This week, I will explain Abhimanyu-vadham. Before beginning, let me first explain why Abhimanyu was a great warrior.
He had 2 boons - indicated by his names of “सौभद्र” and “फाल्गुनिः/ आर्जुनि” respectively+
The 1st boon is due to Subhadra (सौभद्र). Abhimanyu learned skill of fighting from Arjuna and Krishna.
So, skill in wielding weapons - offensive ability - present in Arjuna due to Krishna’s anugraha, was also present in Abhimanyu through Subhadra. This was bhagavad anugraha+
The 2nd was AchAryAbhimAna which made him immune to death. Arjuna taught Abhimanyu the art of defensive armor he learned from droNa.
As Arjuna was droNa’s favorite disciple, droNa’s anugraha passed on to Abhimanyu, just as we gain rAmAnuja-sambandha from his disciples+
Where he is called “सौभद्र”, it means he fights with Arjuna’s skill due to being Subhadra’s son - Krishna’s anugraha.
If he is called “आर्जुनि” or “फाल्गुनिः”, it implies he is immune to enemy attacks ironically due to AchArya droNa’s anugraha coming through Arjuna!+
Now, Abhimanyu’s weakness was his pride. But pride did not affect his invulnerability due to droNa’s anugraha, as nothing affects AchAryAbhimAna.
Pride only weakened his skill of weapons which came from Krishna, denoted by “सौभद्र” . Ie, an AchArya is superior to bhagavAn!+
His skill due to being “सौभद्र” is also of no use against duryodhana& duHshAsana who had balarAma’s protection, droNa, his AchArya & kR^ipa (a j~nAnI) or ashvattAma (droNa-putra)
Thus, they couldn’t kill him, but he couldn’t kill them either. With this understanding, I begin+
Now, entering the battle, abhimanyu killed many minor warriors. Seeing this, Kauravas try to protect Duryodhana
द्रोणोऽब्रवीद्योधान्परीप्सध्वं नराधिपम् कृतज्ञानबलोत्सेधाः सुहृदो जितकाशिनः । त्रास्यमाना भयाद्वीरं परिवव्रुस्तवात्मजम्…। सौभद्रं शरवर्षेण महता समवाकिरन्+
[DroNa said, “Protect King Duryodhana”. Then, many warriors who were always grateful to Duryodhana, who were his well-wishers, conquerors, surrounded him for protection, fearing for his safety. They checked the son of Subhadra by their arrows]+
Duryodhana has balarAma’s anugraha. Those who fight selflessly for him get that anugraha. Kauravas were selfless as seen by “कृतज्ञा”, “सुहृदाः” etc.
Thus they stifled Abhimanyu’s skill in weapons (indicated by सौभद्र). But they couldn’t kill him due to droNa being his AchArya+
But when some Kauravas, angered by Abhimanyu, start fighting him for their own pride, they lost
समुद्रम् इव पर्यस्तं त्वदीयं तद् बलार्णवम् अभिमन्युर् दधारैको वेलेव मकरालयम्
[Abhimanyu warded off with his arrows, that ocean of warriors like the sea warded off by a coast]+
duryodhana’s brothers & Shakuni fighting for his sake, droNa (Abhimanyu’s guru), kR^itavarma - nArAyaNa-senApati, ashvattAma (droNa-putra) -- were able to pierce Abhimanyu. Note that droNa didn't want to kill him and held back
Abhimanyu was not killed due to droNa sambandha+
विदर्शयन्वै सुमहच्छिक्षौरसकृतं बलम्….ततस्तस्मिन्हते… वीरे सौभद्रेणाश्मकेश्वरे
[Abhimanyu showed strength due to learning (from droNa, indirectly) & inherently accomplished (as son of Arjuna, gained from Krishna)…Ashmaka was killed by the son of Subhadra]+
After Ashmaka’s death, all warriors managed to pierce Abhimanyu with arrows. Why? Because Duryodhana joined them - दुर्योधनश्च सङ्क्रुद्धः शरवर्षैरवाकिरन्
If they did anything with balarAma's disciple, it succeeded. But Abhimanyu was not killed due to droNa’s protection+
Abhimanyu then pierced karNa - शरमादत्त कर्णाय वर्मकायावभेदिनम्.
