Bharata ('The Cherished')is an ancestor of the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. The story of Bharata is first told in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, wherein he is the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala. The story of his parents and his birth is also related in Kalidasa's famous play Abhijñānashākuntala

According to the Mahābhārata (Adi Parva), Bharata was the son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala and thus a descendant of the Lunar dynasty of the Kshatriya Varna. He was originally named Sarvadamana ("the subduer of all"); the Mahābhārata traces the events in his life by which he came to be known as Bharata ("the cherished"). Bharata's exploits as a child prince are dramatised in Kalidasa's poetic play Abhijñānaśākuntalam.[9]

According to a dramatized version of the events by the poet Kalidasa, the king Dushyanta married Shakuntala on his hunting expeditions in forests. He was captivated by Shakuntala's beauty, courted her in royal style and married her. He then had to leave to take care of affairs in the capital.She was given a ring by the king, to be presented to him when she was ready to appear in his court. She could then claim her place as queen. Shakuntala gave birth to her child who was named Sarvadamana by the sage Kanwa. Surrounded only by wild animals, Sarvadamana grew to be a strong child and made a sport of opening the mouths of tigers and lions and counting their teeth.

Bharat performed many sacrifices and Sage Kanva was the chief priest at those sacrifices. Bharata performed a horse sacrifices on the banks of the Yamuna, three on the banks of Saraswati and four on the banks of the Ganga. He again performed horse sacrifices and a Rajasuya. He also conducted sacrifices such as Agnishtoma, Atiratra, Uktha and Viswajit. He also performed many thousands of Vajapeyas.

Bharat had a son named Bhúmanyu. The Adi Parva of Mahabharata tells two different stories about Bhúmanyu's birth. The first story says that Bharat married Sunanda, the daughter of Sarvasena, the King of Kasi Kingdom and begot upon her the son named Bhumanyu.According to the second story, Bhúmanyu was born out of a great sacrifice that Bharata performed for the sage Bharadwaja.

Emperor Bharat gave his name to the dynasty of which he was the founder. It was in the Bharats' dynasty that later the Pandavas of the epic Mahabharata were born.