Abhimanyu to Achala

Abhimanyu

            Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra and one of the great warriors of his time.

            After the Pandavas married Draupadi, there was a pact between them that only one brother would be with Draupadi at a time. At that time, none of the others would disturb the couple. Arjuna had broken this pact and had to go on a twelve-year exile as a result. At the end of his exile, he reached Dwaraka, where he met Krishna and travelled with him for the annual festival at the Raivataka Mountain. There, he saw Krishna’s step-sister, Subhadra and fell in love with her.  On Krishna’s advice, he eloped with her and married her. Abhimanyu was the son born to Subhadra and Arjuna. His birth strengthened the bond between the houses of Vrishni and Pandu.

            When Abhimanyu was around three years of age, the Pandavas had to leave for a thirteen year exile after Yudhishtira lost to Duryodhana in the game of dice. During the period of the Pandavas’ exile, Abhimanyu and his mother, Subhadra stayed at Dwaraka, Subhadra’s maternal home. While at Dwaraka, Abhimanyu was trained in warfare by his uncle, Krishna as well as Krishna’s son, Pradyumna. In the thirteenth year of their exile, the Pandavas had to remain anonymous and undiscovered. They did so at the kingdom of Virata. After the period of exile was over, the Pandavas decided to get Abhimanyu married to Uttara Kumari, the daughter of King Virata of Matsya. The marriage also signalled the start of preparations for war on either side. By the time the war started, Uttara Kumari was pregnant. Abhimanyu fought bravely in the war showing amazing skill and dexterity for his age. On the twelfth day of the war, he was killed after being trapped in the Chakravyuha, a military formation in the form of a circular maze. After the war, Uttara Kumari gave birth to their son who was called Parikshit. Parikshit would continue the Pandava line after them and years later, when the Pandavas decided to retire to the forest, he was crowned king at Hastinapura.

Abhira (m. cowherd)

            The Abhira clan was a clan as well as a caste, whose main occupation seems to have been that of cow herding and dairy farming. Manu defines an Abhira as an offspring of a brahmana on an ambastha woman (born of a brahmana father and vysya mother).

The clan of the Abhiras live mainly on the banks of the Saraswati River and their range seems to have stretched from just south of the Matsya kingdom of Virata all the way to the mouth of the Saraswati. Being a nomadic and predatory tribe, the Abhiras were primitive in comparison to other tribes and clans like the Kuru and the Yadava clans. They were looked down upon by elite clans and not considered to be arya or noble. They were even blamed for the disappearance of the Saraswati and the desertification of the region where they held sway. The Abhiras are shown to have attacked Dwaraka towards the end of the Vrishni rule.

            In all probability they were ancestors of the present day Ahirs.

Abhishahas (m. assaulters)

            The Abhishahas were a northern tribe allied with the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war. They played an active role, attacking many Pandava warriors.

            Alternate spellings and names include Abhisharas, Abhisaras.

Abhishava rite (m. religious bath or consecration)

            The Abhishava was a religious ritual which was performed before the Ashwamedha Sacrifice. The Pandavas went through the ritual before the sacrifice.

            There are two rituals which are called by the name, abhishava. The first consists of the extracting of the Soma juice from the stalks of the Soma plant. The second ritual is a ceremonial bath taken before the performance of sacrifices. The ritual the Pandavas underwent was probably the second ritual.

Achala (m. steady)

            Achala was the son of Subala and a prince of Gandhara. Along with his brother, Vrishaka he was the one of the leaders of the Gandhara troops who were fighting on the Dhartarashtra side in the Kurukshetra war. It is possible that Achala and Vrishaka were younger brothers to Shakuni and Gandhari. They were killed by Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war in the only battle that they took part in.