Mahabharata
The Mahabharata states that King Dushyanta was once hunting in the forests, when he arrived at the ashrama of Sage Kanva. In the sage's absence, his adoptive daughter, Shakuntala welcomed Dushyanta, who became smitten by her beauty. Shakuntala revealed the story of her birth- how she was raised by Sage Kanva after she was born from the union of the celestial nymph, Menaka, and Sage Vishvamitra. Dushyanta expressed his desire to marry Shakuntala, who consented on the condition that Dushyanta must crown the son born of their union the king. Dushyanta agreed and married Shakuntala according to the Gandharva marriage. Afterwards, Dushyanta left for his kingdom. Meanwhile, Sage Kanva learnt about Shakuntala's marriage to Dushyanta and revealed that she woud give birth to an emperor. In due course, Shakuntala gave birth to Dushyanta's son and named him Sarvadamana, who had the sign of a Chakra on his right hand (indicating that he was destined to be an emperor). Sarvadamana was born with the strength of 10,000 elephants, and even as a child, he was capable of subduing and taming wild beasts. A few years later, Sage Kanva advised Shakuntala to take her son to Dushyanta. However, Shakuntala was taken aback when Dushyanta expressed unfamiliarity towards her and her son. However, a divine voice confirmed that Sarvadamana was indeed the son of Dushyanta and renamed the child as Bharata. Dushyanta admitted that he was aware of Bharata being his son, but did not acknowledge out of fear that people would doubt his paternity.
Eventually, Bharata became the king and conquered the world. The Drona Parva states that Bharata performed 1,800 Ashwamedha Yagnas, 100 Rajasuya Yagnas, and hundreds of Vajapeya Yagnas. Bharata's grandfather, Sage Kanva, officiated all his sacrificial rituals, and the emperor donated countless horses and 10 trillion gold coins to his grandfather. Bharata married three princesses of Vidarbha, though the sons born of these wives were so cruel that they were slain. Bharata propitiated the devas for a son, and they gave him a boy, whom he named Vitatha, also called Bharadvaja. According to another account, Bharadvaja blessed Bharata with a son named Bhumanyu.[11] Bharata ruled for twenty-seven thousand years, and therefore, the kingdom that he inherited and expanded came to be known as Bhārata, named after him.[12]
Children
Bharata had a son named Bhúmanyu. The Adi Parva of Mahabharata tells two different stories about Bhúmanyu's birth. The first story says that Bharata married Sunanda, the daughter of Sarvasena, the King of the Kashi kingdom and begot upon her the son named Bhumanyu.[16] According to the second story, Bharata had three wives, and nine sons from them. But these sons were not as their father and incapable of being his successor. Seeing Bharata's dissatisfaction, his wives in wrath slew all of their sons. Then Bhúmanyu was born out of a great sacrifice that Bharata performed with the help of the sage Bharadvaja.[17]
The Skanda Purana gives another account of the adopted son of Bharata. When Angiras' son, Utathya's wife Mamata was pregnant, Utathya's younger brother Brihaspati moved by desire sought Mamata. But the child in her womb obstructed the deposition of Brihaspati's semen. Instead the child was delivered by Mamata. Mamata and Brihaspati started to quarrel over the guardianship of the child. At last they left the infant boy abandoned. The Maruta gods adopted the boy and named him Bharadvaja. When the wives of Bharata killed all their sons, the Marutas gave Bharadvaja to Bharata. Bharadvaja, also known as Vitatha, became the king.[18]