SB 1.12.20
esa data saranyas ca
yatha hy ausinarah sibih
yaso vitanita svanam
dausyantir iva yajvanam
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
This child will be a munificent donor of charity and protector of the surrendered, like the famous King Sibi of the Usinara country. And he will expand the name and fame of his family like Bharata, the son of Maharaja Dusyanta.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A king becomes famous by his acts of charity, performances of yajñas, protection of the surrendered, etc. A ksatriya king is proud to give protection to the surrendered souls. This attitude of a king is called isvara-bhava, or factual power to give protection in a righteous cause. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord instructs living beings to surrender unto Him, and He promises all protection. The Lord is all-powerful and true to His word, and therefore He never fails to give protection to His different devotees. The king, being the representative of the Lord, must possess this attitude of giving protection to the surrendered souls at all risk. Maharaja Sibi, the King of Usinara, was an intimate friend of Maharaja Yayati, who was able to reach the heavenly planets along with Maharaja Sibi. Maharaja Sibi was aware of the heavenly planet where he was to be transferred after his death, and the description of this heavenly planet is given in the Mahabharata (Adi-parva 96.6-9). Maharaja Sibi was so charitably disposed that he wanted to give over his acquired position in the heavenly kingdom to Yayati, but he did not accept it. Yayati went to the heavenly planet along with great rsis like Astaka and others. On inquiry from the rsis, Yayati gave an account of Sibi’s pious acts when all of them were on the path to heaven. He has become a member of the assembly of Yamaraja, who has become his worshipful deity. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, the worshiper of the demigods goes to the planets of the demigods (yanti deva-vrata devan); so Maharaja Sibi has become an associate of the great Vaisnava authority Yamaraja on that particular planet. While he was on the earth he became very famous as a protector of surrendered souls and a donor of charities. The King of heaven once took the shape of a pigeon-hunter bird (eagle), and Agni, the fire-god, took the shape of a pigeon. The pigeon, while being chased by the eagle, took shelter on the lap of Maharaja Sibi, and the hunter eagle wanted the pigeon back from the King. The King wanted to give it some other meat to eat and requested the bird not to kill the pigeon. The hunter bird refused to accept the King’s offer, but it was settled later on that the eagle would accept flesh from the body of the King of the pigeon’s equivalent weight. The King began to cut flesh from his body to weigh in the balance equivalent to the weight of the pigeon, but the mystic pigeon always remained heavier. The King then put himself on the balance to equate with the pigeon, and the demigods were pleased with him. The King of heaven and the fire-god disclosed their identity, and the King was blessed by them. Devarsi Narada also glorified Maharaja Sibi for his great achievements, specifically in charity and protection. Maharaja Sibi sacrificed his own son for the satisfaction of human beings in his kingdom. And thus child Pariksit was to become a second Sibi in charity and protection.
Dausyanti Bharata: There are many Bharatas in history, of which Bharata the brother of Lord Rama, Bharata the son of King Rsabha, and Bharata the son of Maharaja Dusyanta are very famous. And all these Bharatas are historically known to the universe. This earth planet is known as Bharata, or Bharata-varsa, due to King Bharata the son of Rsabha, but according to some this land is known as Bharata due to the reign of the son of Dusyanta. So far as we are convinced, this land’s name Bharata-varsa was established from the reign of Bharata the son of King Rsabha. Before him the land was known as Ilavrta-varsa, but just after the coronation of Bharata, the son of Rsabha, this land became famous as Bharata-varsa.
But despite all this, Bharata the son of Maharaja Dusyanta was not less important. He is the son of the famous beauty Sakuntala. Maharaja Dusyanta fell in love with Sakuntala in the forest, and Bharata was conceived. After that, Maharaja forgot his wife Sakuntala by the curse of Kanva Muni, and the child Bharata was brought up in the forest by his mother. Even in his childhood he was so powerful that he challenged the lions and elephants in the forest and would fight with them as little children play with cats and dogs. Because of the boy’s becoming so strong, more than the so-called modern Tarzan, the rsis in the forest called him Sarvadamana, or one who is able to control everyone. A full description of Maharaja Bharata is given in the Mahabharata, Adi-parva. The Pandavas, or the Kurus, are sometimes addressed as Bharata due to being born in the dynasty of the famous Maharaja Bharata, the son of King Dusyanta.