Subhadra: The Yadava Sister
Sister of Krishna and Balarama. Arjuna’s wife. Mother of Abhimanyu.
Who Subhadra is
Subhadra is Vasudeva’s daughter, sister of Krishna and Balarama, carried off by Arjuna with Krishna’s assent. She is how the Pandava house and the Vrishni house become one household in the next generation.
Their son is Abhimanyu. She is the mother who, in the usual telling, is sent away or falls asleep while the boy in the womb hears only the way into the chakravyuha, not the way out.
Names and spellings
Canonical name in this graph: Subhadra. Common Mahabharat spellings and titles stay in the aliases rather than being repeated in every heading.
Spouses
Children
Narrative role
Adi Parva Arjuna, in exile-wandering, comes to Dvaraka. Krishna suggests the carrying-off. Balarama is not pleased at first and then is reconciled. The marriage stands.
Drona Parva — day 13 Abhimanyu dies in the wheel. Subhadra’s grief is the Yadava grief inside the Pandava camp. Uttara carries the next child, Parikshit.
How Subhadra is related
How is Subhadra related to Arjuna? Husband. The marriage is a Yadava–Pandava alliance, not a swayamvara prize. Arjuna
How is Subhadra related to Abhimanyu? Their son. The thirteenth day is the day the recitation takes him. Abhimanyu
How is Subhadra related to Krishna? Brother who arranges the marriage and later drives Arjuna’s chariot on the field where that son dies. Krishna
How is Subhadra related to Balarama? Elder brother. He teaches the mace to both sides and refuses the war his sister’s husband is fighting. Balarama
Source notes
Mahabharata text (Adi; Drona Parva), Ganguli. Last reviewed 12 September 2026.
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