Etymology
The name Bharata means "the cherished" in Sanskrit. In the Adi Parva (The Book of the Beginning) of the Mahabharata, King Dushyanta was advised by the words:
अभूतिर एषा कस तयज्याज जीवञ जीवन्तम आत्मजम
शाकुन्तळं महात्मानं दौःषन्तिं भर पौरव
भर्तव्योऽयं तवया यस्माद अस्माकं वचनाद अपि
तस्माद भवत्व अयं नाम्ना भरतो नाम ते सुतः
abhūtir eṣā kas tyajyāj jīvañ jīvantam ātmajam
śākuntalaṃ mahātmānaṃ dauḥṣantiṃ bhara paurava
bhartavyo 'yaṃ tvayā yasmād asmākaṃ vacanād api
tasmād bhavatv ayaṃ nāmnā bharato nāma te sutaḥ
Therefore, O thou of Puru's race, cherish thy high-souled son born of (Queen) Sakuntala
and because this child (Bharata) is to be cherished by thee even at our word,
therefore shall this thy son be known by the name of Bharata ("the cherished").
In his childhood, Bharata was known by the name "Sarvadamana" (Sanskrit: सर्वदमनः, Sarvadamanaḥ), meaning "the subduer of all". The dwellers at Sage Kanva's asylum called him by this name because, even in the age of six, he was able to seize and restrain wild animals.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Bharata
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