Abhimanyu: The Braveheart of Mahabharata – Story of the Unsung Warrior and the Epic Chakravyuh Sacrifice
Introduction to the Story of the Unsung Warrior
This story is about a character from the ancient epic Mahabharata, who defeated the enemy with his valor and bravery. That brave warrior is none other than Abhimanyu, the son of Arjun and Subhadra. He showed his courage and skill on the battlefield at a very young age. Let's know the told and untold story of a brave warrior.
When Abhimanyu was in his mother's womb, Arjun came to Subhadra to spend some time alone. He told Subhadra about the art of war. This art of war was Chakravyuh. Arjun started telling Subhadra about the Chakravyuh. She listened to everything very carefully because whatever a mother does or listens to affects the child growing in her womb. When Arjun was telling Subhadra the way to enter the Chakravyuh, Abhimanyu was also listening to all this with his mother. When Arjun told the way to move ahead in the Chakravyuh and started telling the way to get out of the Chakravyuh, he looked at Subhadra, and she fell asleep at that time. Subhadra could only hear the way to enter the Chakravyuh. Therefore, Abhimanyu could also hear till the entry of the Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu's childhood was spent in Dwarka at his maternal uncle Shri Krishna's place. Abhimanyu had learned the art of war from his maternal uncle, Krishna, and Balarama. At the age of 16, Abhimanyu is married to Uttara, the princess of Viratnagar. The Pandavas spend their exile in Viratnagar. One day, Viratnagar is attacked by the army. Seeing a huge army standing outside his kingdom, the king of Viratnagar becomes worried. Seeing the king so worried, Yudhishthira says, Maharaj, why are you so worried? What has happened? (Yudhishthira used to work as a gambler on behalf of the king at that time.) The king says to Yudhishthira, Perhaps you will have to find a king. A huge army is standing outside my kingdom for war, which I find impossible to defeat. Yudhishthira says to the king, Tell your daughter, the dance teacher, Brahannala, maybe if she fights on your side, you will definitely win. The king says, What will that dancer and eunuch do in the war? Yudhishthira Maharaj, try talking to him once. Hearing this, the king gets angry and says, Kank, you are forgetting your limits, you are a messenger here to gamble, not my commander. Bhima hears all this, and he cannot tolerate the insult of his brother. Bhima, who was disguised as cook Vallabh at that time, says, Maharaj, don't you know at this time whom you are insulting? You may regret your words. Maharaj, is he the king of some place? Bhima, yes, Maharaj, Yudhishthira is the king of Indraprastha, and I am Bhima, and Brahannala is Arjun. The one who takes care of the stable is Nukul Granthik, Tantipal, Sahadev takes care of the cows, and Draupadi is a maid named Sernathri. We all took shelter at your place to spend one year of our exile, and we are indebted to you. Yudhishthira says that is why I was talking to you about fighting with Brahannala. Hearing all this, the king apologizes for his actions. Yudhishthira says, Maharaj, do not embarrass us by apologizing to you; we are indebted to you. You allowed us to stay in your kingdom during our difficult times. Then, Arjun goes to war with the prince of Virat Nagar? The war begins. The entire army is overpowered by Arjun. In the end, Arjun wins the war. Happy with Arjun's victory, the king of Virat proposes to marry his daughter to Arjun, to which Arjun refuses and says, Maharaj Uttara is my disciple and is like my daughter. How can I think like this about her? Yes, if you allow, you can marry your daughter to my son, Abhimanyu. The king agrees to marry Uttara to Abhimanyu. Arjun says, You ask Uttara once more, I will send a message and request Abhimanyu and his uncle, my friend Shri Krishna, to come here. Arjun quickly sends the news of Abhimanyu's marriage to Dwarka. After receiving the news, everyone in Dwarka is very happy. Abhimanyu and Shri Krishna start preparing to go to Viratnagar. Shri Krishna says to Subhadra, You have not prepared yourself for leaving.
Subhadra: Brother, what? I am needed there. Draupadi is there. She loves Abhimanyu more than me, and then there should be someone here to welcome you all.
Shri Krishna: As you wish.
