Viśoka
Viśoka was the sārathi (charioteer) of Bhīmasena in the Kurukṣetra war. He served Bhīma with complete loyalty and drove his chariot through the hardest fighting.
His name means “free from grief” (vi + śoka). The Mahābhārata names him in the Bhīṣma Parva and in the Droṇa Parva.
Role at Kurukṣetra
A sārathi does more than drive. He needs courage and skill, and he must hold a steady course through the chaos of battle while the warrior fights from the chariot. Viśoka did this for Bhīma, one of the fiercest fighters on either side of the war.
In the Bhīṣma Parva
Viśoka appears in the war narrative of the Bhīṣma Parva. Bhīma fought the Kaliṅga forces on the second day, and Viśoka was his charioteer there. He is also named in other fights across the ten days of Bhīṣma’s command. His steadiness let Bhīma use all his strength on the enemy.
On the tenth day, Bhīma drove through the Kaurava formation. Viśoka himself was struck by Śalya’s arrows while he was driving Bhīma’s chariot. He bore the danger of a charioteer’s place with the same courage that Bhīma showed in combat.
In the Droṇa Parva
Viśoka was Bhīmasena’s charioteer throughout the battles of the Droṇa Parva. These include the long combat of the fourteenth day and the fifteenth day, when Droṇācārya fell.
The Droṇa Parva names him together with Indrasena, the charioteer of Yudhiṣṭhira, and Dāruka, the charioteer of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. These three are named among the charioteers of the Pāṇḍava commanders.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva, Chapters 43–122
- Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva