Abhimanyu (Sanskrit: अभिमन्यु abhīmanyu [əbʱimən̪ju]) is a tragic hero in the Hindu epic, the Mahābhārata. He is the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, who is the half-sister of Lord Krishna. He was killed in the Mahabharata war, after the war his son Parikshit from the wife, Uttara, the daughter of King of Virata, succeed to the throne of Hastinapur.

As an unborn child in his mother's womb, Abhimanyu learned the knowledge of entering the deadly and virtually impenetrable Chakravyuha (see Wars of Hindu Mythology) from Arjuna, his father. The epic explains that he overheard his father, Arjuna, talking about this with his wife Subhadra, while he was still in his mother′s womb. Arjuna explains to Subhadra in detail, the technique of attacking and escaping from various vyuhas (an array of army formation) such as Makaravyuha, Kurmavyuha, Sarpavyuha etc. After explaining all the vyuhas, he explains about the technique of cracking Chakravyuha. Arjuna explains to her how to enter the Chakryavyuha. When he was about to explain how to exit from the Chakravyuha, he realises that Subhadra is asleep and stops expounding on the Chakravyuha further. As a result, he could not hear the whole story about how to exit.