Shri Krishna and Abhimanyu soon reach Viratnagar. The whole palace is ready to welcome them. They start talking to each other, during the same time Abhimanyu and Uttara are introduced. Uttara also agrees to marry Abhimanyu. Shri Krishna asks Abhimanyu, his nephew, how did you liked Uttara? Abhimanyu says, Uncle, if you all like her, then I have no objection; do whatever you think is right.
Shri Krishna: This means that you don't like Uttara. I will go right now and refuse this marriage to Maharaj and your father.
Abhimanyu: Uncle, when did I say that I don't like Uttara?
Hearing this, Shri Krishna starts smiling. At the same time, Draupadi comes there.
Draupadi:- Friend. Why are you troubling my son? My son is soft-hearted. He cannot understand your smile and policy.
Shri Krishna says Friend, your son is not so young now that he cannot understand the meaning of all these things. Your son has now become adept at strategy and politics.
Draupadi:- But all this is for others. For us, he is still a soft child.
Hearing this, Shri Krishna starts laughing and says You too and goes away from there.
Soon, Uttara and Abhimanyu's marriage is completed. They go to Dwarka. There, Uttara, Abhimanyu, and everyone else are welcomed with great pomp. Everyone is very happy. Uttara and Abhimanyu are also very happy in their married life. One day, Uttara asks Abhimanyu, Are you also an archer and a brave warrior like your father? Abhimanyu says he is my father. How can I be an archer and brave like him? Yes, I can give you a promise that you will always be proud of my bravery. You will be able to tell our children about my bravery and war skills with great pride. Both Uttara and Abhimanyu were moving forward in their married life. And on the other hand, the Hastinapur refuses to give the Pandavas their kingdom. There is an argument between the former Pandavas of both sides. Duryodhan says that if you want your kingdom, then fight and win against us. Hearing these words of Duryodhan, the Pandavas get worried, especially Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidur get worried because if there is a war, then both sides will be their own families. That is why they try their best to avoid the war, but they are not successful. When Shri Krishna comes as a peace messenger, Duryodhan has the last option, he ends that too to avoid the war. Duryodhan imprisons Shri Krishna, and this is against politics. At the request of Bhishma and Dronacharya, he has to free Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna says, You wanted to put me in prison, who was born in prison and who has not stayed in prison even for a day. Bhishma apologizes on behalf of Duryodhan; Duryodhan also apologizes. And says, Vasudev, Why do you need to worry about the Pandavas? If you fight on their side, then everyone knows the decision. The Pandavas will be victorious. Shri Krishna says, "Duryodhan, don't worry, I will not take up arms in the war." Duryodhan asks again, "And your Narayani army will participate in the war?" Shri Krishna says, "And which side will your Narayani army fight on?". Shri Krishna says, "It will be decided tomorrow morning. You and Arjuna will come to me in the morning. Whoever I see first can choose me or my Narayani army as per his wish, but I will not take up arms in this war." Then what, Duryodhan and Arjuna reach Shri Krishna. Duryodhan comes much before Arjuna. When Shri Krishna opens his eyes, Arjuna also opens his eyes before him. Shri Krishna asks Arjuna to choose between Narayani's army and himself. Hearing this, Duryodhan gets angry and says to Shri Krishna, "I have come much before Arjuna. So the right to choose should be mine." Arjuna says, "Madhav, you let brother Duryodhan choose." Without wasting any time, Duryodhan asks for the Narayani army. Shri Krishna returns from Hastinapur and starts preparing for the war. Abhimanyu says to Arjun, Father, please tell me about the Chakravyuh. How can it be crossed? Arjun says, Son, there is still no time, and why do you need to know about such a difficult formation? We will never let you go alone in any formation while we are here. Shri Krishna, standing far away, smiles after hearing this and then comes there and says to Arjun, It seems you are very busy.
Arjun :- yes Madhav
Abhimanyu then asks Shri Krishna to tell him about the Chakravyuh, then Shri Krishna says, Why don't sons learn from their father? And saying this, he leaves from there. Abhimanyu never learns how to get out of the Chakravyuh? And at this time, the war comes near. Everyone is busy with their war preparations. And that day also comes when both the armies stand face to face for the war. When Arjun sees his own brothers and relations in front of him, he refuses to fight. Then, to convince Arjun, Shri Krishna preached the Gita. And asked him to do his duty, and then the war starts with everyone blowing the conch.
