Bharata (Mahabharata)
King featured in the Mahabharata
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Bharata (Sanskrit: भरत, romanized: Bharata)[3][4] is a legendary emperor featured in Hindu literature. He is a member of the Chandravamsha dynasty, and becomes the Chakravarti (Chakra possessing emperor).[5] He is regarded to be the ancestor of the Pandavas, the Kauravas, Brihadratha and Jarasandha.
| Bharata | |
|---|---|
Painting of Bharata, Raja Ravi Varma | |
| Predecessor | Dushyanta |
| Successor | Bhumanyu |
| Texts | Mahabharata |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Dushyanta (father), Shakuntala (mother) |
| Spouse | Sunanda[1] Two unnamed wives[2] |
| Children | Bhumanyu, Bharadvaja (adopted) |
| Dynasty | Chandravamsha |
The legend of Bharata is featured in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, where he is mentioned as the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala.[6][7] The story of his parents and his birth is related in Kalidasa's famous play, Abhijñānashākuntala. He is a descendant of rajarshi Vishvamitra.
Legend
Abhijñānaśakuntalā
According to a dramatised version of the events by the poet Kalidasa, the king Dushyanta married Shakuntala on his hunting expeditions in forests. He was captivated by Shakuntala's beauty, courted her in royal style and married her. He then had to leave to take care of affairs in the capital.[8] She was given a ring by the king, to be presented to him when she was ready to appear in his court. Shakuntala gave birth to her child who was named Sarvadamana by the sage Kashyapa. Surrounded only by wild animals, Sarvadamana grew to be a strong child and made a sport of opening the mouths of tigers and lions and counting their teeth.[9][10]
Children
Bharata had a son named Bhúmanyu. The Adi Parva of Mahabharata tells two different stories about Bhúmanyu's birth. The first story says that Bharata married Sunanda, the daughter of Sarvasena, the King of the Kashi kingdom and begot upon her the son named Bhumanyu.[11] According to the second story, Bharata had three wives, and nine sons from them. But these sons were not as their father and incapable of being his successor. Seeing Bharata's dissatisfaction, his wives in wrath slew all of their sons. Then Bhúmanyu was born out of a great sacrifice that Bharata performed with the help of the sage Bharadvaja.[12]
The Skanda Purana gives another account of the adopted son of Bharata. When Angiras' son, Utathya's wife Mamata was pregnant, Utathya's younger brother Brihaspati moved by desire sought Mamata. But the child in her womb obstructed the deposition of Brihaspati's semen. Instead the child was delivered by Mamata. Mamata and Brihaspati started to quarrel over the guardianship of the child. At last they left the infant boy abandoned. The Maruta gods adopted the boy and named him Bharadvaja. When the wives of Bharata killed all their sons, the Marutas gave Bharadvaja to Bharata. Bharadvaja, also known as Vitatha, became the king.[13]