The Famous Abhimanyu Short Story in English for Kids

The Abhimanyu short story is a tale that should be introduced to children of all ages as it is a good example of life’s most wanted necessities, such as perseverance, never quitting, always working hard till the end and never backing down. This is the story of a young warrior named Abhimanyu who grows up to be one of the best warriors of his age and fights against his enemies even though he knows it is futile he does not let that discourage him and continues fighting till the end.

This article tries to portray the meaning of morals in simple terms that can be understood by young children.

Detailed Abhimanyu Summary in English

The story opens with Arjuna conversing with his pregnant wife Subadra and tells her of the new battle formation he had just found out about, the Chakravyuha, where the exit of the formation is far more complicated than the entrance. When he knew that she had slept off, he stopped narrating, but the baby inside her was listening keenly and wanted to know all about the formation.

Even after kicking his mother inside the womb and waking her up, he was still unable to get the full information. As a result, he only knew how to enter the formation but not how to exit it. He was then born a healthy baby.

Abhimanyu grew up in Dwaraka and lived in the kingdom of Virata, who had offered his daughter Uttara to Arjuna as an act of gratitude, but Arjuna was too old and had, in turn, requested his son Abhimanyu to marry Uttara, which he gladly accepted. As days passed, Abhimanyu was too engrossed in learning new battle techniques and training himself to become a strong warrior to take on the rivals and hence was unable to spend quality time with both - his father, Arjuna and wife Uttara.

Soon the 13th day of battle arrived, and he - along with his family - was to face his enemies, the Kauravas, and end this once and for all. He also confessed to his uncle that he only knew the entrance of the Chakravyuha but not the exit, and he was told not to worry about it too much.

However, the Kauravas had already predicted that the Pandavas might use the formation against them and had already planned a perfect counter-attack to destroy the momentum of their attacks and corner them. Hence, Abhimanyu was caught in the middle and had to fight the best warriors of the Kauravas, and he did so without any hesitation.

Looking at his strength and fighting style, even the Kauravas were impressed and satisfied to fight against a worthy opponent. It was a losing battle, of course, but Abhimanyu never gave up, even after he lost his chariot, sword, bow and arrow, and spear. He even picked up one of the wheels of his broken chariot as a weapon, and when all was lost, he fought in hand-to-hand combat against Dushasana’s son, who had weapons, and Abhimanyu ultimately died with honour.

Abhimanyu Fighting the Warriors of the Kauravas by Using the Wheel of a Chariot

Learning from the Abhimanyu Moral Story  

From the Abhimanyu moral, children will learn that during all times, patience, hard work, perseverance and honesty are very much needed to go through life. Abhimanyu admitted to his uncle that he did not know the full details of the Chakravyuha instead of being too prideful and keeping it to himself. This way, his uncle knew what he was worthy of. In the same way, children must understand that they, too, must be hardworking and never give up till the end.

Note To Parents 

By reading the Abhimanyu summary, parents will be able to narrate a much shorter version of the original story, which tends to get quite long. Or, they can even narrate the long version of the story in sections so that the children will look forward to the next story-telling session as they will be curious and want to know what happens next. This will also help enhance their love for books and develop a good habit of reading.