Almost all the kings had contributed to this war. There was a huge Narayan army in this war. 18 Akshauhini army, which had 21,870 chariots, 21,008 elephants and horse riders, and 1,00,950 infantry soldiers. There were also huge and ordinary armies of many kings. Approximately 11,41,60,374 Maharathi and soldiers were involved in this war.
This war is the biggest war to date, in which such a large number of warriors participated together. The war starts after Shri Krishna imparts the knowledge of the Gita to Arjun. There is a lot of loss of life in the war on the very first day. Many dead bodies are lying around. After sunset, the ceasefire is declared by blowing the conch. There are some rules of war that both sides follow. Day by day, the youth move forward. The army and Maharathi of both sides keep decreasing. Duryodhan gets angry after seeing his situation in the war because he has a larger army and Maharathi than the Pandavas. He has an 11 Akshauhini army and a huge Narayani army. Pandavas have only seven Akshuni army and the army of friends and relatives. As the war reaches its peak, Duryodhan's greed for power also increases. He puts the whole family on the brink of death.
In the war, Maharathi of both sides are killed. Duryodhan now wants to end the war soon. It has been 12 days since the war. Big Maharathi of both sides fall prey to this war. But still, there was no decision in this war because both sides still had huge armies. Duryodhan discusses the plan with all his close and trusted warriors, Bhishma, Dronacharya, Karna, and Ashwatthama, to make a plan to end this war. Duryodhan tells all of them, we have lost many of our soldiers and Maharathi in this war. Now we should end this war. Bhishma and Dronacharya say, Do you want to make a treaty, Duryodhan? No, I am not in favour of a treaty. I want us should capture Yudhishthira because the moment the king is captured, the war will end. Bhishma Pitamah, don't worry, I am not asking you to kill him. You just make a plan to capture him, who knows how many more warriors will be killed? After listening to Duryodhan, Bhishma, and Dronacharya agree to capture Yudhishthira. Dronacharya says that we will have to create a Chakravyuh to capture Yudhishthira and keep Arjuna away from Yudhishthira. Because Arjuna and Shri Krishna will make the Chakravyuh fail. And we will not let this news of Chakravyuh go out of this camp. For that, we will have to make a plan. We will prepare a suicidal army that will kill Arjun and tie up Yudhishthira, and this information should reach their camp because as soon as Arjun comes to know about this suicidal army, he will not allow this army to come near Yudhishthira. As soon as our army is successful in taking Arjun away from Yudhishthira, at the same time, we will create Chakravyuh and tie up Yudhishthira because no one except Arjun knows how to enter the Chakravyuh.
Shri Krishna smiles softly on hearing this. He is the one who knows everything in Triloki.
At some time, this plan reached Arjun as well. Arjun and Shri Krishna discuss this plan. After some time, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Nakul, Sahadev, and Abhimanyu also come there. Arjun and Yudhishthira ask Krishna, Vasudev, what plan should we prepare now? Shri Krishna says, What plan do we need to make? They have prepared the plan. We just have to foil their plan, and I have full faith in Parth. He will not let the suicidal army reach brother Yudhishthira. We have to take them as far away as possible. Arjun says Vasudev is right. At the same time, Abhimanyu says Father, can I go to the battlefield tomorrow morning? Maybe I will be needed there. You will fight with that suicidal army, so I also want to be present there with uncle near elder father. Yudhishthira and Arjuna say, Son, your time has not come yet to fight the war. Shri Krishna says Why has it not come? Abhimanyu is a brave and skilled warrior. Tomorrow, Parth will be busy fighting with this suicidal army, so there should be someone with archery whose bravery everyone trusts. Abhimanyu is such a warrior who can fight with thousands of people at once, so Abhimanyu should go to the battlefield tomorrow. I have full faith in the war strategy and bravery of my nephew. You all decide further. Should Abhimanyu go to the battlefield or not? After everyone's discussion, it was decided that Abhimanyu will go to the battlefield tomorrow. Shri Krishna says, Nephew, you may have to fight a decisive battle tomorrow. This is a battlefield; no mercy is shown to anyone here. So, Abhimanyu says to keep yourself physically and mentally ready tomorrow morning. Uncle, I am your disciple, I don't know what will be the outcome of the war tomorrow, but if I get a chance to fight, you will be proud of my war skills and bravery, whether I return alive from the battlefield or as a mortal body, you will always be proud of the bravery of this disciple of yours. Shri Krishna says, Now you are fully prepared for the war, now stop thinking about what will happen tomorrow. Spend the time you are in well because tomorrow a new chapter of your life is going to start. Abhimanyu goes to his camp.
