
Susharma (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
: सुशर्मा) was the 234th
Katoch
Katoch is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan. Their traditional area of residence was in the Trigarta Kingdom, based at Jalandhar and at Kangra Fort in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. They descent from the Trigarta dynasty mentioned in the Mahab ...
king of
Trigarta
Trigarta kingdom was an ancient kingdom in northern Indian region of the Indian subcontinent with its capital at Prasthala (modern Jalandhar), Multan and Kangra.
Trigarta was founded and ruled by the vrishni Dynasty.
Mention in Mahabharata
Tr ...
(present-day
Kangra) and cousin brother of
Bhanumati. He brutally attacked
Virata
Virata ( sa, विराट, IAST ''virāṭa''), was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and ...
, king of
Matsya Kingdom
Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य) was a Vedic kingdom and later became a part of sixteen Mahajanapadas, which also appears in Hindu Epic literature. The capital of Matsya was at Viratanagari (present-day Bairat, in Rajasthan) which is said to ...
because all Pandavas were living in disguise in his kingdom during their final year of exile but was defeated by
Bhima
In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The '' Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. ...
. Susharma was responsible for distracting
Arjun on day 13 of the
Kurukshetra war
The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...
. On the thirteenth day, Dronacharya formed a chakravyuha so that Yudhishthira will get trapped and killed in there. Arjuna and
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
knew how to break it so Susharma distracted them and took them to the other side of the chakravyuha.
He was killed by Arjun on the final day of the war while the rest of his army was retreating.
He is mentioned in
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...
References
Characters in the Mahabharata
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