a small lesson in courage, worth learning by heart. For another story of courage that stood up to death itself, read the story of Savitri and Satyavan, and for what Krishna told Arjuna on the same battlefield, see Bhagavad Gita lessons for daily life.
Questions people ask
Why couldn't Abhimanyu exit the chakravyuh?
In the popular retelling, Abhimanyu heard Arjuna explain how to enter the chakravyuh while he was still in his mother Subhadra's womb, but she fell asleep before Arjuna explained the way out. In the Mahabharata itself, Abhimanyu says his father taught him how to break in but not how to come out. On the 13th day, Jayadratha also sealed the breach so no one could follow him in.
Who killed Abhimanyu?
Several Kaurava warriors surrounded him together, including Drona, Karna, Kripa, Ashwatthama and Kritavarma. They broke his bow, chariot and sword. Fighting on with a chariot wheel and then a mace, he was finally struck down by the son of Duhshasana.
How old was Abhimanyu when he died?
The Mahabharata says Abhimanyu was sixteen years old when he died on the 13th day of the Kurukshetra war.
Who was Abhimanyu's son?
Abhimanyu's son was Parikshit, born to his wife Uttara after Abhimanyu's death. Parikshit later ruled Hastinapur, and the Bhagavata Purana is told to him.
Whose son was Abhimanyu?
Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, who was the sister of Krishna and Balarama. That made Krishna his maternal uncle. Abhimanyu married Uttara, princess of the Matsya kingdom, and their son was Parikshit.
Who knew how to break the chakravyuh on the Pandava side?
In the Mahabharata only four warriors on the Pandava side knew how to break the chakravyuh: Krishna, Arjuna, Krishna's son Pradyumna, and Abhimanyu. On the 13th day Krishna and Arjuna had been drawn away to fight the Samshaptakas, so the task fell to Abhimanyu.