Abhimanyu and his wife, Uttara, have a conversation. :
As Abhimanyu enters his camp, he finds his room different from a normal day. Uttara makes her camp quieter than before. She sends all her maids away and also makes her camp fragrant. When Abhimanyu comes inside, he asks Uttara, "Uttara, what's the matter today? Today our camp seems more peaceful than necessary, and the atmosphere inside is fragrant." Uttara says, "Yes, dear, today I have sent all my maids away from the camp. I don't want anyone to hear our conversation. Today I want to talk about many things on my mind because tomorrow you too will go to the battlefield for war." Abhimanyu says, "Utara, there is no feeling of fear in your mind that tomorrow I will go to war, maybe I will never return or not." Abhimanyu can say only this much. Utara puts her finger on Abhimanyu's mouth and silences him. Utara says, I have full faith in your bravery. You are a bowman like your father, and you are a disciple of Shri Krishna, so why would I be afraid? I am also the wife of a Kshatriya, and the first duty of a Kshatriya is to fight. Then how can I become an obstacle to your duty? And I will tell my children about your bravery, and we will make our children also skilled warriors. Abhimanyu says, Yes, he will become a better warrior than me. Our son's fame will spread far and wide. Utara, how do you know he will be our son? Not only a daughter, but Abhimanyu seems like this to me. He will be our son, even if we have a daughter, we will make her skilled in war skills too. Utara soon falls asleep while talking to Abhimanyu. In the morning, preparations for going to war begin in the camp. Abhimanyu also gets ready by wearing his war uniform. Before leaving the camp, Abhimanyu hugs Uttara to his heart and says, "Take care of yourself and our children. Let nothing happen to them. Promise me that you will not make any mistakes in taking care of your children. No matter what the situation is, Uttara promises Abhimanyu that she will not make any mistakes. Uttara says to Abhimanyu, "Dear, you are my wealth and I want it back with me." Abhimanyu says, "Yes, Uttara, your wealth will definitely come to you. Its form may be different, but not its value. If not me, it will come as the pride of my bravery." Saying this, Abhimanyu leaves his mother and goes to the camp of the other elders. Before going to the battlefield, he takes blessings from everyone. Everyone prays for him to live. Only Shri Krishna blesses him to be famous. Draupadi says, "Vasudev, today my son is going to the most difficult battle of his life. Why did you not bless him to live, but to be famous?" Vasudev says. I don't know what will happen in the war today, but I have full faith in the education I have given and the skills of Abhimanyu.Today, his tale of glory will reverberate in all directions. Even the opponents will not be able to stop themselves from praising his bravery. I have so much faith in his bravery and war skills that his name will remain among the brave warriors for ages. Respect to Karna and Arjun. On the thirteenth day of the war, everyone reached the battlefield. Arjun is also ready to fight with that suicidal army. They are Duryodhan and Dronacharya of the other side. Everyone was ready to take their strategy forward. They start the war by blowing their conch one after the other. The loud sound of the conches reverberates, and then the war begins. A suicidal army from Duryodhan's side moves towards the Pandavas, which takes this vow. Either they will kill Arjun, or they will be killed by Arjun. The attack of Arjun's troop and the suicidal army is very terrifying and destructive. In a short time, only the dead bodies of soldiers are seen there. Arjuna attacks and takes that suicidal army far away from Yudhishthira. When Dronacharya and Duryodhana decide that Arjuna cannot come here soon, then Dronacharya works on his plan and creates such a formation that it is difficult to enter and even more difficult to get out of it. This is the formation of Chakravyuh, which Dronacharya creates to capture Yudhishthira. Only Shri Krishna, Arjuna, Bhishma, Dronacharya, Karna, Ashwatthama, and Pradyumna knew how to cross the Chakravyuh. Shri Krishna, who will not lift weapons in this war. Arjuna goes away fighting with that suicidal army. Those who are left are also on the side of the Kauravas. So everyone gets worried after seeing the Chakravyuh that who will cross this Chakravyuh now? Because Arjuna is not there now. And none of