karNa has Krishna’s anugraha; thus he is called “vR^iSha” - one of virtuous deeds. He is also fighting selflessly for Duryodhana. But Abhimanyu has anugraha of AchArya (droNa) & krishna, thus he could pierce karNa+
Abhimanyu then killed suSheNa, dIrghalochana and kuNDabhedi - who had no special attachment for Duryodhana - सुषेणं दीर्घलोचनम् कुण्डभेदिं च सङ्क्रुद्धस्त्रिभिस्त्रीनवधीद्बली+
That distraction allowed karNa to recover and due to his intention to offer selfless services to Duryodhana, he deeply pierced Abhimanyu, as did AshvattAma who is droNa-putra, and kR^itavarma (nArAyaNa-senApati) - कर्णस्तं पञ्चविंशत्या…अश्वत्थामा…कृतवर्मा च सप्तभिः+
Abhimanyu, pierced but not killed, pierced Shalya who fell unconscious - शल्यो राजन्रथोपस्थे निषसाद मुमोह च.
Shalya has the puNya arising from his quality of offering help to those in distress. It however, was not superior to Abhimanyu’s boons at this point in time+
मद्रेशं सादितं दृष्ट्वा सौभद्रेणाशुगै रणे । शल्यादवरजः क्रुद्ध क्रिन्बाणान्समभ्ययात्… स पपात क्षितौ
[The brother of Shalya, seeing the King of Madra incapacitated by the son of Subhadra, became angry and shot arrows….he fell down deprived of life by Abhimanyu]+
Shalya’s brother died as he fought for Shalya’s sake, not for Duryodhana. Now, droNa tells Duryodhana
एष गच्छति सौभद्रः पार्थानां प्रथितो युवा । नन्दयन्सुहृदः सर्वान्राजानं च युधिष्ठिरम् । नकुलं सहदेवं च भीमसेनं च पाण्डवम् । बन्धून्सम्बन्धिनश्चान्यान्मध्यस्थान्सुहृदस्तथा ।+
[droNa - “Here comes that son of subhadra, famous among pArthAs, a youth. He is delighting his well-wishers, the 5 pANDavAs, his brothers, vR^iShNis (led by Krishna) and the gods who take no (direct) part in battle. ]
droNAchArya, the compassionate one, knows all tattvAs+
By saying “सौभद्रः” - he shows Abhimanyu has Arjuna’s skill in weapons due to Krishna’s anugraha. By “पार्थानां प्रथितो” - he says Abhimanyu has his own anugraha that prevents his death.
By “युवा” - he points out Abhimanyu has the flaw of pride due to immaturity+
droNa adds
नास्य युद्धे समं मन्ये कञ्चिदन्यं धनुर्धरम् । इच्छन्हन्यादिमां सेनां किमर्थमपि नेच्छति
[“No warrior skilled with the bow is his equal in battle (due to the above). If he desired, he could destroy this army. But for some reason, he does not seem to have that wish”]+
droNa is saying, “Abhimanyu has bhagavad, bhAgavata (Subhadra) & AchArya (my) sambandha. He can destroy us all if he knew this. But he does not want to kill us as he fights with pride, thinking his own effort is the means”
Duryodhana now realizes the truth+
अर्जुनस्य सुतं त्वेष शिष्यत्वादभिरक्षति…संरक्ष्यमाणो द्रोणेन मन्यते वीर्यमात्मनः। आत्मसम्भावितो मूढस्तं प्रमथ्नीत माचिरम्
[Duryodhana- “He is the son of Arjuna, who is droNa’s shishya..Protected by droNa, he thinks his own valor is the cause.He is a conceited fool, crush him”]+
दुःशासनस्तु तच्छ्रुत्वा दुर्योधनवचस्तदा । अब्रवीत्कुरुशार्दूल दुर्योधनमिदं वचः । अहमेनं हनिष्यामि महाराज ब्रवीमि ते ।
[duhshAsana said, “I will kill him, King!"]
duHshAsana has balarAma’s anugraha as he is devoted to Duryodhana. This will come true
(Cont'd below)+
Despite merits, Abhimanyu cannot kill duryodhana etc with “special protection”. But now, he attains that power
अद्याहमनृणस्तस्य कोपस्य भविता रणे अमर्षितायाः कृष्णायाः काङ्क्षितस्य च मे पितुः । अद्य कौरव्य भीमस्य भवितास्म्यनृणो युधि । न हि मे मोक्ष्यसे जीवन्यदि नोत्सृजसे रणं+
[Abhimanyu - “duHshAsana! Today, I shall free myself from the debt of wrath I owe to the angered draupadi, to my father who seeks your destruction, to bhIma. If you do not abandon fighting, you will not escape with life.”]+
None of what he said matters except- “अमर्षितायाः कृष्णायाः” - For draupadi’s sake. As draupadi is a prapanna, by fighting selflessly for her, he could kill duHshAsana fighting for duryodhana, a prapanna.
