Abhimanyu, the brave warrior who fought in the Kurukshetra war and died at the tender age of sixteen. He was the epitome of gallantry. He penetrated the Chakravyuha, the complex military formation set up by Dronacharya. This is the spiritual story of Lord Krishna and Abhimanyu.
Why did Shri Krishna allow Abhimanyu’s death in the Mahabharata?
The Commander-in-Chief of the rival Kaurava army but did not have the knowledge to come out of it. Since he could not escape it. He died within the formation, subdued by the many Kaurava warriors who jointly attacked him.
Such a combined offensive against one individual was against the code of the war ethics of the day, especially when done to someone so young.
So the question has always arisen why Lord Krishna did not try to help Abhimanyu, who, besides being a brilliant fighter, was also his nephew. He was the son of the Pandava prince Arjuna and Krishna’s sister Subhadra.
Mythology analysts have tried to find explanations for this indifference on the part of Shri Krishna.
The most common explanation is that Krishna knew that Abhimanyu was destined to die young. The young man who was Abhimanyu in Mahabharata was actually the son of the Moon-god Soma and his name was Varchas.
Lord Brahma had once asked the Devas (demi-gods) to go to earth to help in the fight against evil, and many of them agreed to his request. One of those selected to go to earth was Varchas.
However, Soma loved his son dearly, and thoroughly disliked the idea of being separated from him for long.
So Lord Brahma promised Soma that his son would be returned to him soon. He also told him that his son would be one of the most valiant fighters during the brief period he lived on earth.
Abhimanyu was born to Arjuna to fulfill this decision of the gods and Lord Krishna was aware of it. He had no interest to interfere in the grand plan of destiny.
Abhimanyu actually learned the intricacies of entering the Chakravyuha when he was in his mother’s womb because Arjuna was narrating the tactic to Subhadra.
But before he could explain the rest of it, i.e. how to get out of the difficult formation. The conversation was interrupted by Krishna who called Arjuna’s attention to something else.
So, there is even a suggestion that Krishna deliberately denied Abhimanyu the knowledge to get out of the set-up, in order to prepare him for his destiny.
Other interpretations
It is also said that Krishna did not help in saving the young, fearless warrior because he felt that Abhimanyu’s death was necessary to galvanize Arjuna and force him to use his full potential to fight the war.
It is a well-known fact that Arjuna was initially reluctant to fight and that Krishna had to spur him on to action through a series of advice in the form of Bhagavad Gita. But the death of Abhimanyu enraged Arjuna and put the spirit of vengeance in him.
With rage consuming him, Arjuna is said to have destroyed entire akshauhinis – complicated battle formations – the next day. Not only Arjuna, but all the Pandavas became more fierce and determined after their heir’s death and the death of Abhimanyu became an important and necessary turning point in the Kurukshetra War.
Krishna was also probably gratified by the fact that Abhimanyu had already sired an heir to the throne. At that time, he was only sixteen.
This child, Parikshit, ensured the continuity of the line of Pandavas by eventually succeeding his uncle Yudhishthira to the throne of Hastinapur.
Parikshit’s son Janamejaya has also historical significance as the first listener to the story of Mahabharatha. He was curious about the story of his ancestors. Without Abhimanyu in the picture, the throne would have been lost to the family even after the victory in war because all other Pandava heirs perished in the battle.
Krishna probably knew that ensuring a successor to the throne was the more important. The role that Abhimanyu had to play in his short life than escaping from the Chakravyuha.
The story of Abhimanyu in his previous life
There is another story about the previous-life identity of Abhimanyu. According to this, Abhimanyu was a demon named Abhikasura who was an enemy of Krishna. Krishna had turned him into an insect and kept him in a box in his home.
From there, Abhikasura the insect managed to get into Subhadra’s womb and was born as Abhimanyu.
So he was a sworn enemy of Krishna. The suggestion is that Krishna was not inclined to help someone who was, in reality, an enemy.
This story, however, is not very popular, and anyway, it is not there in the original Mahabharat Katha. Almost all readers of mythology prefer to see Abhimanyu as the human version of the Moon-god Soma’s son.
While agreeing to help Arjuna during the war, Krishna had laid down a condition that he would not pick up a weapon and fight during the war. This is also cited as a reason in many a Lord Krishna story for his reluctance to help Abhimanyu.
However, the most logical explanation for Krishna’s unwillingness to interfere with Abhimanyu’s destiny. Krishna rarely makes use of his divinity, except for rare occasions like Draupadi’s disrobement.
He allows destiny and nature to take its course and opts to be a willing player in fulfilling destiny’s grand plan of action.
Further, in Bhagawad Gita, Krishna is emphasising the importance of duty and action, and not success or failure. His attitude to Abhimanyu’s death is a spiritual story that is in consonance with this line of thinking.
