Abhimanyu

Quick Facts

About Abhimanyu

Son of Arjuna and Subhadra, the bravest young warrior of the Pandava army. His tragic death in the Chakravyuha at age sixteen remains one of the most heartbreaking moments of the war.

In Their Words

I may be young, but I am not afraid.

Abhimanyu

Traits

• Brave
• Skilled
• Young
• Tragic

Story Appearances

• The Eighteen DaysHeroic sacrifice❧ 24 min

Stories Featuring Abhimanyu

89 further tales on this site name Abhimanyu, in canonical reading order.

• Arjuna's Wandering YearThree Wives in Three KingdomsAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen booksAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Moon's SonThe sixteen-year loan of AbhimanyuAdi Parva
• The Imperial SacrificeIndraprastha, Jarasandha, and the Rajasuya YagnaSabha Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Abduction of DraupadiJayadratha's Crime and the Five Tufts of ShameVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Children Sent AwayWhat exile costs in other people's growing upVana Parva
• The Year of MasksThe Virata Parva shows that even the mightiest must sometimes hide and endure. The Pandavas could have fought - but...Virata Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Year of DisguiseThe Pandavas Hidden at Virata's CourtVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Wedding at UpaplavyaAbhimanyu and UttaraaVirata Parva
• Five Men on the ThronesThe morning the servants stopped pretendingVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Choice at DwarakaTen crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the otherUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Braid She Refused to BindDraupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hairUdyoga Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Choosing of the GeneralissimoFive brothers name five different men, and Krishna names the sixthUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Cities of TentsTwo capitals raised on Kurukshetra before a single arrowUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Question of DaysEach commander prices the enemy army in morningsUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will dieUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for itUdyoga Parva ‧ 23 min
• Eighteen Days of DestructionThe Kurukshetra War teaches that there is no such thing as a 'clean' war. Even a war fought for the most righteous...Bhishma Parva ‧ 31 min
• Kurukshetra Day 3: The Garuda and the CrescentKrishna's Patience FailsBhishma Parva
• Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and againBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for himBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Son of RishyasringaAlambusha, the illusion-fighter the Kauravas kept for the Pandava sonsBhishma Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Herb in the Grandsire's HandA wounded Duryodhana asks Bhishma for reassurance and is given honesty, a pledge, and medicineBhishma Parva ‧ 16 min
• Omens and the Ten Kings Around BhimaDrona reads the signs of Bhishma's last day and sends his son to fightBhishma Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong seasonBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Ten Kinsmen Against the Ten SonsDay six: Dhrishtadyumna kills two princes, ten Pandavas duel ten Kauravas, and Bhima goes into the elephants on footBhishma Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.Bhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his kneeBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Shield Around BhishmaNinth day: Satyaki trades darts with the grandsire, Abhimanyu unhorses Chitrasena, and Duryodhana orders a wall of men built round BhishmaBhishma Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth dayBhishma Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Last Push on the Tenth DayTenth day: Bhishma asks Yudhishthira to kill him, and the champions of both armies pair off across the field while Dushasana alone stands between him and ArjunaBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Oath of the DoomedSusharma and the Samsaptakas - the Army That Swore to DieDrona Parva ‧ 19 min
• Abhimanyu and the WheelThe boy who could enter the formation but not leave itDrona Parva ‧ 10 min
• The Valiant SonAbhimanyu's story teaches us that true courage is not the absence of fear, but action in the face of certain death. His...Drona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Fall of the GuruThe Half-Lie of the Dharma KingDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• Arjuna's Vow and the Fall of DronaJayadratha, the Night Battle of Ghatotkacha, and the Lie That Killed a TeacherDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Night the Sindhu King Asked to LeaveJayadratha wants his horses saddled, and Drona tells him the truthDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Women in the TentSubhadra, Draupadi and Uttaraa on the night Abhimanyu diedDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest DaySunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at NightfallDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insultsDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Arrows He Did Not Want to ShootArjuna, Kripa, and a lesson in arms turned back on its teacherDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single nightDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Dart That Was Never ThrownA blind king asks the only question that matteredDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• Held Back by Bhima's ArmsSatyaki and Dhrishtadyumna nearly finish the war for the KauravasDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sword That Broke on the ShieldAbhimanyu strips a king of everything, and Jayadratha comes down off his car to stop himDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Two MacesBhima sends Abhimanyu aside and meets the king of Madra blow for blow until both men fallDrona Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Elephant Corps and the King of AngaBhima breaks Duryodhana's elephant division and beheads the Anga king in mid-fallDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• Seven Bows Against OneDhrishtadyumna rides at Drona in the night battle and answers seven champions with three arrows apieceDrona Parva ‧ 12 min
