Jadabharata
Encyclopedia
The story of Jadabharata is a story about Bharata, son of Rishabha
, it appears in the second section of the Vishnu Purana
and the fifth canto of the Bhagavata Purana
, and also in Jain texts, like Adipurana
, a 10th century Kannada text by Jain poet Adikavi Pampa
(fl. 941 CE), written in Champu
style, a mix of prose and verse and spread over in sixteen cantos, deals with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha, also known as Adinath, and his two sons, Bharata and Bahubali
..
.
In the Jain tradition, Rishabha Deva is a Tirthankara, and Bharata, the older brother of Bahubali
is a Chakravati king, who eventually attained nirvana
.
According to Bhagavata purana
, Bharata on assuming rule married a girl named Panchajani and five sons were born to them. Bharata ruled the earth for a long time in a just manner. He performed a number of yagas
, worshipped God in the prescribed manner and did many dharmic
acts. Thus, he earned much merit. At the forest he stayed in the hermitage of the Rishi
Pulaha on the banks of Gandaki
river and by means of his austerities became a great sage. When Bharata in turn became old, he divided his kingdom among his five sons and, following his father, went to the forest to perform tapas.
In Jain tradition, Bharata is referred to as a Chakravatin King, who eventually became a monk and attained Nirvana
. Some Jain temples contain idols of Bharata as a Jain monk, including one at Shravanabelagola
. The Irinjalakuda (Koodalmanickam) Bharata temple is Kerala was originally dedicated to Bharata as a Jain deity.
It regretted: "How foolish of me to have forgotten my tapas and become attached to an animal? And now I suffer for it, being born an animal. I shall not repeat the mistake." Saying this the deer left its mother and began living in the vicinity of a Rishi's ashrama spending all its time thinking of God. When death approached, the deer entered the water of a river and standing there, gave up its body.
. The past tapas and mistakes lingered in the child's mind and so he did not want to commit the same mistake. As a child Bharata in his third birth did not show any attachment to his family. He did not even speak. People therefore called him Jada or a dunce. Hence the name Jada Bharata.
His father however gave him the sacred thread and tried to teach him the Vedas
. Bharata did not make much headway in it.The old father died and his brothers gave him up as an idiot. Bharata was now a ripe jnani. He ate whatever food was offered to him, good or bad. He dressed scantily and roamed as an avadhuta. He, however, had a well-built body. So people made him do all sorts of work which he did, like a bull, without caring for reward or appreciation.
One day some robbers caught him in a field. They took him to a Kali
temple to offer him as a human sacrifice to Kali. Bharata did not resist. The robber chief lifted the sword to cut the sage's head. At that time Goddess Kali, enraged, burst out of her image and snatching the sword from the robber, killed the robber himself and danced wildly.
were looking for a man to help them carry the king's palanquin. They took Jada Bharata and made him one of the four to carry the palanquin. The king was going to Sage Kapila's hermitage on the banks of the river Ikshumati to gain spiritual knowledge. Bharata being a jnani or realised soul, did not want to hurt even worms and insects while carrying the palanquin. He walked slowly while the other bearers walked fast. The result was that the palanquin did not move smoothly. When scolded, the other bearers naturally blamed Bharata for this difficulty.
Whenever he saw insects on the ground he jumped above them and that made the palanquin jerk violently. The king who was riding bumped his head as a result.
"What is wrong?" Asked the king angrily, "Haven’t you borne the palanquin only for a little while? How is it that you are tired? Can’t you bear a little burden? You look quite strong to me."
Bharata’s answer was this. "Who am I and who are you? What you have seen is only my body and your body. I am not my body and nor are you your body. Our atmans or souls are what we really are. My atman is not strong or tired, nor is it carrying your palanquin upon its shoulders."
The king was struck by the reply. He stepped down from the palanquin and falling at the feet of Jada Bharata asked him to forgive him for his ignorance and teach him the sacred knowledge. Then Jada Bharata revealing himself taught him the nature of self. He told him the truth about the atman, which is never destroyed and takes up different bodies from one life to another. This is the jivatman. In addition, there is the paramatman, which is the same as God and is everywhere. To think that the jivatman is different from the paramatman is to suffer from maya or illusion. He also narrated the story of Ribhu to explain this philosophy. The sage ended: "A man becomes liberated when he severs all attachment through wisdom, keeps the company of great souls and sings and listens to the praise of God!"
