Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and the grandson of Lord Indra. He was a fierce warrior and defeated many Rathis and Maharathis in the Mahabharata War. His son Parikshita became the king of Hastinapur after the Pandavas left for heaven. He was just 16 when he was killed in a war by many Kaurava warriors. His death changed the course of the Mahabharata War and resulted in the victory of the Pandavas.
Meaning of the name Abhimanyu:
According to the Mahabharata (1.220.67, Gita Press Edition), the word Abhimanyu means “the one who fights with passion without fear”.
Other meanings of Abhimanyu are “the one who wishes (something)” and “the one who is proud”.
Other Names of Abhimanyu:
1. Saubhadri.
2. Arjun Putra.
3. Subhadrananadan.
4. Varchas Avatar.
5. Krishna Shishya.
6. Raudra Dhari.
7. Arjuni.
8. Karshni.
9. Arjunatmaja.
10. Sukratmajatmaja.
11. Arjunpara.
12. Phalguni.
Who was Abhimanyu in his Previous Birth?
Abhimanyu was a demon named Abhikasura in his previous birth. He was an ally of Kansa. Abhikasura was an enemy of Lord Krishna.
What was Abhimanyu an Incarnation of?
Abhimanyu was an incarnation of Varchas, the son of the Moon and Rohini. He is one of the eight Vasus. To defeat demons, the gods devised a plan. The incarnation of Varchas on Earth was a part of that plan; therefore, they told Moon to agree to let his son incarnate on Earth. But Chandra put a condition before them and said, “You must agree to one condition. If I am to send my son, let him be born as the son of Arjuna. I have been unable to be separated from him for more than 16 years. My son will enter into the Chakravyuha of the enemies to be killed by them and return to me in the 16th year.”
Abhimanyu’s Childhood:
Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. Pandavas and Draupadi had to leave for exile a few years after his birth. Therefore, he was raised at Lord Krishna’s house in Dwaraka, who was his maternal uncle.
He was trained by his cousin Pradyumna and his uncles Balarama and Krishna. Like his father, he became a great archer and was skilled in using many other weapons.
Abhimanyu’s Marriages:
Marriage with Uttara:
Per the Vyasa Mahabharata, Abhimanyu married Uttara, the daughter of King Virata. They begot a son named Parikshita, who later became the king of Hastinapura.
Uttara was the daughter of King Virata. After spending 12 years in the forest, the Pandavas had to stay secretly in King Virata’s kingdom because of a condition in the agreement with the Kauravas. However, due to Kichaka Vadha, the Kauravas suspected that the Pandavas were hiding in the Virata Kingdom. Therefore, they attacked the Virata kingdom. Arjuna thought his duty was to protect the kingdom and defeat the Kauravas. Therefore, King Virata offered his daughter Uttara to Arjuna in marriage. But Arjuna told him that while living as Brihannada and training Uttara, he always considered her his daughter. Therefore, he could not marry her and asked the king to allow her to be Abhimanyu’s wife.
King Virata accepted his offer, and Abhimanyu and Uttara got married.
Marriage with Vatsala:
According to folklore, Abhimanyu had another wife named Vatsala, who was the daughter of Balarama, his maternal uncle.
Initially, the marriage of Vatsala is to be performed with Abhimanyu, but when Abhimanyu’s father, Arjuna, goes into exile, Balarama’s wife, Revati, says that Arjuna has no kingdom left, and a prince without a kingdom may well be a commoner. Balarama thinks about it and feels that his wife is correct and that he is supposed to think about his daughter’s welfare to break off the marriage with Abhimanyu.
Balarama arranges it instead with Duryodhana’s son Laxmana Kumara. Abhimanyu learns of this and is annoyed. Abhimanyu asks his maternal uncle, Lord Krishna, to intervene. Krishna says he cannot do so, but he should ask for help from his first cousin, Ghatotkacha, who lives in Varnavat. Abhimanyu sets out for Varnavat, meets his cousin’s brother, and tells him why he is seeking his help. Ghatotkacha is furious at Balarama because he wants to keep an alliance with the very people who were the cause of the Pandavas’ misery. Meanwhile, the marriage preparations take place at Balarama’s house. Ghatotkacha hatches a plan to get Vatsala and Abhimanyu married.
Ghatotkacha goes disguised as Vatsala to the marriage ceremony. He clamps Laxmana Kumara’s arm, scaring him, who promptly faints. Laxmana Kumara vows never to marry her. Ghatotkacha has transported the real Vatsala to Varnavat, where Abhimanyu awaits. The couple’s marriage is celebrated. When Duryodhana learns that Abhimanyu has married Vatsala, he is infuriated, and thus his anger toward the Pandavas is further fueled.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmana_Kumara
The Death of Abhimanyu:
Abhimanyu’s death was one of the turning points in the Mahabharata War.
Chakravyuha:
After the death of Bhishma, Dronacharya became the commander-in-chief of the Kauravas’ army, but he did not produce the results expected by Duryodhana. Therefore, he scolded Dronacharya and accused him of being partial to the Pandavas. Infuriated, Dronacharya decided to capture Yudhishthira and end the war by making Chakravyuha. He also promised him that he would slay one of the major Pandava warriors on that day. But to do so, Arjuna needed to be away from the battlefield. Therefore, he advised Duryodhana to keep Arjuna away by any means. Only Lord Krishna and Arjuna knew how to enter and come out of a Chakravyuha in the Pandavas’ army. Pradyumna also knew, but he did not fight in the Mahabharata War.