• Sword and Shield Against the PreceptorDhrishtadyumna, stripped of car and bow, dances the twenty-one motions to reach DronaDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Silent CampArjuna comes back at dusk from the samsaptakas and learns that Abhimanyu is deadDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding himDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The King of the Fire CityAshwatthama kills Nila of Mahishmati, and Arjuna kills three of Karna's brothers in his sightDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Field at DuskSanjaya describes the evening of the thirteenth day, and the army that won walks home through itDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it isDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Road to JayadrathaArjuna breaks through the head of Drona's array on the fourteenth morning, from the omens at dawn to the river of bloodDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Field Krishna Showed HimArjuna is driven at a walk over the ground he has won, and Yudhishthira answers with a hymnDrona Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Night Falls on the Fourteenth DayAshwatthama breaks the Panchalas after dark, Drona looses the wind weapon, and Krishna pulls Yudhishthira out of a fight he is winningDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Duels by TorchlightSix single combats fought by lamplight on the road to Drona's carDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• Portents Before the Fourteenth DayThe night the sky and the rivers answered Arjuna's vow, and the morning ritual of a kingDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Kurukshetra Day 17: The Earth Takes the WheelKarna's Last Morning to Karna's Last HourKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Brothers Bhima CountedDuryodhana's kin fall in handfuls on the seventeenth dayKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• A Thousand Lamps Around KarnaYudhishthira rises from his bed to look at his enemyKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Night After DronaThe sleepless camp, four men in a tent, and the thread tied round Karna's wristsKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• Arjuna Rides Out for KarnaThe car is yoked again, the omen birds go on ahead, and the field between Arjuna and Karna breaks into duelsKarna Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man diesKarna Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Oath Comes DueSusharman, his thirty-five sons, and the last of the sworn menShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• Duryodhana Rises from the LakeTaunted in the water, the last Kaurava comes up armed and asks for one man at a timeShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Gem on Ashwatthama's HeadDraupadi sits down to starve until the stone is brought to herSauptika Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Duel of the Brahmashira WeaponsAshwatthama and Arjuna loose the world-ending astra at Vyasa's hermitageSauptika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Queen Asks Her QuestionsGandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the wayStri Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Queens Who Came a Long WayWhat the Kuru quarrel cost the kingdoms that were only alliesStri Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had goneStri Parva ‧ 16 min
• Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of KurukshetraStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armiesStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not saveShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses itAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Horse Goes SouthEkalavya's son, and the day Dwaraka grabbed the bridleAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 17 min
• Subhadra of DwarakaSister, wife, and guardian of the lineAshvamedhika Parva
• Uttaraa, Mother of the Last HeirA girl's widowhood and a dynasty's threadAshvamedhika Parva
• The Gift SacrificeTen Days of Giving for the Enemy DeadAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Court Comes to the ForestAn Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old AsceticsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Vyasa Brings Back ParikshitA Son Bathes His Dead Father at the Snake SacrificeAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Character Arc

1. 1The TrainingLearned Chakravyuha in womb
2. 2The BattleFights alone against legends
3. 3The SacrificeKilled unfairly by many

Key Relationships

• Father➝Arjuna
• Uncle➝Krishna
• Mother➝Subhadra

Places in Abhimanyu's Story

Drawn from the stories Abhimanyu appears in.

• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Pandava Campपाण्डव शिविर
• Virataविराट
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ
• Magadhaमगध
• Girivrajaगिरिव्रज
• Deogiriदेवगिरि
• Dwarakaद्वारका
• Vaishaliवैशाली
• Dvaitavanaद्वैतवन
• Manipuraमणिपुर
• Nagalokaनागलोक

Related Characters

Others counted among the Pandavas.

• ❈Yudhishthira
• ⛏︎Bhima
• ◎Arjuna
• ✧Nakula
• ❧Sahadeva
• ✶Draupadi