Raudra dhari - one who possessed the mighty bow named Raudra which was given by his uncle Krishna.
Birth and childhood
Abhimanyu was born to Arjuna, the 3rd Pandava, and Subhadra, the sister of Sri Krishna. When, he was in his mother's womb, he heard about Chakravyuh. He only gained half knowledge which was entering the Chakravyuh. After Yudhishthira lost the game of dice, the Pandavas along with Draupadi were sent on exile. Subhadra, during this period stayed with her brothers in Dwarka. When Abhimanyu was ready, he was trained under Balarama and Krishna. He was a brave and skillful warrior just like his father. After Pandavas finished their exile, Duryodhana didn't agree to return their wealth and fortune. Thus, Pandavas had to fight a battle to get their belongings back.
Before the war of Kurukshetra, Pandavas stayed with Virata. Virata requested Arjuna to marry his daughter, Uttarā. However Arjuna refused to marry her as he was her teacher during the Agyatvās. But Arjuna told that he would be delightful, if she marries his son, Abhimanyu. Abhimanyuyu agreed to marry her and they married.
In the war, Abhimanyu fought from his father's side. He was brave and wasn't afraid of anything.He killed warriors including Rukmartha, Brihadbala, Laksmana, Dushmanara, 6 counsellors of Karna, sons of Shalya etc. He also fought and defeated mighty warriors including Drona, Ashwatthama, Kripa, Karna, Shalya, Duryodhana, Dushasana, Vrishasena etc. in direct and joint attacks when he had bow in his hands.
Death
On the 13th day of the war, Arjuna went to another place to defend. Taking advantage of his absence, Duryodhana and his allies made a plan to kill Yudhisthira The army of Kauravas, under Dronacharya, formed Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu knew how to enter it but didnt know how to exit. He went into the trap followed by his paternal uncles. Near the edges of the Charavyuh, Abhimanyu ends up killing Laxmana, the son of Duryodhana. Outraged by the killing of his son, Duryodhana orders Dronacahrya to change the plan into killing Abhimanyu, but Abhimanyu was followed by the remaining 4 pandavas. However the 4 Pandavas were stopped by Jayadratha. Jayadratha defeated all 4 of them, Drupada to was stopped and trapped. Ashwathama and Vrishasena defeated Dhrisyadyumna and the Upapandavas, leaving Abhimanyu all alone. Before reaching the centre, Abhimanyu killed many other warriors like Rukhmartha, Brihadbala, Shon etc After Abhimanyu reached the centre of the trap, he was attacked by Drona, Dushasana, Karna, Ashwatthama, Shakuni and Duryodhana at a same time, which was against the rules of the war. He fought them and gave them a good match. Dronacharya ordered Karna to destroy Abhimanyu's bow from behind. Abhimanyu was fatally injured,but he fought the warriors using a wheel. At last, Abhimanyu attacked Dushasana's son. The latter was fresh and strong mace fighter, and both engaged in a mace duel. During the fight, both were thrown to the ground, but Dushasana's son rose up first and he crushed Abhimanyu's skull, instantly killing him
In Sasirekha Parinayam, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, married another woman before his marriage to Uttarā. The woman was named Shashirekha/Vatsala, the daughter of Balarama. The tale narrates that Abhimanyu fell in love with Vatsala, but Vatsala's father wanted her to marry Laxmana Kumar, the son of Duryodhana. Wanting to help his cousin, Ghatotkach took the form of Vatsala and injured Laxmana Kumar's arm. After the incident, Laxmana broke his marriage to Vatsala. Meanwhile, the real Vatsala was in a forest along with Abhimanyu where, they married. However, this a folktale and there is no mention of this in the original epic.