Rishabha (Jain tirthankar)
In Jainism, R̥ṣabha or Ādinātha , also known as the "Lord of Kesariya") was the first of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras. According to Jain beliefs, R̥ṣabha founded the Ikshvaku dynasty and was the first Tīrthaṅkara of the present age...
, it appears in the second section of the Vishnu Purana
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...
and the fifth canto of the Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, and also in Jain texts, like Adipurana
Adipurana
Adipurana is a 10th century Kannada text written in Champu style, a mix of prose and verse, dealing with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Adinatha, also known as Rishabhanatha . This work is known to be the first work of Kannada poet Adikavi Pampa . It is based on the story narrated by...
, a 10th century Kannada text by Jain poet Adikavi Pampa
Adikavi Pampa
Pampa , called by the honorific Ādikavi is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time.He is very famous even today for his philosophical beliefs...
(fl. 941 CE), written in Champu
Champu
Champu or Champu-Kavya is a genre in Sanskrit literature. It consists of a mixture of prose and poetry passages , with verses interspersed among prose sections...
style, a mix of prose and verse and spread over in sixteen cantos, deals with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha, also known as Adinath, and his two sons, Bharata and Bahubali
Bahubali
According to Jainism, Bahubali, called Gomateshwara , was the second of the hundred sons of the first Tirthankara, Rishabha, and king of Podanpur. The Adipurana, a 10th century Kannada text by Jain poet Adikavi Pampa According to Jainism, Bahubali, called Gomateshwara , was the second of the...
..
Life As A King
Bharata was born in the Solar Dynasty, in the line of Manu Svayambhuva, the eldest of a hundred sons of a saintly king by the name of Rishabha Deva (Jain First Tirthankara), who ruled over the earth. When Rishabha Deva became old he entrusted the rule of his kingdom to Bharata and retired to the forest to perform tapasTapas (Sanskrit)
Tapasya in Sanskrit means "heat". In Vedic religion and Hinduism, it is used figuratively, denoting spiritual suffering, mortification or austerity, and also the spiritual ecstasy of a yogin or tāpasá . In the Rigveda, the word is connected with the Soma cult...
.
In the Jain tradition, Rishabha Deva is a Tirthankara, and Bharata, the older brother of Bahubali
Bahubali
According to Jainism, Bahubali, called Gomateshwara , was the second of the hundred sons of the first Tirthankara, Rishabha, and king of Podanpur. The Adipurana, a 10th century Kannada text by Jain poet Adikavi Pampa According to Jainism, Bahubali, called Gomateshwara , was the second of the...
is a Chakravati king, who eventually attained nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
.
According to Bhagavata purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, Bharata on assuming rule married a girl named Panchajani and five sons were born to them. Bharata ruled the earth for a long time in a just manner. He performed a number of yagas
Yajna
In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...
, worshipped God in the prescribed manner and did many dharmic
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
acts. Thus, he earned much merit. At the forest he stayed in the hermitage of the Rishi
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...
Pulaha on the banks of Gandaki
Gandaki
Gandaki may refer to:*Gandaki River, Nepal*Gandaki Zone, Nepal...
river and by means of his austerities became a great sage. When Bharata in turn became old, he divided his kingdom among his five sons and, following his father, went to the forest to perform tapas.
In Jain tradition, Bharata is referred to as a Chakravatin King, who eventually became a monk and attained Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
. Some Jain temples contain idols of Bharata as a Jain monk, including one at Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola
Shravana Belgola is a city located in the Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural...
. The Irinjalakuda (Koodalmanickam) Bharata temple is Kerala was originally dedicated to Bharata as a Jain deity.