The Samsaptakas (sworn warriors) once more challenged Arjuna to battle and took him away to the southern side of the field. Then, an unprecedented encounter took place between Arjuna and his enemies. Thus, the Kauravas successfully kept Arjuna away from Chakravyuha.
Abhimanyu agrees to enter Chakravyuha:
The remaining Pandava warriors tried to break Chakravyuha to reach Duryodhana, who was at its center. But before the valor of Dronacharya, they were helpless. Therefore, Yudhishthira had to tell Abhimanyu to break the Vyuha because he was the only one who knew how to do so. Abhimanyu agreed to it but also told Yudhishthira that he would not be able to return if any danger overtakes him. Yudhishthira assured him that the Pandava warriors would follow him in the track he would make.
When Abhimanyu ordered his charioteer to march toward Drona, he advised him not to do so as it was dangerous for Abhimanyu. But Abhimanyu did not listen to him, and they marched toward Drona. He killed hundreds of Kaurava warriors single-handedly. He reached the center of the Vyuha, where an army of great warriors surrounded Duryodhana.
According to the rules of the war, only one warrior was supposed to fight with another, but all the warriors, including Karna, Drona, Duryodhana, Kripacharya, Ashwatthama, etc., attacked him at once. He was showered with hundreds of arrows, but they did not affect Abhimanyu. He killed and injured many warriors. Many warriors fled the scene, seeing his fury.
The Pandava warriors followed his track but were stopped by Jayadratha, who had received a boon from Lord Shiva to defeat the four Pandavas once in his life. Therefore, Abhimanyu was on his own and had no backup.
It did not make any difference, and he continued to slay the Kaurava army. Abhimanyu injured Karna, Ashwatthama, Shalya, and many other warriors. He killed Lakshmana, the son of Duryodhana, brother of Karna, and many other warriors. Even Dronacharya looked powerless before him. All the Kaurava warriors were fearful of Abhimanyu’s valor and did not know what to do.
Dronacharya finds a way to kill Abhimanyu:
Then Dronacharya told them that Abhimanyu had learned the art of wearing armor from Arjuna, which was flawless. Therefore, defeating him while riding a chariot with his bow in his hand was impossible. Therefore, they must break his bow and the chariot.
Hearing these words, Karna cut off Abhimanyu’s bow with his arrows. Kritavarman slew the horses attached to the chariot, and Kripacharya killed two charioteers. Other warriors showered him with arrows. Bowless and carless, with an eye; however, to his duty as a warrior, handsome Abhimanyu jumped into the sky, taking up a sword and a shield.
Even without a bow, fighting with his sword alone, Abhimanyu slew hundreds of Kaurava warriors. He was pierced all over with arrows and looked like a porcupine.
Durmasena, the son of Duhshasana, challenged him to a duel with a mace. Then those cousins, those two heroes, with upraised maces, began to strike each other, desirous of achieving each other’s death. At one point, they both fell, but Durmasena got up quickly before Abhimanyu and struck Abhimanyu with the mace on the crown of his head, as the latter was on the point of rising. The violent blow to the head, combined with the extreme fatigue from the war, resulted in the immediate death of Abhimanyu. He fell on Earth, deprived of his senses.
Per some stories, Jayadratha kicked the dead body of Abhimanyu; therefore, Arjuna pledged to kill him before sunset of the next day. He completed his pledge with the help of Lord Krishna.
Why did Abhimanyu not know how to come out of Chakravyuha?
Two stories answer this question.
1. According to folklore, once Lord Krishna imprisoned a demon in a pot in the form of smoke. His sister, Subhadra, who was pregnant with Abhimanyu, opened the lid of the pot unknowingly, and the demon entered her womb.
One night, Arjuna was narrating how to break Chakravyuha to Subhadra, but she fell asleep. But the fetus in her womb learned how to enter the Vyuha. Lord Krishna observed this and immediately called Arjuna away so the fetus would not know how to come out of Chakravyuha.
Per another version, Subhadra listened to the entry but fell asleep when Arjuna narrated the exiting part. Hence, Abhimanyu only knew how to enter the Chakravyuha.
2. The story mentioned above is not found in the Vyasa Mahabharata. When entering Chakravyuha, Abhimanyu told Yudhishthira that Arjuna had taught him the art of entering Chakravyuha.
Abhimanyu said, ”Desiring victory to my sires, soon shall I in battle penetrate into that firm, fierce and foremost of arrays formed by Drona. I have been taught by my father the method of (penetrating and) smiting this kind of array. I shall not be able, however, to come out if any kind of danger overtakes me.’ – (MB, Abhimanyu Vadha Parva)
Therefore, it was Arjuna who taught Abhimanyu how to enter Chakravyuha, but for some unknown reason, he did not teach him how to come out of it.
Why did Lord Krishna not save Abhimanyu?
There could be three reasons behind this.
1. The gods promised Chandra to return his son after 16 years.
As mentioned above, the gods had promised Chandra that his son would die at the age of 16 and would return to him. Therefore, Abhimanyu was destined to die, and Lord Krishna had no other option.
2. Abhimanyu’s previous birth.
In his previous birth, Abhimanyu was an Asura and was an enemy of Lord Krishna. He made several unsuccessful attempts to kill him. Therefore, Lord Krishna did not try to save him.
3. To force Arjuna to fight with his full potential.
Even after hearing the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna was not fighting with his full potential. He still had love in his heart for his relatives. To win the war, Arjuna needed to fight to his full potential. The death of Abhimanyu ignited that fire in his heart, and he caused havoc on the Kauravas’ army afterward. Also, at the time of Karna’s slaying, Lord Krishna reminded Arjuna of how Karna had helped kill Abhimanyu unrighteously.