He could now even kill duryodhana and all others except droNa+
At the same time, his pride made him say “नोत्सृजसे रणं” - “If you don’t run, you won’t escape with life.” Because he wanted to see duHshAsana run away from him, he had no will to kill him as a priority
And it happened like that+
सारथिस्त्वरमाणस्तु दुःशासनमचेतनम् । रणमध्यादपोवाह सौभद्रशरपीडितम्
[duHshAsana, made unconscious by the arrows shot by the Subhadra’s son, was borne away by his charioteer]
Abhimanyu subdued duHshAsana by fighting selflessly for draupadI. But due to his pride, duHshAsana lived+
duryodhana tells karNa about duHShAsana’s defeat. Then, karNa is filled with a selfless desire to aid duryodhana - the text says, “पुत्रस्य हितकृत्तव” - “he desired to do good to your (dhR^itarAshtra’s) son”.
Due to this, karNa gains the protection of balarAma+
However, karNa, despite fighting selflessly for Duryodhana, was unable to strike Abhimanyu. The text says, “अभिमन्युं दुरासदम्” - difficult to conquer and “अमरसङ्काशः सौभद्रो” - the son of Subhadra resembled a god. Why?+
Abhimanyu was invincible because he was thinking, “I will fulfill Draupadi’s wishes” (अमर्षितायाः कृष्णायाः).
He had immunity to death from droNa & skill of weapons from Krishna. Now, he was fighting selflessly for draupadI which offset “special protections” of Kauravas+
karNa could not hurt him and he could kill karNa. But due to ego, to humiliate karNa, he broke karNa’s bow & delayed killing him, which proved to be fatal later.
Pride always prevents total victory+
A relative of karNa (likely from marriage) used Abhimanyu’s delay to rush in & protect karNa, shooting arrows at Abhimanyu.
He was easily killed by Abhimanyu due to all the boons he had, including the all-powerful protection of draupadI’s surrender+
After wrecking the Kaurava army, Abhimanyu routed karNa’s son, “vR^iShasena”.
He escaped with life because abhimanyu focused on humiliating vR^ishasena instead of killing him swiftly by targeting his charioteer & horses; the horses bolted, bearing vR^ishasena to safety+
Next, a warrior called vasatIya approached to fight Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu killed him. Why? Because vasatIya told Abhimanyu - “न मे जीवञ् जीवतो युधि मोक्ष्यसे” - “You will not escape as long as I am alive”+
By saying this to Abhimanyu who was being protected by draupadI, droNa and krishna, vasatIya had doomed himself; he had to die -
विव्याध हृदि सौभद्रः स पपात व्यसुः क्षितौ
[The arrow of the son of Subhadra pierced right through his armor and he fell dead.]+
Thus, in this period, Abhimanyu is indomitable - because he said “अमर्षितायाः कृष्णायाः”. The entire war was due to Krishna’s will to fulfill draupadI’s sharaNAgati. Not to mention the greatness of AchAryAbhimana.
------------
Abhimanyu,
immune to fatigue & injury due to fighting for draupadI,
immune to death due to droNa,
adept in weapons due to Krishna - razed the foes - रणेऽभिमन्योः क्रुद्धस्य रूपमन्तरधीयत - He destroyed Katiravas. Then, the son of Shalya, Rukmaratha challenges him saying, अहम् एनं ग्रहीष्यामि जीवग्राहं न संशयः [I will capture this one alive; do not doubt]. Saying “न संशयः” is fatal for Rukmaratha, because Abhimanyu is invincible and Rukmaratha had no intention of retreating. Rukmaratha fought selflessly for the Kauravas & thus, for Duryodhana, so he could pierce Abhimanyu - सो ऽभिमन्युं त्रिभिर् बाणैर् विद्ध्वा .
