2

Around page 2829 of the CE Sanjaya says

O king! Abhimanyu was still a child and had not yet attained youth. But he was killed

He was full of ecstatic praise for Abhimanyu's valor when he was killing Dhritarashtra's soldiers and kinsmen- but Abhimanyu became a child for Sanjaya after he was killed in a one-on-one combat with another soldier who might have been a child too - Duhshasana's son.

Was there an agreement not to use children in the war?

And whether there was an agreement or not, was anybody under age 18 known to have fought in the war?

S K
  • 1
  • 4
  • 22
  • 79
  • 1
    Abhimanyu was not killed in one-on-one combat. 7 Maharathis surrounded him during his defeat, Karn attacked him from behind and destroyed his armor and chariot, ever after that Abhimanyu continued to fight, but when he was out tired and exhausted laying on the ground almost unconscious, Duhshasana's son hit on his head with a mace to kill him. – V.Aggarwal Apr 06 '21 at 12:06
  • No such agreement was made to not use children, Sanjay refers to him as a child because of the sheer brutality and mercilessness with which he was killed by the respected adults. – V.Aggarwal Apr 06 '21 at 12:11
  • I suppose Abhimanyu killed Kauravan armymen with gentleness and mercy. TV serials build up such an emotional investment by modern viewers. Read KMG or the CE to understand what really happened @VAggarwal. – S K Apr 06 '21 at 12:16
  • I did not describe the situation based on TV serials, I have done my share of reading too. – V.Aggarwal Apr 06 '21 at 12:44
  • Please follow this answer to get details of his death. https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/30109/15734 – V.Aggarwal Apr 06 '21 at 12:52
  • I have no desire to convince you of anything @vaggarwal the question is simple - were one or both sides using child-soldiers and was that allowed by the rules of war they agreed to. – S K Apr 06 '21 at 12:57
  • Let's agree on that, Coming to your question, NO, there was no such rule defined for children during the rule establishment meeting prior to the war. In fact, children and grandchildren of both Kauravas and Pandavas fought in the war (not necessarily all kids of young age, but many were). – V.Aggarwal Apr 06 '21 at 13:09

1 Answers1

2

Even if there was such a rule, Abhimanyu can't be qualified as a child. Abhimanyu born at the time of Kahandava dahan.

Then Subhadra, the favourite sister of Kesava, gave birth to an illustrious son, like Puloma's daughter, (the queen of heaven) bringing forth Jayanta.

Adi Parva CCXXIII

Thirty three years had passed to that incident at the time of kurukshtera war.

Three and thirty years have passed away since the time, when Arjuna, having invited Agni, gratified him at Khandava, vanquishing all the celestials.

Udyoga Prava LII

It means Abhimanyu was 33+ years old so he can't be a child.

Sanatan Darshan
  • 8,149
  • 1
  • 16
  • 50
  • 1
    That's an astounding discovery, @sanatan darshan . So you are saying no child-soldiers fought in the war? – S K Apr 07 '21 at 01:32
  • Please refer here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01068.htm "And let him, ye best of immortals, stay on earth for sixteen years." "And when he attaineth to his sixteenth year, the battle shall take place...". So Abhimanyu was 16 when he died. – V.Aggarwal Apr 07 '21 at 03:31
  • @V.Aggarwal I think it's a contradiction. – Sanatan Darshan Apr 07 '21 at 08:17