Bharat Varsh ki Katha

Bharat was the son of Shakuntala and Dushyant. Dushyant was the king .Shakuntla was a daughter of Sage Vishwamitra and apsara Menka. Once while hunting in the forest, Dushyant saw Shakuntala. He fell in love with her and they married. Dushyant had to leave for his kingdom. He promised Shakuntala that he would come later and take her to Hastinapur. Once, lost in his thoughts, she forgot to serve Durvasa rishi when he arrived. Durvasa had a very short temper and he cursed her, "In forgetting to serve me, the one you were thinking of will forget you." Dushyant had forgotten Shakuntala because of that curse. He did not recognise Shakuntala when she went to Hastinapur. Thereafter, She did not have the heart to return to her father's ashram and started living in sage Marich's ashram. Here, unknown to Dushyant, Shakuntala gave birth to a son named Bharat. He was a very brave child. He was not afraid of anyone or anything. Bharat played with lion cubs everyday. Once, Dushyant happened to pass by the ashram. He watched a little boy playing with a lion cub. The boy opened the lion's jaws by his hands and said, " Open your mouth wide, so that could count your teeth." Dushyant was very surprised by the child's courage. Later Shakuntala came there and Dushyant realised that Bharat was his son. He was thrilled at this and hugged Bharat affectionately. Dushyant took Shakuntala and Bharat along with him to Hastinapur. Later Bharat grew into a great king. Our country's true name is Bharat (pronounced Bhaarat), named after him. Bharat is remembered by all for his bravery. Bharat was the most illustrious king of the dynasty. He expanded the empire greatly and was widely respected. Bharat had no son to rule the kingdom as a successor. So he adopted Bharadwaja as his heir. A descendant of Bharadwaja was Hasti who founded the city of Hastinapur, which was the capital of the kingdom at the time of the Mahabharata war. Hasti’s son Ajamidha had many sons who gave rise to dynasties of kings and Brahmins. However the Lunar dynasty continued through his son Riksha. Riksha’s grandson was Kuru. Several generations after Kuru was Shantanu, from whom the tale of Mahabharata commences.