Stories From The Bhagawatham - Bharata's Salvation!

 

The purpose of life is to evolve from a lower state to the highest till there is no need for rebirth or reincarnation. It is believed that getting a human birth is a privilege and a higher state in the process of evolution. However, the Bhagawatham cites the only known instance of a human, who at the time of his death, was focused on an animal and hence, instead of evolving one step further, he had to step down in the process of evolution and take birth as an animal again.

One of the kings in the lineage of Swayambhu Manu was King Bharata. It is believed that our country came to be called as Bharatavarsha in his supreme and majestic reign when prosperity and peace reigned in the country.

The king was a great devotee of Lord Narayana and spent his life in silent worship of the Lord, calmly attending to his royal duties all the while keeping his mind dedicated to the divine. When the time for renunciation came, he divided the kingdom among his sons and retired to Haridwar where he spent his days in worship of the Lord.

Once, on the banks of a river, he came across a newly born deer which was struggling to breathe. Feeling compassionate towards the animal, Bharata took it under his care and nourished the deer back to health. His days were now spent on caring for the deer and looking after it. He started spending more and more time with the deer and forgot his daily activities of worship. As the deer grew up, Bharata’s attachment to the deer increased manifold. So enamoured was he by the deer that at the time of his death, Bharata’s last thoughts were all about the deer.

The Bhagawatham mentions that in his next birth, Bharata was born as a deer. However, all the good deeds that he did in his last birth had been retained in his spirit and he remembered everything, about how he had been a devotee of Lord Narayana, how he had lived a life of dispassion and detachment until the time for death came, and how he had spent the last years of his life entirely focused on a deer. He found his way to an Ashram of Rishis where he spent his days and died peacefully.

Bharata’s next birth was into the family of a Brahmin. Having gone through the painful process of another birth and death, Bharata developed deep aversion to everything in his current birth. He isolated himself from everyone to avoid any kind of attachment. He was difficult to deal with and maintained distance with everyone in his family and surroundings. He had only one clear purpose: to attain salvation in this birth. He never interacted with anyone. His silence and isolation grew to this extent that people started considering him deaf and mute.

Bharata worked hard as a labourer and never demanded any payment for his work. He sustained himself on whatever his brothers paid him or gave him to eat. His entire focus was only on attaining salvation.

Once, he was kidnapped by a gang of robbers. The chieftain of the gang wanted to offer a human sacrifice to the Goddess to get Her blessings for the continuation of his lineage in the family. It is said that just when Bharata was about to be killed, the Goddess Herself appeared and stopped the gang of people from killing him.

Once Bharata was hired as a palanquin bearer for King Rahugana. While walking with the palanquin, Bharata was mindful about where he stepped his feet so as to not to kill any insect or worm. His uneven steps made the palanquin move to and fro and this greatly irritated the king who shouted at Bharata. “You fool! What do you think you are doing?” He berated Bharata severely. With a smile, Bharata reverted back. “You are angry with me for not carrying your palanquin properly and call me names. However, you are not insulting anyone as neither me, nor my body is real.”

The king realized that he was in the presence of a learned man and humbly bowed to him, requesting him to share more of his wisdom. The teachings of Bharata to Rahugana form an important part of the Bhagawatham and are a treasure-house of knowledge and wisdom.

Bharata went through his current birth with detachment and renunciation and finally attained salvation.

Om Namo Bhagawathe Vaasudevaya!