But Abhimanyu, protected by draupadI-sambandha, did not even get hurt. Abhimanyu killed Rukmaratha. Then, the Kauravas attack Abhimanyu en masse. Abhimanyu, invokes the gandharvAstra he learned from Arjuna. Abhimanyu killed 100 warriors & due to draupadI-sambandha, even routed Duryodhana
भीतो दुर्योधनोऽभवत्…तयोः क्षणमिवापूर्वः सङ्ग्रामः समपद्यत ऽथाभवत्ते विमुखः पुत्रः शरशताहत [duryodhana became fearful…A short battle occurred between them. Struck by Abhimanyu’s arrows, your son fled.]
Sanjaya mocks dhR^itarAshtra saying “पुत्र:” - “your son fled”
नात्यद्भुतं तेषां येषां धर्मो व्यपाश्रयः [dhR^itarAshtra: “Valor is not a wonder in those who have Krishna, the highest means (dharma) as their support”]
draupadI had Krishna as her means, which protected abhimanyu.
“dharma” can also refer to AchAryAbhimana for droNa.
Abhimanyu then, due to fighting selflessly for draupadI, single-handedly routed droNa, ashvattAma, kR^ipAchArya, duryodhana, kR^itavarma and shakuni. The text calls him “सौभद्रमपराजितम्”
droNa was not defeated though, but only lacked the will to kill Abhimanyu, his disciple.
lakShmaNa, duryodhana’s son, fought Abhimanyu due to youthful ignorance & ego - “बाल्याद्दर्पाच्च निर्भयः” & struck him by staying close to duryodhana for protection (पितुः समीपे तिष्ठन्तं).
Abhimanyu was unhurt due to draupadI’s sharaNAgati, but that boon was getting shaky+
सुदृष्टः क्रियतां लोको ह्यमुं लोकं गमिष्यसि । पश्यतां बान्धवानां त्वां नयामि यमसादनम्
[Abhimanyu to lakShmaNa: “Look well on this world; I am sending you to the next world. In the sight of your relatives, I will send you to Yama”]
“पश्यतां बान्धवानां” shows Abhimanyu only wanted to kill lakShmaNa in front of duryodhana out of personal enmity, so latter would suffer. He doesn’t say “for draupadI’s sake” - showing he didn’t think about her now.
Still, he retained the immunity due to draupadI for now. Why?+
Though he didn’t think of draupadI, he was fighting to make the Kauravas suffer. That was what Krishna promised draupadI, रोदिष्यन्ति स्त्रियो ह्य् एवं येषां क्रुद्धासि भामिनि [Krishna - Beautiful one! Wives of those who made you suffer will cry (seeing their dead husbands)]. Hence, in a way, what Abhimanyu wanted, was seen by Krishna as fulfilling draupadI’s desires.
As he had already said “अमर्षितायाः कृष्णायाः” once, Krishna connected his current desire to that, even if Abhimanyu only wanted to see Kauravas suffer from his own personal enmity. Thus, protection from draupadI persisted, so abhimanyu kills lakShmaNa
ततो दुर्योधनः क्रुद्धः प्रिये पुत्रे निपातिते । हतैनमिति चुक्रोश क्षत्रियान्क्षत्रियर्षभः [Duryodhana, best of kShatriyAs (in balarAma’s eyes), angered by the death of his dear son, cried out, “Kill him”]. Kauravas then attack Abhimanyu. Despite a direct order by balarAma’s disciple, Abhimanyu is not only alive (due to droNa), but unharmed (due to draupadI). He kills the son of Kratha. He pierces kR^itavarma, kR^ipAchArya & karNa & killed Vrindaraka -- due to Krishna’s anugraha. ashvattAma & abhimanyu battled each other next.
षष्ट्या शराणां तं द्रौणिस्तिग्मधारैः सुतेजनैः । उग्रैर्नाकम्पयद्विद्ध्वा मैनाकमिव पर्वतम् [Sixty fierce, sharp arrows shot by Drauni, pierced Abhimanyu, but the latter did not tremble, like the immovable Mainaka mountain]. ashvattAma is droNa-shishya, so he had equal merit with abhimanyu (droNa-shishya) and could strike him. But Abhimanyu has draupadI’s protection and so did not even tremble.
