The S in this name is pronounced like 's' in 'sun' and SH is pronounced like the one between 's' in 'sand' and 'sh' in 'shaft'. )
Susharma was the king of Thrigartha kingdom . He was often defeated by Keechaka , the brother-in-law of Mathsya king ,Viraata . He was an ally of the Kouravas. The Thrigarthas were called the samshapthakas (=those under oath) in the war , since they undertook an oath to prevent Arjuna from protecting his side .
Susharma had four younger brothers . His role in Mahaabhaaratham was crucial on two occations .
One : When the Kouravas confirmed the existence of Paandavas in Viraata city,they decided to disclose them by attacking Viraata's cow herds . Then Susharma volunteered to take up the Southern front attack a day before the Kouravas seized the northern front cow-lots . he was successful in distracting the entire force of Viraata, including the four Paandavas ( leaving Arjuna in the guise of a eunuch ) to the South , envisaging the possibility of emerging out of the Paandavas, if in the city at all . He could capture Viraata but soon Bheema got him released . Susharma himself was captured and he too was released at the behest of Yudhishthira . The Kouravas of course, attcked on the northern front the next day and Arjuna was to take up the matter himself .
Two : Again, in the Mahaabhaaratham war , Drona needded a band of some brave warriors to decoy Arjuna away from the main battle field , since it was impossible in his presence to capture Yudhishthira . Again, Susharma and his brothers came forward . They took strong and solemn oaths to hold Arjuna at any cost . That was why they were called Samshapthaka-s ( vow-bound ) . He stood his own formation well away from the main battle field and challenged Arjuna to a fight on the 12 th day . They could engage Arjuna for most of the time on the 12 th day and the whole of the 13 th day ,which cost Arjuna his dear son Abhimanyu . Later in the war too, the samshapthakas, with their force numbering to many thousands , could harass Arjuna to the maximum . That yielded a good result and a bad one for the Kouravas . The good one was that Arjuna's attack was made as minimum as possible on the main front . The bad one was that both Krishna and Arjuna were kept away from the dangerous Karna for a considerable period . Finally , all the Samshapthakas met their end in the hands of very Arjuna , but not before the fag end of the war and once Susharma so overpowered Arjuna that the latter fell fainted in the chariot for a while .
Also, a king named susharma was mentioned by king Drupada,while listing out the names of the kings from whom paandavas might seek help. It is not clear if it was he or some other one.