Born as a Deer
As the dying Bharatha’s thoughts were only of his fawn, he was reborn as a deer. Yet, he was no ordinary deer. He had clear memory* of his past life, and was filled with remorse and regret.
*Another word for death is Apasmrithi (that which makes one forget). Yet, the deer had perfect recall of his past life due to the spiritual accomplishment of Bharatha, God’s grace and the theory* that one has a better memory of past lives if born as an animal rather than a human.
Bannanje Govindaacharya quotes two incidents to support the theory* both involving dogs. One of the dogs used to travel a distance of four kilometres every day to listen to an ongoing discourse of the Srimad Bhaagvatha but died before its completion.
The other dog, on certain days would refuse to eat and become desperate to be let out. Upon letting the dog out, it was discovered that it would rush to a nearby river (Malapaha) and would return after a dip in the river, and that those certain days were special ones like ‘ekadashi’ etc.
Our deer, understanding the futility of attachments, distanced itself from its mother and its herd, shunned the company of other deer and lived a life of solitude, at the hermitage of rishi Pulaha.
It decided to make best use of its time and spent all its days in the company of holy men, listening to their discourses and thinking of his past life. It waited for its prarabdha karma* to be spent so that it could shed its current life.
*Prarabdha karma is part of the cumulative Sanchita karma. The experiences of the current life are the result of that part (prarabdha) of our total accumulated (sanchita) karma and is meant to be exhausted in the current life. The choices we make and the actions we take in this life become a part of Agami karma, which will play a part in our future lives.
Man Again
After shedding the body of a deer, the soul took its last birth as a human, in a family of brahmins belonging to Angirasa gotra*. Interestingly, the child was named Bharatha in this lifetime too. Born to a father with two wives, Bharatha is believed to have had nine step-brothers who mistreated him after their father’s demise.
A *gotra refers to the name of an ancient rishi to whom a clan traces their descent to.
Fully aware of his past two lives, Bharatha chose to remain mute, neither displaying any expression nor showing any interest in worldly activities or relationships. He appeared dull and earned himself the moniker “Jada Bharatha.”
To be continued…