Also, due to Krishna’s anugraha, he could actually kill ashvattAma if he so desired, which he intended.
तस्मिन्द्रोणो बाणशतं पुत्रगृद्धी न्यपातयत् । अश्वत्थामा तथाऽष्टौ च परीप्सन्पितरं रणे [droNa due to affection for his son, struck Abhimanyu with 100 arrows. AshvattAma, to protect his father, pierced him with 8 arrows]. droNa only wanted to save his son, not kill Abhimanyu. An AchArya will never kill a shishya even if the latter wants to do him harm, but a shishya may kill his own AchArya. Remember that bhIShma laid down his arms only after his AchArya paraShurAma did so.
Fearing abhimanyu may kill even droNa, AshvattAma guarded his father. Coming to their rescue, karNa, kR^itavarma, bR^ihadbala & kR^ipAchArya, due to droNa’s anugraha, pierced Abhimanyu too. However, bR^ihadbala, an IkshvAku king, and a descendent of rAma who thus had this merit, went further and struck Abhimanyu in the chest, Abhimanyu, who had the greater puNya of AchAryAbhimAna to droNa, stripped him off his chariot. But bR^ihadbala didn’t run. He took up a sword & wanted to kill droNa’s disciple - इयेष फाल्गुनेः कायाच्छिरो हर्तुं. स कोसलानामधिपं राजपुत्रं बृहद्बलम् ऋदि विव्याध वाणेन स भिन्नहृदयोऽपतत् [The son of phalguna pierced bR^ihadbala, Kosala-rAja, descendent of rAma (राजपुत्रं), in the chest & clove his heart]
rAma-sambandham cannot overcome AchArya (droNa) sambandham - denoted by फाल्गुन:+
Now, Abhimanyu, seeing great kings fleeing him, forgot about even making them suffer.
He was now just seeking personal glory in the thrill of battle.
When he fought karNa, he struck him with arrows to toy with him - अविध्यत्कोपयन्भृशम् - “he struck karNa, making him angrier” प्रतिविव्याध राधेयस्तावद्भिरथ…तावुभौ शरचित्राङ्गौ रुधिरेण समुक्षितौ [rAdheya & abhimanyu struck each other with arrows…both were bleeding]. karNa drawing blood is a sign that Abhimanyu’s boon of protection from draupadI is lost. Abhimanyu can feel pain now.
karNa is called “राधेय” to denote he is sinful. The name only occurs in context of his defeats. But here it is used for his success in striking Abhimanyu. Why? karNa despite being a sinner, struck Abhimanyu solely to aid Duryodhana. Abhimanyu bled as he had now lost protection due to draupadI’s sharaNAgati, though he didn’t die due to droNa’s anugraha.
We will see why he lost draupadI’s protection clearly next
Abhimanyu next killed karNa’s followers, Ashvaketu (magadha prince) & the prince of Bhojas. Then, duHshAsana’s son, fighting selflessly for Kauravas, pierced Abhimanyu, who says पिता तवाहवं त्यक्त्वा गतः कापुरुषो यथा . दिष्ट्या त्वमपि जानीषे योद्धुं न त्वद्य मोक्ष्यसे [Abhimanyu, said - “Your father, a coward, ran away. By my good fortune, you know how to fight. You will not escape today”] Firstly, the fact that Abhimanyu says “त्वमपि जानीषे योद्धुं” shows he feels pain when pierced. Now, his words show he had lost draupadI’s boon as below+
By calling duHshAsana “कापुरुष:”, he shows pride in his valor.
By “दिष्ट्या” - good fortune - he implies bhagavAn favored him by bringing duHshAsana’s son, as killing the latter can fetch personal glory.
He no longer thinks of avenging draupadI or even causing Kauravas to suffer.
Abhimanyu, if he fought for draupadI, or atleast for making Kauravas suffer, could have killed duHshAsana’s son.
But now, ashvattAma, droNa’s son, blocks the arrow of Abhimanyu (droNa’s disciple) and saved duHshAsana’s son - नाराचं विससर्जास्मै तं द्रौणिस्त्रिभिराच्छिनत् The ability of being superior to all Kaurava warriors, which Abhimanyu possessed so far due to the sharaNAgati of draupadI, was taken away - made clear by him bleeding from wounds and not being able to kill duHshAsana’s son.
