Sudakshina ( sa, सुदक्षिण) was a king of the

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

and is featured in the Indian epic

the 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 Kuruk ...

. On the 14th day of

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, Arjuna, with his charioteer

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 one ...

, attempts to reach Jayadratha. Dronacharya and Duryodhana arrange warriors in Arjuna's path, trying to impede his progress until sunset. Sudakhina rallies a fleeing

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...

akshauhini, challenging Arjuna. He throws a spear at Arjuna; the spear connects and Arjuna swoons in his seat, dripping blood. The Kaurava army begins to cheer, thinking Arjuna is dead. However, Arjuna quickly recovers and angrily invokes the

Indrastra Indrastra was the mythical weapon of Indian deity Indra which was invoked by the main character Arjuna many times in the Mahabharata war. When the divine weapon was shot it transformed into many arrows capable of killing many men. Use in Mahabh ...

, which multiplies into many arrows and decimates the Kaurava forces. Sudakshina falls to one of these arrows. It is later remarked that while Sudakshina was a just and good monarch, he felt obligated to fight for Duryodhana. In the years preceding the war,

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

had conquered the Kamboja army and Sudakshina had bent the knee to

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts ...

. Despite knowing that the Pandavas had dharma on their side, he raised his banners for Duryodhana.

References

{{reflist Characters in the Mahabharata Kambojas

See also

References