Bharata’s compassionate nature towards the young orphaned deer had very subtly morphed into strong emotional attachment and this interfered with his usual daily practice of austerities. Interpreters feel that the prarabdha karma in his account took the form of this new fangled attachment to the deer. The same prarabdha continued in his next birth but now, though a deer, he was granted the knowledge of his past life. Brooding thus, the deer moved away from its herd and travelled towards the hermitage to wait for the end of its life. In the next birth, he was born as the realised Jadabharata and attained salvation at the end of his life.

Source: The Hindu July 06, 2021 16:07 UTC