Bharata smitten by love for a deer
One day while offering prayers to the Sun God on the river bank, he saw a lone and heavily pregnant doe coming to quench its thirst in the river. Hardly had it touched the water when the forest echoed with the roar of a lion. The doe became terror-stricken and it just leaped into the water without even quenching its thirst and tried to ford it in a bid to escape to the other side of the river. Shocked by fear and overcome by the effort to negotiate the current, the doe gave birth to a young deer midstream. Without even being aware of it, the doe reached the other bank where it died of exhaustion. The royal sage who saw it all, was moved by compassion at the sight of the motherless infant deer being carried away by the river. He picked the young deer, took it to his ashrama and fed it with tender grass and protected it from wild beasts. Soon he grew very fond of it. In course of time the sage became so attached to it that he could not part from it even for a short while. He feared all sorts of harms to his pet and prayed for their removal. He forgot that he was a sage and behaved like a foolish householder doting over his child. In the end he died with thoughts of the deer in his mind.Bharata's next birth
That sage was born as a deer in his next birth. The Vedic scriptures say that a man will be born in his next birth as that thing about which he was thinking most at the time of his death. Therefore wise men advise people to think of God so that it will become a habit and thus after death achieve God's abode. As a result of his tapas and merits and having almost reached perfection the deer that was Bharata, could remember its past by the Lord's grace.It regretted: "How foolish of me to have forgotten my tapas and become attached to an animal? And now I suffer for it, being born an animal. I shall not repeat the mistake." Saying this the deer left its mother and began living in the vicinity of a Rishi's ashrama spending all its time thinking of God. When death approached, the deer entered the water of a river and standing there, gave up its body.
Bharata, reborn as a Jada
In the next birth the deer was born as the son of a pious BrahmanaBrahmana
The Brāhmaṇas are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals....
. The past tapas and mistakes lingered in the child's mind and so he did not want to commit the same mistake. As a child Bharata in his third birth did not show any attachment to his family. He did not even speak. People therefore called him Jada or a dunce. Hence the name Jada Bharata.
His father however gave him the sacred thread and tried to teach him the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
. Bharata did not make much headway in it.The old father died and his brothers gave him up as an idiot. Bharata was now a ripe jnani. He ate whatever food was offered to him, good or bad. He dressed scantily and roamed as an avadhuta. He, however, had a well-built body. So people made him do all sorts of work which he did, like a bull, without caring for reward or appreciation.
One day some robbers caught him in a field. They took him to a Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
temple to offer him as a human sacrifice to Kali. Bharata did not resist. The robber chief lifted the sword to cut the sage's head. At that time Goddess Kali, enraged, burst out of her image and snatching the sword from the robber, killed the robber himself and danced wildly.
Encounter with Rahugana
On another occasion, the servants of the king Rahugana of Sauvira KingdomSauvira Kingdom
Sauvira was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. According to the epic, Jayadratha was the king of Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis. Probably Sauvira and Sivi were two kingdoms close to the Sindhu kingdom and Jayadratha conquered them. Jayadratha was an ally of Duryodhana and husband of...
were looking for a man to help them carry the king's palanquin. They took Jada Bharata and made him one of the four to carry the palanquin. The king was going to Sage Kapila's hermitage on the banks of the river Ikshumati to gain spiritual knowledge. Bharata being a jnani or realised soul, did not want to hurt even worms and insects while carrying the palanquin. He walked slowly while the other bearers walked fast. The result was that the palanquin did not move smoothly. When scolded, the other bearers naturally blamed Bharata for this difficulty.
Whenever he saw insects on the ground he jumped above them and that made the palanquin jerk violently. The king who was riding bumped his head as a result.
"What is wrong?" Asked the king angrily, "Haven’t you borne the palanquin only for a little while? How is it that you are tired? Can’t you bear a little burden? You look quite strong to me."
Bharata’s answer was this. "Who am I and who are you? What you have seen is only my body and your body. I am not my body and nor are you your body. Our atmans or souls are what we really are. My atman is not strong or tired, nor is it carrying your palanquin upon its shoulders."
The king was struck by the reply. He stepped down from the palanquin and falling at the feet of Jada Bharata asked him to forgive him for his ignorance and teach him the sacred knowledge. Then Jada Bharata revealing himself taught him the nature of self. He told him the truth about the atman, which is never destroyed and takes up different bodies from one life to another. This is the jivatman. In addition, there is the paramatman, which is the same as God and is everywhere. To think that the jivatman is different from the paramatman is to suffer from maya or illusion. He also narrated the story of Ribhu to explain this philosophy. The sage ended: "A man becomes liberated when he severs all attachment through wisdom, keeps the company of great souls and sings and listens to the praise of God!"