Despite this, Abhimanyu had 2 boons - Krishna’s anugraha in having skill equal to Arjuna & immunity to death due to droNa. So, he defeated Shalya next - आर्जुनिर्...शल्यं त्रिभिर् अताडयत् and killed some more warriors as well. Continuing, Abhimanyu lost draupadI’s boon but had droNa’s & krishna’s protection. So karNa acts अथाब्रवीत् तदा द्रोणं कर्णो वैकर्तनो वृषा पुरा सर्वान् प्रमथ्नाति ब्रूह्य् अस्य वधम् आशु नः
[karNa asked droNa-“Before he kills us, tell us how to kill him”]. karNa has surrendered to droNa (AchAryAbhimAna) for protection.
अस्ति वाऽस्यान्तरं किञ्चित्कुमारस्याथ पश्यत…शीघ्रतां नरसिंहस्य पाण्डवेयस्य पश्यत…आरुजन्नपि मे प्राणान्मोहयन्नपि सायकैः प्रहर्षयति मां भूयः सौभद्रः परवीरहा…अन्तरं यस्य संरब्धा न पश्यन्ति महारथाः+ [droNa: “Have you seen a weakness in this youth? See Arjuna’s son, a lion among men. This son of Subhadra gladdens me even though his arrows hurt me…the mahArathAs cannot see his weakness”]
droNa shows Abhimanyu’s weakness, by calling him “कुमार” - immature youth with ego. But the mahArathAs cannot perceive it, ie, exploit that pride. Why? Because droNa says, “Arjuna’s son hurt me with his arrows, but I am nonetheless pleased by him. Because I am an AchArya who cannot forsake a shishya even if he hurts me”
But droNa adds - न विशेषं प्रपश्यामि रणे गाण्डीवधन्वनः - “I cannot see a difference between Abhimanyu & Arjuna”
This shows -
1) Abhimanyu has Arjuna’s skill due to Krishna’s anugraha,
2) As it is bhagavad anugraha, it can be countered by AchArya anugraha! AchArya > bhagavAn
AchAryAs usually check if a shishya has ardent desire before accepting them, so droNa did not yet directly answer karNa’s question.
karNa shows desire now - स्थातव्यमिति तिष्ठामि पीड्यमानोऽभिमन्युना - “Though his arrows torture me, I stay here steady in my desire to kill him”. droNa’s protection of Abhimanyu, his disciple can’t be destroyed. But as karNa is now his disciple, he explains how to bypass it.
तमाचार्योऽब्रवीत्कर्णं शनकैः प्रहसन्निव अभेद्यमस्य कवचं युवा चाशुपराक्रमः.उपदिष्टा मया चास्य पितुः कवचधारणा . तामेष निखिलां वेत्ति ध्रुवं परपुरञ्जयः+ [AchArya, smiling slowly, pleased by karNa’s desire, said, “The armor of that valiant youth, is impenetrable as it was taught by me to Arjuna. He, who afflicts bodies of foes, was taught this by Arjuna”]
droNa says, “he is my disciple; thus, his armor cannot be overcome”
शक्यं त्वस्य धनुश्छेत्तुं ज्यां च बाणैः समाहितैः । अभीषूंश्च हयांश्चैव तथोभौ पार्ष्णिसारथी ।
[droNa -“With steady arrows, you are capable of cutting his bow, string, reins, horses & 2 charioteers, but do not target his armor which is my protection; target all else”. As Abhimanyu’s armor is droNa’s anugraha, it is unbreakable. But, his other tools are empowered by Krishna. Chariot is empowered by garuDa.
शक्यं त्वस्य” - “You are capable” - “by my will as AchArya, you can subdue Krishna’s boon which makes him a great archer"
एतत्कुरु महेष्वास राधेय यदि शक्यते अथैनं विमुखीकृत्य पश्चात्प्रहरणं कुरु सधनुष्को न शक्योऽयमपि जेतुं सुरासुरैः विरथं विधनुष्कं च कुरुष्वैनं यदीच्छसि ["Do this if you trust me, rAdheya. With bow, gods & asurAs can't subdue him. If you wish to kill him, cut his chariot & bow”]+
“राधेय यदि शक्यते” - “The name rAdheya indicates you are sinful. But a sinner who is capable of trusting me as AchArya, can defeat a dhArmika aided by Krishna.”
