King Bharata was a saintly ruler who retired to the forest to meditate. One day, he saved a baby deer from a river but became so attached to it that at the time of death, he was thinking of the deer instead of God. As a result, he was reborn as a deer.

Because of his previous merit, he remembered his past and stayed near saintly ashrams. In his next birth, he was born into a Brahmin family as Jada Bharata. To avoid material attachments, he pretended to be deaf, mute, and foolish (Jada).

One day, he was forced to carry the palanquin of King Rahugana. Because he was walking carefully to avoid stepping on ants, the palanquin shook. The angry king insulted him, but Jada Bharata replied with such profound spiritual wisdom that the King immediately fell at his feet, realizing he had met a self-realized soul.