Abhimanyu Sacrifice And Krishna Silence

The battlefield of Kurukshetra is such a grand confluence of human emotions, complex decisions and divine plans that understanding it is extremely difficult for the ordinary intellect. In the entire war of the Mahabharata no other episode appears more heartbreaking and disturbing than the slaying of Abhimanyu. A sixteen year old courageous boy who possessed only half the knowledge of entering the Chakravyuh jumps into that terrible cycle of time for the protection of righteousness. Despite being surrounded by the greatest and car-warrior fighters of the world like Dronacharya, Karna, Duryodhana, Dushasana and Shakuni, the boy fights fearlessly like a lion until his last breath. But an extremely serious question still echoes through the pages of history as to where Lord Krishna the master of the entire universe was at that time. Why did the Lord who remains always ready for the protection of his devotees maintain silence upon the pathetic cry of that innocent child. This silence was not a sign of any helplessness or weakness but behind it was hidden such an unyielding decree of destiny, account of karma and a very deep mystery of the establishment of dharma that still shakes human consciousness.

The Short Stay Of The Son Of Moon God On Earth

The roots of this supernatural mystery are connected with a divine event of mythological times even behind the Mahabharata period. According to Vedic texts and Puranas Abhimanyu was actually no ordinary human but he was the incarnation of Varcha the extremely dear son of the Moon God himself. When the burden of unrighteousness increased excessively on earth in the Dwapara Yuga and Lord Vishnu took incarnation in the form of Krishna then according to the orders of Brahma all the gods had to send their parts to the earth.

When the Moon God was asked to send his son to the earth he became extremely anxious at the idea of separation from his son. He kept a mandatory condition before the gods that his son would not stay for a long time on earth. The Moon God said that his son would take birth in human form for only sixteen years in the Dwapara Yuga and would return to him after showing his wonderful prowess in the great war of Mahabharata. This was the reason that the lifespan of Abhimanyu born as the son of Arjuna and Subhadra was already determined by destiny as only sixteen years. Krishna who is himself the greatest of the time knew this divine agreement and the law of time very well therefore he did not make any intervention in this unyielding decree of destiny.

The Unresolved Karmic Debt Of The Past Life

It is the supreme irrefutable principle of Sanatana philosophy and Vedic astrology that no living being in this world can escape from the impact of the karma of past lives even if he is the son of the gods. According to mythological stories Varcha had insulted an extremely venerable sage or caused an obstacle in his work in his past life due to which he received a terrible curse. To pay off the impact of that curse and karmic debt he had to face an extremely difficult and painful situation on earth.

In addition to this another important spiritual perspective is also that when Kansa was killed a part of his evil soul also entered inside Abhimanyu unknowingly when he was in the womb of his mother Subhadra. Krishna knew this fact very well that if that negative part was not destroyed completely it could become a new obstacle in the path of the establishment of dharma in future. That cruel episode carried out by seven car-warriors together inside the Chakravyuh was actually a part of an extremely hidden divine plan to destroy that remaining negative part and to send the soul of Abhimanyu back to the divine world after making it completely pure.

The Background Of Arjuna's Disillusionment And Mass Destruction

This great war of Kurukshetra was not a simple land dispute but it was the altar of destroying the accumulated sins of the Treta Yuga and Dwapara Yuga to create a new era. At the beginning of the war Arjuna became extremely emotional and refused to raise weapons against his own kith and kin. Krishna had destroyed his immediate delusion by giving the sermon of the Gita but the internal and subtle attachment hidden inside Arjuna toward his relatives was preventing him from fighting the war with full aggression.

Phase of War	Mental State of Arjuna	Diplomatic Plan of Krishna
Beginning of War	Excessive attachment, deep fear of losing loved ones and indifference	Advancing on path of duty by giving divine sermon of Gita
Formation of Chakravyuh	Busy in war with Samshaptakas, extreme distance from main ground	Taking Arjuna away from battlefield so destiny could perform its work
Slaying of Abhimanyu	Intense grief, immense anger and fire of taking vow	Complete destruction of attachment and resolve to finish Kaurava army

This terrible and cruel slaying of Abhimanyu burnt away the remaining weakness and attachment inside the Pandavas, especially Arjuna forever. When Arjuna saw that the big car-warriors of the Kauravas kept all the rules of dharma aside and brutally murdered his unarmed and lonely son his anger reached its peak. After this event the little feeling of mercy left in the hearts of the Pandavas toward the Kauravas disappeared completely. Krishna knew that for the complete destruction of the wicked the burning of this fire of revenge inside the Pandavas was extremely necessary otherwise they would not have been able to fight the war with full strength till the end.

