Once upon a time king Bharata had bathed in the Gandaka and after performing the daily practices was meditating on Pranava on the river-side. A deer came to drink water at the time. While the animal was quenching her thirst a lion roared not far off and she in terror jumped into the river. As she happened to be big with child, she was delivered of it at the time. Exhausted, the deer got back to the river side only to die. The new born fawn was being washed away, having no one to take care of it. Bharata took pity on the little fawn. He took it up and brought it to his hermitage. He brought it up as his own child and became deeply attached to it. He constantly thought of the deer-child, even so much so that when death approached he could not forget it and became re-born in another birth as a deer. But though born as a deer, Bharata did not lose the memory of his former birth. He reflected that the mind that had been trained and controlled in the worship of Vâsudeva went astray only for the sake of one deer-child. He left the Kâlanjara hills where he was born as a deer and sought for Sâlagram, sacred with the Âsramas of Pulastya and Pulaha. He waited calmly for the exhaustion of Karma that had given rise to his deer life. He then gave up his body in the sacred waters of the Gandaka. *SKANDHA V. CHAP. 9.* A Brâhmana of the line of Angiras had nine sons by one wife. They were all well versed in the Vedas, He had one son by another wife and one daughter. This son was said to be an incarnation of Bharata. He was afraid of _sanga_ (company), so much so that he would not even speak to any one for fear of acquiring new Karma. People took him for an idiot. His father strove hard to teach him the Vedas but did not succeed. His parents died and his half brothers had charge of him. Their wisdom was that of the Vedas. They had not learned Âtmâ Vidyâ. So they did not understand the nature of Bharata and neglected him. They gave him poor meals for the day’s work in the fields. At one time a thief wanted to propitiate the goddess Bhadra Kâli by human sacrifice in order that he might be blessed with a child. The victim that was procured somehow untied himself and fled. The attendants searched for him on all sides in vain. They at last fell upon Bharata who was watching in the fields in a peculiar way. They found him most suited for sacrifice and tied him up and carried him to the altar of Kâli. He was duly consecrated and the priest took up a sharp instrument to cut off his head. Kâli could no longer remain unconcerned. She rushed forth in rage from out of her image, wrested the knives from the hands of the thieves and cut off their heads.