Birth Name: Varchas

Abhimanyu was a legendary warrior from the ancient Hindu history Mahabharata. He was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, and was an incarnation of Varchas, son of Soma. Abhimanyu was raised by his mother and her relatives as his father Arjuna had been exiled for thirteen years. After his father's return, Abhimanyu married Uttarā, the princess of the Matsya Kingdom. During the Kurukshetra War, Abhimanyu fought for the Pandavas. On the thirteenth day of the war, the mightiest Kaurava warriors came together and formed the Chakravyuha to trap the Pandavas. Abhimanyu was able to break through the circle, but Jayadratha prevented the others from following him through the breach. Abhimanyu found himself facing the Kaurava warriors all by himself. Even so, he proved too great an archer to be faced by any one warrior, and thus, against the canons of war, he was attacked by six great warriors simultaneously, and died young as the other gods had promised Soma. Abhimanyu's posthumous son Parikshit saved the Kuru lineage from extinction, and became a legendary monarch celebrated both in the Mahabharata and in the Bhagavata Purana.