The Vow Of Dharmaraja Yudhishthira And The Test Of Truth

Behind this event of the Mahabharata there was not only the silence of Krishna but the own karma and decisions of the Pandavas were also responsible. When Dronacharya created the Chakravyuh his main objective was to capture Yudhishthira so that the war could be ended. Arjuna was not present in the battlefield at that time because some specific warriors of the Kaurava army took him away deliberately. In such a time of crisis Yudhishthira ordered Abhimanyu to enter that formation for the honor of his clan and his own protection while he knew that this boy does not know the path to come out.

This mistake of Yudhishthira and the inability of the other brothers of the Pandavas like Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva also left Abhimanyu alone because Jayadratha stopped those four at the gate of the formation itself due to the boon of Shiva. Krishna wanted to teach humans that when you yourself choose the path of unrighteousness or lack of wisdom and put an innocent person into crisis for your own selfishness then God does not change the results of the decisions made by you by coming in between. The Divine gives freedom to experience the fruits of actions and this is the greatest law of the universe.

Timeless Life Values Derived From This Heartbreaking Episode

This sacrifice of Abhimanyu and this mysterious silence of Krishna give many extremely deep and practical messages to modern man to live life which are beneficial for every individual to internalize.

• Many times circumstances are not favorable to us in life but not abandoning courage even in adverse times is real bravery.
• Incomplete knowledge is always dangerous therefore before starting any work its all aspects must be studied completely.
• Our limited intellect cannot understand the plans of God immediately but when time comes it is proved that a greater welfare is hidden behind every event.
• Walking on the path of duty even if life falls into crisis not stepping back is the real conduct of superior humans.
• No matter how deep the attachment of worldly relations is it always becomes secondary before the progress of the soul and protection of dharma.

When man internalizes these teachings in his life he understands that the crises coming in life actually come not to destroy us but to refine our soul and to give a big message to the world. Abhimanyu might have physically lost the war that day but his name became immortal in history and he became the greatest symbol of valor.

The Truth Of The Justice Of Destiny And Silent Presence Of The Divine

Whenever any big tragedy happens in the world man immediately begins to raise questions on the existence of God as to why God let such injustice happen. But this episode of the Mahabharata teaches us that the silence of the Divine is never his indifference. Krishna was not only the charioteer of Arjuna in Kurukshetra but he was balancing the scale of justice of the entire universe. He knew that for the creation of an excellent future giving some extremely difficult and unpleasant sacrifices in the present is mandatory.

The death of Abhimanyu filled the pot of sins of the Kauravas completely and gave the final shape to the script of their destruction. If Krishna had saved Abhimanyu that day with his Yogamaya the world would never have understood how cruel unrighteousness is and how big a sacrifice is needed for its complete destruction. Therefore one should never make the mistake of understanding that silence of the Almighty as his helplessness because that silence of his was actually the blowing of the conch shell of the establishment of a very big kingdom of righteousness coming ahead.

FAQ

Why did Krishna not make Abhimanyu alive with his supernatural powers

Krishna fully respects the laws of destiny and time. Abhimanyu was actually the son of the Moon God who received permission to stay on earth for only sixteen years. If Krishna had made him alive it would have been a violation of cosmic laws and the promise given to the Moon God.

Who created the Chakravyuh and what was its objective

The Chakravyuh was created by Acharya Dronacharya, the commander of the Kaurava army. Its main objective was to capture Yudhishthira the king of the Pandavas so that the Pandavas would lose the war and the victory of Duryodhana could be ensured because Arjuna was very far from the main battlefield at that time.

How did Jayadratha stop the Pandavas from entering the Chakravyuh

Jayadratha had obtained this boon by performing severe penance of Lord Shiva that he could stop the remaining four Pandavas from advancing further except Arjuna for only one day in the war. Due to the power of this very boon Jayadratha stopped Bhima and other Pandavas at the gate of the formation itself due to which Abhimanyu became alone.

Why was Abhimanyu not able to learn the art of coming out of the Chakravyuh

When Abhimanyu was in the womb of his mother Subhadra, Arjuna was narrating the method of entering the Chakravyuh to Subhadra. Subhadra fell asleep while listening due to which Abhimanyu situated in the womb could hear only the method of entering and could not hear it due to the sleeping of Subhadra at the time of the method of coming out.

Was the slaying of Abhimanyu done according to the rules of dharma

No, the slaying of Abhimanyu was completely against the rules of war and dharma. According to the rules of that time attacking any unarmed and chariotless warrior was forbidden but seven car-warriors of the Kauravas together attacked the unarmed Abhimanyu from behind and murdered him brutally.