तं चाभिमन्युर् वचनात् पितुर् ज्येष्ठस्य भारत ॥
बिभेद दुर्भिदं संख्ये चक्रव्यूहम् अनेकधा ॥
स कृत्वा दुष्करं कर्म हत्वा वीरान् सहस्रशः ॥
षट्सु वीरेषु संसक्तो दौःशासनिवशं गतः ॥
taṃ cābhimanyur vacanāt pitur jyeṣṭhasya bhārata ||
bibheda durbhidaṃ saṃkhye cakravyūham anekadhā ||
sa kṛtvā duṣkaraṃ karma hatvā vīrān sahasraśaḥ ||
ṣaṭsu vīreṣu saṃsakto dauḥśāsanivaśaṃ gataḥ ||
And that array Abhimanyu, by the word of the eldest father, Yudhishthira, O Bharata, broke through in many places in battle — the unconquerable wheel-array. Having accomplished a difficult feat, having slain warriors by thousands, when he engaged with six warriors [at once], he fell into the power of Duhshasana's son.
e5f76c823bcb · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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The young Abhimanyu accomplishes the impossible — he breaks through the "wheel," impenetrable even by the gods — and falls only when six warriors come together against a single boy. In this compressed report lies the whole tragedy: the greatest feat and the most lawless death side by side. Telling is that the account itself points at once to the wrong committed — "six warriors" against one youth. The verse teaches that the valor of the young can surpass the impossible, shaming even the gods by its daring; that a true hero can be overcome only by lawlessness — by many against one; and that in this very disproportion — six against a boy — the wrongfulness of the victors is already exposed, for where honor cannot win, they resort to numbers, and a victory won so is disgrace, not triumph.