Sudarśana of Mālava

Sudarśana was a king of the Mālava country. He brought his forces to the Pāṇḍava side in the war at Kurukshetra. Aśvatthāmā killed him on the fifteenth day.

His death

Sudarśana appears in the Droṇa Parva in the last part of the fifteenth day. This was after the Nārāyaṇāstra episode and after the death of Droṇācārya, the father of Aśvatthāmā. Aśvatthāmā fought the Pāṇḍava forces with great fury.

Aśvatthāmā killed Sudarśana in single combat. He cut off Sudarśana’s arms and then his head. The Droṇa Parva names him together with Vṛddhakshatra of Paurava and the Cedi Yuvarāja (the Cedi crown prince) as warriors who fell to Aśvatthāmā in this part of the battle. After these deaths Dhṛshṭadyumna, Sātyaki and Bhīmasena were also forced to retreat.

Not to be confused with Indravarma

Sudarśana of Mālava is a different person from Indravarma of Mālava. Indravarma was the Mālava king whose elephant, named Aśvatthāmā, was killed by Bhīma earlier on the same day. The text does not say whether Sudarśana and Indravarma were allied Mālava rulers or separate kings.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 200