The break in the Kuru line of kings
From the Bhagavath Puran, we get lineages of many of the important royal families from the ancient times. One of the most significant lines is that of the Kuru dynasty. We all have heard of the Shakuntala and Dushyant story. Their son was Bharat, a courageous and kind ruler. Bharat married three princesses from Vidharbha but none of their sons survived.
Now, Bharath needed a successor to the throne. Someone who was worthy and courageous and had good judgement. He prayed to the Maruts to help him out.
It so happened that the Maruts were bringing up a child then. This child was born of Mamata. Her other son, Dirgatamas, was Bharata’s advisor and chief priest. The second child had been abandoned by both father and mother in the forest, each asking the other to take care of him “bhara dvajam imam”. From these words came the child’s name, Bharadwaja.
The abandoned baby was cared for by the Maruts and brought up by them. When Bharata prayed to them for a solution, they gave him the boy to bring up as his heir. A happy Bharata adopted the boy and left the kingdom to him when he renounced the world.
Bharadwaja, the adopted son, continued the lineage in which, later on, the famous Kuru was born and even later, Bhishma, then Dhristrasthra and Pandu. Thus, Yayati’s blood line was broken here and the Kurus actually descended from a worthy adopted son and not the king Bharata’s biological child.
Doesn’t it make you wonder when we started believing that the king was chosen with no consideration for his competence, only taking into account his birth and blood line? Next week join me, MyMBJourney, in exploring the little known family line of another well known character from the Mahabharatha.
