Talk:Lunar Dynasty:Emperor Bharata: How India got its name ‘Bhārata’
By Vishal Agarwal
Several thousand years ago in northern India, there ruled King Duṣyanta of the Puru dynasty. [1]One day, while hunting in the forest, he lost his way. He came across the āśrama [2]of ṛṣi Kaṇva, who happened to be away at that time.
Kaṇva’s daughter, Śakuntalā, welcomed the king into the āśrama and offered him food, water, and a place to rest. King Duṣyanta spent a few days in the āśrama and fell in love with her. The two were married, but soon it was time for the king to return to his palace.
Before taking leave of her, he told Śakuntalā:
When your father returns, please come with him to my capital. Keep this royal ring that I wear. By showing the ring to the guards, you will be able to enter my palace. And I will also recognize you through the ring. Then we will celebrate our wedding officially.
After a few days, when ṛṣi Kaṇva returned, Śakuntalā was lost in thoughts of her husband. She did not notice her father arrive and unintentionally ignored him.
ṛṣi Kaṇva became upset and cursed her:
May he, about whom you are thinking, forget you.
When Śakuntalā told her father that his curse meant her own husband would forget her, he regretted having uttered it. He said to her:
Let us go to Duṣyanta’s palace immediately, before he really forgets you.
On the way to the capital, they stopped by the river Gaṅgā. When Śakuntalā went to take a bath in the river, the ring unfortunately slipped off her finger and was swallowed by a fish.
Śakuntalā was terrified. The worst she had imagined now became true. When she reached the palace, King Duṣyanta had forgotten her because of her father’s curse. And since she had lost the ring, she could not prove their marriage or remind him of it.
Śakuntalā soon gave birth to a son, whom she named Bharata. He was a very brave child and loved to play with lions because he was not afraid of them.
In fact, he was so brave and strong that he would tie lions to trees using rope and then count their teeth.
One day, a fisherman caught the fish that had swallowed the ring. When he cut open the fish, he was amazed to find the precious ring. He went to the market to sell it. Some passers-by thought, “How can this poor fisherman get an expensive ring like this?” Therefore, they went and reported to the royal police, who immediately came and arrested him.
When the fisherman was produced before King Duṣyanta with the ring, the King immediately got his memory back. Now, he suddenly remembered his dear wife. He went to search for her and finally found her with Bharata, who was playing with a lion at that time. Duṣyanta was happy to see that he had a brave son, and brought his family to the palace to live with him.
After King Duṣyanta, Bharata became the next king of the kingdom. He was a very just and powerful ruler. People believe that he united the entire land of the present-day countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal into one country. His empire came to be known as ‘Bhārata’ after his own name.
King Bharata thought that all his nine sons were cruel and unfit to rule Bhārata after him. Therefore, he invited Bhūmanyu, the son of Rishi Bharadvāja to become the next king of Bhārata. This act shows how concerned King Bharata was about the happiness of the people of his country. In fact, the people of his country came to be known as ‘Bhāratīya’, a name that is still used for Indians.
References[edit]
- ↑ This dynasty was named after their ancestor King Puru, the son of Yayāti.
- ↑ In ancient India, Ṛṣis lived away from towns and cities, and they built their cottages in forests. In these cottages, they spent most of their time in meditation and worship. Sometimes, they also ran schools for children. These cottages with the schools next to them were called Āśramas.