them knew how to cross the Chakravyuh. Now they all understood Duryodhan's plan that which was to send Arjun away from the Chakravyuh, and from behind, he could tie Maharaj Yudhishthir. Bhima says that Brahmashree, we have to cross the Chakravyuh today or else these people will tie you, and this war will end today itself. Abhimanyu says, " Maharaj, I can enter the Chakravyuh. Yudhishthir says No son, we cannot allow you to enter this Chakravyuh. Don't you know that this Chakravyuh is so dangerous, its seven layers are crossed, and then one can come out. After every layer, the power of the warrior keeps increasing, and it keeps rotating, due to which its way out keeps changing. At the end of it, there are powerful Maharathi, who are defeated, and then one can come out of the Chakravyuh. This is the well of death. Even if someone enters it, he gets so tired in the end that he does not have the strength to even lift his weapon, so son, we cannot allow you to enter the Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu says, Maharaj, at this time, I am a warrior and my first duty is to protect my king. You cannot stop me from doing my duty, Maharaj. Anyway, there is no one here who can enter the Chakravyuh. Maharaj, I know how to enter the Chakravyuh; I just do not know how to get out. I have a plan. As soon as I make a way to enter the Chakravyuh, you also enter the Chakravyuh behind me. Everyone found Abhimanyu's plan appropriate, and everyone agrees that Abhimanyu and Yudhishthira, Bhima, Nakul, and Sahadev get ready to enter the Chakravyuh with Abhimanyu.
Abhimanyu enters the Chakravyuh.
Abhimanyu showers arrows from his bow to enter the Chakravyuh and soon create a path to enter the Chakravyuh and enters it. As soon as Yudhishthira and Bhima enter, the path of the Chakravyuh opens, and Jayadratha does not let them enter the Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu moves ahead in the Chakravyuh alone. When he does not get help for a long time, he looks back and finds no one behind him. Abhimanyu moves ahead with great bravery, and he faces a battle with Duryodhan's son Laxman. Laxman attacks Abhimanyu. He keeps attacking one after the other. He tries to kill Abhimanyu. Angered by this, Abhimanyu attacks Laxman and cuts off his head. Abhimanyu kills many princes in this Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu moves ahead, showering his arrows. Next, he faces Duryodhan. It starts with Brihadva, who is considered to be a descendant of Lord Shri Ram. Abhimanyu kills Brihadval with a single blow. Brihadval was hell-bent on cutting off Abhimanyu's head. To save himself from him, Abhimanyu cuts off his life with a single arrow. Abhimanyu enters the seventh gate of the Chakravyuh. Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Karna, Shakuni, Ashwatthama, and Kritivarma are waiting for him there. Even the best warriors were worried after seeing Abhimanyu's bravery. When he kills Brihadval with a single blow, even the best warriors get scared of Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu does not get distracted even for a moment on seeing seven warriors near him; rather, he fights with them with enthusiasm. He shows his bravery to every warrior. Shakuni and the rest of the warriors understand that they will not be able to defeat Abhimanyu by fighting alone. At this time. Abhimanyu was creating havoc on the battlefield. At the same time, Durvyasan (Dunshasan's son) of Abhimanyu's age came. He first killed Abhimanyu's charioteer and then pierced him with arrows, but he was still unable to stop Abhimanyu. Although Abhimanyu was tired of fighting, he was not one to stop. When Abhimanyu retaliated against Durvyasan, Ashwatthama stopped Abhimanyu's arrow. Even after being seriously injured, Abhimanyu did not come under anyone's control. Then Karan, after consulting Dronacharya, first cut Abhimanyu's bow. After that, Kriti Verma killed Abhimanyu's horses, and Kripacharya killed both his bodyguards. Then six great charioteers surrounded him and pierced him with arrows. Even then, Abhimanyu did not stop and started attacking the enemies with his sword, then Dronacharya broke his sword from the hilt. When Abhimanyu raised his shield, they broke it into pieces. Meanwhile, Karana intensifies his attack. Abhimanyu attacks Asthma. Even after being badly injured, his energy does not decrease. He kills both the horses of Ashwatthama's bodyguards with his mace. Then Durvyasan attacks Abhimanyu, and both of them fall