As karNa pursued AchAryAbhimAna on Duryodhana’s behalf, all Kauravas who are droNa-shishyAs, get this protection now. By droNa’s grace, karNa & other Kauravas make Abhimanyu bowless & chariotless. Abhimanyu takes up a sword & shield, supported by garuDa.
आर्जुनिर्व्यचरद्य्वोम्नि भृशं वै पक्षिराडिव [“Arjuna’s son (invulnerable to death due to droNa), frequently coursed the sky like garuDa”]+ To remove fears of his disciples (Kauravas), droNa cut off Abhimanyu’s sword - तस्य द्रोणो ऽच्छिनन् मुष्टौ खड्गं मणिमयत्सरुम्, showing AchArya > bhagavAn!
droNa did not kill Abhimanyu, his disciple. But he cut off that sword to protect Kauravas who are now his disciples too. Due to confidence in his AchArya, droNa, karNa cut off Abhimanyu’s shield - राधेयो निशितैर् बाणैर् व्यधमच् चर्म चोत्तमम्.
The name “राधेय” is again used as it is a sinful name for him, as an object of Krishna’s anger. Such a sinner subdued Abhimanyu - due to AchAryAbhimAna.
Abhimanyu was weaponless. Rather than surrendering to Krishna for help, he *imitated* Krishna due to pride.
आस्थितश्चक्रमुद्यम्य द्रोणं क्रुद्धोऽभ्यधावत । स चक्ररेणूकज्ज्वलशोभिताङ्गो बभावतीवोज्ज्वलचक्रपाणिः । रणेऽभिमन्युः क्षणमास रौद्रः स वासुदेवानुकृतिं प्रकुर्वन् [Weaponless, angry Abhimanyu took up a chariot wheel & rushed against droNa - limbs shining from dust, he shone. Imitating vAsudeva, he was fierce for awhile]
1st error - targeting droNa.
2nd error - वासुदेवानुकृतिं - He imitated Krishna, thinking he was as capable as bhagavAn!+
This is the mentality of Paundraka Vasudeva! Sanjaya says he shines & looks fierce as that’s how Kauravas imagined it.
विष्णोः स्वसुर्नन्दकरः स विष्ण्वायुधभूषणः रराजातिरथः सङ्ख्ये जनार्दन इवापरः मारुतोद्धूतकेशान्तमुद्यतारिवरायुधम् वपुः समीक्ष्य पृथ्वीशा दुःसमीक्ष्यं सुरैरपि+ [He who gives joy to viShNu’s sister, adorned with viShNu’s weapon (of the wheel) -- that atiratha, shone in battle like another janArdana. With that excellent weapon, hair upraised, his form looked to the Kauravas like that of viShNu’s, incapable of being looked at by the gods]. Abhimanyu did not look like this. But Kauravas remembering his viShNu-sambandha, imagined him like this, as they had seen Krishna lift a wheel!
“जनार्दन इवापरः” - bhagavAn is “एकमेवाद्वितीयं. But Kauravas due to fear saw Abhimanyu as another “जनार्दन” - destroyer of foes. यदि पाणितलाद् एतच् चक्रं मुच्येत फाल्गुनेः . वरदानान् मातुलस्य विष्णोश् चक्रम् इवापतेत्.. तच्चक्रं भृशमुद्विग्नाः संचिच्छिदुरनेकधा । [“If Arjuna’s son releases that wheel, it will kill us like sudarShaNa due to viShNu’s protection” - Kauravas quickly cut it into pieces]+
AchAryAbhimAna has a rule - unshakeable trust in the AchArya. But Kauravas failed to trust in droNa due to fear of bhagavAn, So they shouldn’t have been able to cut that wheel. But they cut it, as Abhimanyu had threatened droNa with it (AchArya-apachAra). That saved them.
अभिमन्युर्गदापाणिरश्वत्थामानमार्दयत् …स गदाम् उद्यतां दृष्ट्वा ज्वलन्तीम् अशनीम् इव . अपाक्रामद् रथोपस्थाद् विक्रमांस् त्रीन् नरर्षभः [Abhimanyu took up a mace against ashvattAma. Seeing that upraised mace looking like Chakra (अशनीम्), that great warrior retreated 3 steps]. ashvattAma can easily kill Abhimanyu, implied by “नरर्षभः”. But scarred by previous fight with Abhimanyu & seeing that mace empowered by the Chakra, his fear of Krishna led to lack of trust in droNa, so he retreated.
