Bharata’s answer was this. “Who am I and who are you? What you have seen is only my body and your body. I am not my body and nor are you your body. Our atmans or souls are what we really are. My atman is not strong or tired, nor is it carrying your palanquin upon its shoulders.”

Having said this, Bharata was quiet again. But the king got down from the palanquin and fell at his feet. He wanted to know who Bharata really was, for such words of wisdom do not come from an ordinary man. Bharata then told him the truth about the atman, which is never destroyed and takes up different bodies from one life to another. This is the jivatman. In addition, there is the paramatman, which is Vishnu and is everywhere. There is no difference between the jivatman and the paramatman and the person who has realised this is truly wise. To think that the jivatman is different from the paramatman is to suffer from maya or illusion.

Bharata also told the king a story. Many years ago Brahma had a son known as Ribhu. Ribhu was very learned and his disciple was Nidagha, the son of Pulastya. The teacher and the pupli used to live on the banks of the river Devika, near a city known as Viranagara. But Ribhu realised that Nidagha was still not ready for the supreme knowledge. So he sent the pupil to live in the city, although he continued to live in the forest.