down. He immediately gets up and hits Abhimanyu's head with a mattress, due to which Abhimanyu starts becoming unconscious. At the same time, Kripacharya Kritavarma, Drona, Ashwatthama, and Shakuni attack Abhimanyu with swords. At that time, Abhimanyu was unarmed when these great warriors attacked together. Then Abhimanyu lifts the wheel of the chariot and fights with them. But now Abhimanyu was very tired and was also injured. He was not able to stand properly. All those great warriors together attack Abhimanyu, due to which he falls on the ground. Abhimanyu is in extreme pain, then Karna says, Son, today you have left behind great warriors with your valour. It is my misfortune that I am standing in front of you to fight. Today, we consider ourselves inferior to your valour and bravery. Son, if you can forgive me. Bearing extreme pain, Abhimanyu attains martyrdom. Abhimanyu knew that he would not be able to get out of the Chakravyuh. Still, he followed the duty of a warrior, fulfilled the duty of being a son. Abhimanyu was a valiant and valiant warrior in the Mahabharata. The most painful death is that of Abhimanyu, to kill whom the Kaurava side even violated the rules of war. The Pandava side was extremely saddened by Abhimanyu's death, due to which the entire Pandava side crumbled, but the opposing side was talking about Abhimanyu's valour and bravery. It is said that if the war had been fought according to the rules, then Abhimanyu would not have died. Now the war of the Mahabharata was about to take the form of a wicket; now there was no limit to rules because once a rule was broken, all the rules were being broken; now great warriors from both sides were being killed.Jaydrath, Bhishma, Dronacharya and Durvyasan and the Pandava side's Ghatotkach sub-Pandava are killed and then Dushasan is also killed. The war reaches the 18th day when all the warriors are killed. Duryodhan is also on the verge of death. Only 18 warriors remain. There was a lot of loss of life in the Mahabharata war. The land and soil there became red with blood, it is said that the soil of the Kurukshetra field is still red today. Ashwatthama is saddened to see his friend Duryodhan in such a condition and in grief he releases the weapon on the child growing in the womb of Abhimanyu's wife Uttara, due to which Uttara's condition worsens. She fulfills the promise given to Abhimanyu. She does not let her courage break. Then Arjun and Shri Krishna come to know and they catch Ashwatthama. They ask him to call back the weapon but Ashwatthama knew how to release the weapon, not how to call it back. Hearing this, Arjuna is about to kill Ashwatthama but Shri Krishna stops him. He takes out Ashwatthama's gem and leaves him alive. On the other hand, Uttara was suffering from pain. Shri Krishna immediately goes to Uttara's camp, protects her womb. Uttara gives birth to a son who is known as Parikshit. Parikshit was a great king, he explained the importance of Bhagavat Purana. The knowledge of Bhagavat Purana and Gita was obtained from Mahabharata. He was the first king of Kalyug. Abhimanyu's son was no less than Abhimanyu in any way. He was also going to end Kalyug. Then at the same time, Akashvani (voice of the sky) stops Parikshit. By ending Kalyug, he can stop it from happening. Kaliyug was written in the policies. Kaliyug did not progress during Parikshit's rule.
FAQ (Helpful for Readers):
Who was Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata?
Abhimanyu was the son of Arjun and Subhadra, celebrated for his exceptional bravery and skill in the Kurukshetra War, notably for entering and fighting valiantly in the Chakravyuh formation.What made Abhimanyu an unsung hero?
Abhimanyu demonstrated unmatched courage by entering the deadly Chakravyuh formation, knowing he only learned how to enter but not exit. His heroic sacrifice inspired both allies and enemies alike.Why is Abhimanyu’s story important in Indian mythology?
His tale symbolizes youthful valor, selfless duty, and the harsh realities of war, leaving a deep mark on the Mahabharata and Indian epic tradition.How did Abhimanyu die?
Abhimanyu was trapped and attacked by multiple great warriors after being isolated inside the Chakravyuh, ultimately attaining martyrdom due to betrayal of war rules by the opposing side.What is Abhimanyu’s legacy?
Abhimanyu’s sacrifice led to widespread mourning but also earned him eternal fame as a symbol of unbreakable spirit and heroism. His son, Parikshit, later became a renowned king.