Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 24
Pūru-vaṁśa, Duṣmanta–Śakuntalā, and the Rise of Mahārāja Bharata
चक्रं दक्षिणहस्तेऽस्य पद्मकोशोऽस्य पादयो: । ईजे महाभिषेकेण सोऽभिषिक्तोऽधिराड् विभु: ॥ २४ ॥ पञ्चपञ्चाशता मेध्यैर्गङ्गायामनु वाजिभि: । मामतेयं पुरोधाय यमुनामनु च प्रभु: ॥ २५ ॥ अष्टसप्ततिमेध्याश्वान् बबन्ध प्रददद् वसु । भरतस्य हि दौष्मन्तेरग्नि: साचीगुणे चित: । सहस्रं बद्वशो यस्मिन् ब्राह्मणा गा विभेजिरे ॥ २६ ॥
cakraṁ dakṣiṇa-haste ’sya padma-kośo ’sya pādayoḥ īje mahābhiṣekeṇa so ’bhiṣikto ’dhirāḍ vibhuḥ
Mahārāja Bharata, hijo de Duṣmanta, llevaba en la palma de su mano derecha la marca del disco de Śrī Kṛṣṇa, y en las plantas de sus pies la marca de un remolino de loto. Al adorar al Supremo Puruṣa mediante la gran ceremonia del mahābhiṣeka, fue ungido como soberano y señor de toda la tierra. Luego, con Māmateya, hijo de Bhṛgu, como sacerdote, realizó cincuenta y cinco aśvamedhas en la ribera del Ganges y setenta y ocho aśvamedhas en la ribera del Yamunā, desde la confluencia de Prayāga hasta la fuente. Estableció el fuego sacrificial en un lugar excelente y dio inmensas riquezas a los brāhmaṇas; tantos bueyes y vacas repartió que miles de brāhmaṇas recibieron cada uno un badva (13.084) como porción.
As indicated here by the words dauṣmanter agniḥ sācī-guṇe citaḥ, Bharata, the son of Mahārāja Duṣmanta, arranged for many ritualistic ceremonies all over the world, especially all over India on the banks of the Ganges and Yamunā, from the mouth to the source, and all such sacrifices were performed in very distinguished places. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9) , yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work binds one to this material world.” Everyone should engage in the performance of yajña, and the sacrificial fire should be ignited everywhere, the entire purpose being to make people happy, prosperous and progressive in spiritual life. Of course, these things were possible before the beginning of Kali-yuga because there were qualified brāhmaṇas who could perform such yajñas. For the present, however, the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa enjoins:
FAQs
This verse describes a king being worshiped through the mahābhiṣeka, the great consecration that formally establishes him as adhirāṭ (emperor) according to Vedic royal tradition.
Such emblems indicate divine sanction and auspicious rulership; the Bhagavatam highlights these signs to show the king’s extraordinary, empowered status.
Leadership should be grounded in sacred responsibility—accepting authority only with humility, proper sanction, and a duty to protect and uplift others.