Bharat
was perhaps the greatest conquerer of the early Vedic age. He made
conquest both in the west and the east of his kingdom, which lay on
either side of the river Sarasvati. In the west the defeats of
Satvants, the descendants of Yadu, by him is recorded in the Satpatha
Brahmana. In the east he went further than any previous Aryan king had
gone. He is the first recorded Aryan king who carried arms beyond the
Yamuna up to the river Ganga. The Aitareya Brahmana and the
Mahabharata imply that he made conquests up to the river Ganga when
they speak of his sacrifices on the banks ofthe sarasvati, the Yamuna,
and the Ganga.
One
of the reasons for Bharata's celebrity was the performance of a number
of horse sacrifices by him. A king wishing to establish his suzerainty
over other kings in ancient time, sent a horse with gurads in
different directions and when this horse returned unchallenged he
performed a grand sacrifice which was attended by all the kings who
acknowledge his suzerainty. A verse of Rigveda attributed to the rishi
Bharadvaja, a contemporary of Bharata, tells us that Bharata
propitiated Agni by numerous horses sacrifices. This is confirmed by
the Satapatha Brahmana s well as the Aitareya Brhmana and the
Mahabharata. The performance of a number of horse sacrifices by
Bharata is a positive proof of the fact that he had led many
successful military expeditions in different directions and made wide
conquests. The aitareya Brahmana further informs us that in
recognition of his wide sway he ws consecrated by the celebrated rishi
Dirghatamas with an exalted form of coronation rite called the Aindra
Mahabhiseka, signifying universal sovereignty.
Bharata
was a man of high principles, and his first concern was the well-being
of his subjects. He had nine sons, but since he did not find any of
them fit to govern his kingdom after him, he disinherited all of them
and adopted a descendant of rishi Bharadvaja named Vidatha as his son
and successor. This selfless and courageous act further raised him in
the esteem of the people.
Bharata's
descendans were called Bharatas or Bharatas. Among them were born some
of the most illustrious peresonages of ancient times and the gret epic
Mahabharta was composed to commemorate their deeds of valor. Their
prestige rose so high that the whole country from Kashmir to Cape
Comorin came to be called Bharatavarsa, the land of Bharatas. An
oft-quoted verse of the Puranas which succinctly states this fact runs
as follows in its English translation:
The
country that is north of the ocean and south of the Himalayas bears
the name Bharata. The people of this country are the inheritors of
Bharata's glory.