He was saved by droNa sambandha though. Abhimanyu killed few minor warriors next who aren’t droNa-shishyas nor had trust in droNa
ततो दौःशसनिः क्रुद्धो गदामुद्यम्य मारिष अभिदुद्राव सौभद्रं तिष्ठतिष्ठेति चाब्रवीत् [Then duHshAsana's son, raising his mace, angrily rushed at Abhimanyu saying, “Stay”] Remember that duHshAsana had sworn to kill Abhimanyu for Duryodhana’s sake. In shAstra, the son is said to be another form of the father (आत्मा पुत्रः स्मृत). Thus, duHshAsana’s son is a form of his father, for fulfilling that vow. By saying “तिष्ठतिष्ठेति”, unlike others, dauHshAsani showed fearlessness. Since he is another form of his father who was droNa-shishya, he has droNa sambandha and so that confidence is interpreted as “trust in AchArya droNa” - complete AchAryAbhimana.
तावुद्यतगदौ वीरावन्योन्यवधकाङ्क्षिणौ । भ्रातृव्यौ सम्प्रजहाते पुरेव त्र्यम्बकान्धकौ [Those 2 warriors, who were brothers, desiring each other’s death, with upraised maces, struck each other, like Tryambaka fighting Andhaka in the olden days].
Note that if we consider mahAdeva as the victor & Andhaka as the loser in that battle, it means Sanjaya is comparing duHshAsana’s son, fighting for balarAma’s prapanna, to mahAdeva, who fought for sake of rishis and Abhimanyu to Andhaka, who had ego!
तावन्योन्यं गदाग्राभ्यामाहत्य पतितौ क्षितौ । इन्द्रध्वजाविवोत्सृष्टौ रणमध्ये परंतपौ [Both of them striking each other fell down, like 2 banners of Indra repelled]. Abhimanyu couldn’t kill dauHshAsani because latter had droNa’s protection. dauHshAsani struck abhimanyu’s armor, which was given by droNa. So, they repelled each other like 2 banners (disciples) of the same Indra (AchArya)!+
दौःशासनिरथोत्थाय कुरूणां कीर्तिवर्धनः । उत्तिष्ठमानं सौभद्रं गदया मूर्ध्न्यताडयत् [The son of duHshAsana, who augments the fame of the Kurus, rising up, struck the son of Subhadra with the mace on the head, as he himself was rising up]. Remember droNa explicitly gave the instruction - “do not target abhimanyu’s armor”. Only Abhimanyu’s head was vulnerable as it was not covered by armor.
Thus he could deal the killing blow by following AchArya droNa’s instruction & striking Abhimanyu on the head. Abhimanyu was still protected by the armor given by droNa, but as the armor did not cover his head, dauHshAsani bypassed droNa’s protection to Abhimanyu. Despite being “सौभद्रं” - empowered by bhagavAn, abhimanyu died. Abhimanyu exposed his vulnerable head as he relied on his own effort (due to pride) to get up and thus took more time.
“कुरूणां कीर्तिवर्धनः” - dauHshAsani increased the fame of the Kurus, by his AchAryAbhimana to droNa - his fearlessness (trust) and following instructions.
गदावेगेन महता व्यायामेन च मोहितः। विचेता न्यपतद्भूमौ सौभद्रः परवीरहा [Stupefied by the force of the blow and by his own effort (in getting up), the son of Subhadra, who destroyed the foes (by Krishna’s anugraha) fell on the battlefield).]
“गदावेगेन महता” - The blow was great as it was struck in full agreement with droNAchArya’s instruction to bypass the armor.
“व्यायामेन च मोहित:” - Due to trying to rise up with his own effort, Abhimanyu exposed his head, unprotected by droNa’s armor, to the blow.
“सौभद्रः परवीरहा” - He who destroyed foes due to being “सौभद्रः” - empowered by Krishna - died.
And so Abhimanyu died. To the end, the only sukR^ita which didn’t let him down, and remained unviolated, was droNa’s kavacha-vidyA. This shows the greatness of AchAryAbhimAna.
