The Supreme Character of Jaḍa Bharata

To a best of brāhmaṇas of the Aḍgira line, who was endowed with mind and sense control, austerity, study of the Vedas, renunciation, satisfaction, tolerance, humility, knowledge, lack of envy, and bliss on realization of ātmā, were born nine sons, endowed with learning, conduct, beauty and generous qualities which was similar to that of their father. In his younger wife he bore twins. They say that the great devotee Bharata, giving up the body of a deer, became the male child among the twins, and lived his final life as a brāhmaṇa.

In that life, fearing the association of his family members, he always remembered the lotus feet of the Lord which destroy the bondage of karma by hearing about and remembering their qualities. Fearing obstructions to his progress and remembering his previous lives by the mercy of the Lord, he assumed the appearance of a dull-minded, blind and deaf mad man for the public.

The father, whose mind was bound by fatherly affection to his son, performed his saṁskāras for brahmacārī life up to graduation according to the scriptural rules, and, thinking that a son should do these things as taught by the father, taught him the rules for cleanliness such ācamana necessary for one who has received the sacred thread, though the son was unwilling.

Bharata performed the actions in reverse order in the presence of his father. Desiring to teach him the Vedas, he first attempted to teach him the gāyatrī mantra during the spring and summer months, but Bharata could learn the mantra only incompletely.

Being very attached to his son, thinking that the son should be taught by the father, though his desire was useless, he taught his son the brahmacārī activities of cleanliness, study, vows, following rules, accepting guru, sacrifice and service, though Bharata was not willing. Without fulfilling his desire, he died in his house by the influence of vigilant time.

Thereafter, the brāhmaṇa's younger wife, after entrusting her twin children—the boy and girl—to the elder wife, departed for Patiloka, following her husband.

After the death of their father, the nine brothers, not understanding the position of Bharata, and being knowledgeable of the three Vedas but not knowing the highest truth, gave up trying to teach Bharata, thinking that he was dull-witted.

When ordinary people, two-legged animals, addressed him as mad, dull, deaf and dumb, he replied suitably. When engaged in work, he worked as others desired either as a slave or for wages. He would eat stale food or excellent food, a little or a lot, by begging or by whatever came of its own accord, not for the satisfaction of his senses. He had realization of Kṛṣṇa with visible, pure, natural bliss and had destroyed all his karmas in his previous birth. Strong as bull, he did not cover his broad, strong limbs in the cold, heat, wind or rain. Like a great jewel, his effulgence from realization was covered by dust from not bathing or applying oil, and from sleeping on the earth. His hips were covered with an old cloth and his sacred thread was soiled. He wandered about, and was called a fallen brāhmaṇa by ignorant people

Wanting food from taking wages for work from others, and thus engaged by his brothers in farm work, he did the work, but did not recognize level or uneven soil, less or more. He ate grains of rice, oil cakes, chaff, wormy beans, and rice burned at the bottom of the pots as if it were nectar.

At one time, the leader of the thieves, desiring a son, started a sacrifice with a human being as an offering to Bhadra Kālī.

The sacrificial human of the leader of the thieves had escaped by chance and his followers were pursuing his path in the night. Not catching him, at midnight, covered by darkness, they suddenly saw the son of the Aḍgira brāhmaṇa, who was protecting the fields from wild boars and deer, seated on a raised platform.

Considering that Bharata with faultless qualities would fulfill the purposes of their master, they tied him up with rope and with happy faces brought him with great joy to the temple of Kālī.

The priests bathed Bharata according to their rules, dressed him in new cloth, decorated him with ornaments, sandalwood, garlands and tilaka, and then fed him. They had him sit in front of Bhadra Kālī along with paraphernalia for animal sacrifice including incense, lamps, garlands, popped rice, shoots and fruits, to the sound of singing and beating of drums.

The chief priest for the leader of thieves, desiring to please Kālī with the blood of the sacrificial human, took up his sharp, fearful sword consecrated to Kālī.

As the low-class men, whose their minds were contaminated with passion, pride and wealth, with natures of passion and ignorance, were preparing to commit violence, making the troops of the Lord’s avatāras unhappy, Kālī, understanding that their sacrificing Bharata, who was without enemy and the friend of all beings, was cruel and unauthorized even in an emergency situation, suddenly burst out of the deity form with a flaming body and blinding light.

She had a fearsome visage burning with red eyes, crooked teeth, and frowning brows, which expanded by the force of her anger and intolerance to the offense to Bharata. In great anger, she released a loud laugh, indicating her desire to destroy the whole universe. Along with her followers she began to drink the warm blood as liquor as it flowed from the necks of the sinful thieves whose heads she severed with the same sword. Overwhelmed by intoxication, she began to sing loudly and dance with her followers and tossed the heads of the thieves around in play.

Committing offense with violence to the devotee brings such a result to the offender.

O Parīkṣit! For the highest devotees who have severed the tight knot of identity with the body, who are friends with all beings, who have no enemy, who are protected by the attentive Lord with his attentive cakra and his various moods, and who have taken shelter of his fearless lotus feet, it is not surprising that one can be undisturbed at the moment of having one’s head cut off. “Is it not impossible that Bharata would not be disturbed by his death, and not show anger to his killers?” O Parīkṣit (visṇu-datta)! It is not surprising that there is no disturbance when one’s head is about to be cut off, for persons who are free of the tight knot in the heart composed of identity with the body, who are friends with all beings (sattva), even their killer, and who are protected by the attentive (apramattena) Lord holding in his hand the attentive (animiṣa) cakra, with his various moods of affection for his devotees, protecting the righteous and punishing the sinful (taiḥ taih bhāvaiḥ).