Chakravyuha

The Padmavyūha or Chakravyūha refers to a Military formation narrated in the epic Mahabharata.The thirteenth day of Mahabharata War is remembered for the construction of Chakravyūha by Dronacharya.

The Chakravyūha or Padmavyūha, is a multi-tier defensive formation that looks like a blooming lotus (padma) or disc (chakra) when viewed from above. The warriors at each interleaving position would be in an increasingly tough position to fight. The formation was used in the battle of Kurukshetra by Dronacharya, who became commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army after the fall of Bhishma Pitamaha.

The various vyūhas (military formations) were studied by the Kauravas and Pandavas alike. Most of them can be beaten using a counter-measure targeted specifically against that formation. It is important to observe that in the form of battle described in Mahabharata, it was important to place the powerful fighters in those positions where they could inflict the maximum damage to the opposing force, or defend the attacks from key warriors of the opposition.

The Chakravyūha or Padmavyūha was a special formation (Vyūha), and knowledge of how to penetrate it was limited to only a handful of warriors on the Pandavas' side, namely Abhimanyu, Arjuna, Krishna and Pradyumna. However, to the Pandavas' disappointment, Pradyumna, son of Krishna, chose not to participate in the Kurukshetra war.Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, knew how to penetrate the Vyūha but not how to exit it, and this lead to his tragic death