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Bharata (Jainism)

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Bharata
1stChakravarti(universal monarch)
Bharata Chakravartin
Statue of Bharata as a monk atChandragiri Hill,Shravanabelagola
SuccessorSagara
ColorSkin
Personal information
Born
Ayodhya
Died
Asthapada
Parents
SiblingsNamiand 97 other (brothers)

Brāhmī (sister)

Bahubali(step-brother) and Sundarī (step-sister)
SpouseSubhadrā
ChildrenPrince Arkakīrti
Marichi
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InJainism,Bharatawas the firstchakravartin(lit. 'holder of achakra', i.e., emperor) of theAvasarpini(present half-time cycle). He was the eldest son ofRishabhanatha,the firsttirthankara.He had two sons from his chief-empress Subhadra, named Arkakirti andMarichi.He is said to have conquered all six parts of the world and to have engaged in a fight withBahubali,his brother, to conquer the last remaining city of the world.

According to theDigambarasub-tradition ofJainism,in his later years, he renounced the world, led an ascetic life, and attainedkevala jnana(omniscience). According to theŚvetāmbaraJains, he attainedkevala jnana(omniscience) after which he renounced the world. He gainedkevala jnanawhen he came to believe that the human body lacked beauty and renounced the world as akevalajnani(omniscient), and then attainedmoksha.

Life in traditional accounts[edit]

Early life and family[edit]

14 Ratna of Chankravartin

In a Jain legend, Yasasvati Devi, senior-mostqueenofRishabhanatha(first Jaintirthankara), saw fourauspicious dreamsone night. She saw the sun and the moon, theMount Meru,the lake with swans, earth and the ocean. Rishabhanatha explained her that these dreams meant that achakravartinruler will be born to them who will conquer whole of the world.[1]Then, Bharata was born to them on the ninth day of the dark half of the month ofChaitra.[2][3][4]He was aKshatriyaborn inIkshvaku dynasty.[5]His education included special emphasis on law and the science of polity ofkings.He also had interest in dancing and art.[6]Bharata married many princesses during his world conquest and Subhadra was his chief queen.[7][8]He was succeeded by his son Arka Kirti (founder ofSuryavansha).[9]Bharata also had another son namedMarichi,who was one of the previous incarnation ofMahavira,the twenty-fourthtirthankara.[10]

Conquest and administration[edit]

Depiction of Bharata-Bahubalifight
31 feet (9.4 m) Bharat statue,Connaught Place, New Delhi

Bharata is believed to be the firstchakravartin(chakra possessing emperor) of the present half cycle ofJain cosmology.[11][12]According to Jain legends, Rishabhanatha distributed his kingdom to his hundred sons while becoming amuni(Jain monk). Bharata is said to have got the city of Vinita (Ayodhya) whereasBahubaliis claimed to have got the city of Podanapur (Bodhan).[13]Legends further state that Bharata's coronation was followed by a long journey of world conquest. During hisdigvijaya(winning six divisions of earth in all directions), he is believed to have acquired the ninenidhis(most precious treasures) and fourteenratna(jewels). After completing his world-conquest, he is said to have proceeded for his capital Ayodhyapuri with a huge army and the divinechakra-ratna(spinning, disk-like super weapon with serrated edges).[14]

Thechakra-ratnasupposedly stopped on its own at the entrance of the capital signalling that there still remain his 99 brothers who have refused submission to his supreme authority. 98 of them are claimed to have become monks giving him their kingdoms.[15]Bahubali refused to submit and challenged him for a fight.[16]Three kinds of contests are depicted to have been held between Bharata and Bahubali. These were eye-fight (staring at each other),jala-yuddha(water-wrestling) andmalla-yuddha(wrestling). Bahubali is said to have won all the three contests. In the last fight, Bahubali lifted Bharata up on his shoulder instead of throwing him down on the ground. He is said to have gently placed him on the ground instead, out of an affectionate regard for him. Humiliated and infuriated, Bharata is believed to have called for hischakra-ratna.Instead of harming Bahubali, the weapon is believed to have circled around him before coming to a rest. This is believed to have happened because Jain tradition states that such divine weapons lose their effectiveness when confronted with their master's close relations.[17]After this Bahubali, developed a desire for renunciation and gave up his kingdom to become a monk.[18]

Bharata is claimed to be the first law-giver of the current half-cycle in Jain tradition.[19]He is said to have added the fourthvarna,brahmins,to the three-fold varna-system created by Rishabhanatha which consisted ofksatriyas,vaishyasandshudras.[11][20][21]Their role, as mentioned in tradition, was to meditate, learn, teach and search for knowledge.[22]

Renunciation[edit]

According toDigambaratexts, when Bharata discovered that he is becoming old due to a white hair in his head, he immediately decided to become aJain monk.Because of the effect of his growing renunciation over the years, he destroyed his inimical karmas within anantaramuhūrta(less than forty-eight minutes) and attainedKevala Jnana(omniscience).[23]Śvetāmbaratraditional accounts reject the claim of his renunciation and maintain that he gained omniscience after the death of his father.[12]

Legacy and adoration[edit]

Warnings of Bharata

Rishabhanathawas the son ofNabhiraja,and Rishabha had a son named Bharata, and after his name, the land the conquered was known as Bharat.

Temples[edit]

SomeJain templescontain images of Bharata as aJainmonk, including one atShravanabelagola.TheKoodalmanikyam TempleinKeralawas originally a Jain temple dedicated to Bharata as the main deity. In May 2017, the tallest statue of lord Bharata with a height of 45 ft (35 ft body + 12 ft pedestal) weighing about 50 ton was erected in Mangalgiri (Shri kshetra bharat ka bharat),Sagar, Madhya Pradesh,India. Earlier it was planned to erect a 57 ft tall monolithic statue comprising 45 ft body and 12 ft pedestal weighing about 100 ton, however, it was broken in the process of erection and therefore, a shorter statue was created and successfully erected.[24]

Literature[edit]

Ādi purāṇa,a 10th-century Jain text deals with the ten lives of the firsttirthankara,Rishabhanatha, also known as Adinatha, and his two sons, Bharata and Bahubali.[25][26]Bharatesha Vaibhava:also known asBharatesvara Charitedepicts the life story of Bharata Chakravartin was written in the 16th century byRatnakaravarni.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBharata.

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 89.
  2. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 66.
  3. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 90.
  4. ^Umakant P. Shah 1987,p. 112.
  5. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 92.
  6. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 93.
  7. ^Umakant P. Shah 1987,p. 72.
  8. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 141.
  9. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 106.
  10. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 118.
  11. ^abJaini 2000,p. 341.
  12. ^abWiley 2004,p. 54.
  13. ^Titze 1998,p. 8.
  14. ^Vijay K. Jain 2013,p. x.
  15. ^Vijay K. Jain 2013,p. x-xi.
  16. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 143.
  17. ^Vijay K. Jain 2013,p. xi.
  18. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 145.
  19. ^Champat Rai Jain 1929,p. 110.
  20. ^von Glasenapp 1999,pp. 352–353.
  21. ^Natubhai Shah 2004,pp. 16–17.
  22. ^Natubhai Shah 2004,p. 17.
  23. ^Vijay K. Jain 2013,p. xii.
  24. ^Mahamastakabhishek being done daily in Lord Mangalgiri, Lord Bharat,Dainik Bhaskar,11 May 2017
  25. ^"History of Kannada literature",kamat
  26. ^Students' Britannica India,vol. 1–5, Popular Prakashan, 2000,ISBN0-85229-760-2

Sources[edit]

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