The Bharatas were an early Vedic tribe that existed in the latter half of the second millennium B.C.E. The earliest mentioned location of the Bharatas was on the Sarasvatë River. Led by the tribal king DivodÃÂsa, the Bharatas moved through the Hindu Kush mountains and defeated à Âambara. DivodÃÂsa's descendant, SudÃÂs, won the Battle of the Ten Kings against a Pà «ru-led coalition, after which the initial compilation of hymns of the RÃÂ¥gveda was carried out. After the battle, the Bharatas and other Pà «ru clans eventually formed the Kuru kingdom, which was the first attested state in Indian history.
The name Bharata is of Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian origin, meaning "bearers" or "carriers".
Two Bharatas, Devaà Âravas BhÃÂrata and DevavÃÂta BhÃÂrata, are mentioned as living near the ÃÂpayÃÂ, Sarasvatë and Dråṣadvatë rivers.
DevavÃÂta's son, Sá¹Âñjaya DaivavÃÂta, defeated the Turvaà Âas, and is mentioned alongside AbhyÃÂvartin CÃÂyamÃÂna who defeated the Vá¹Âcëvants under Varaà Âikha. These battles occurred at the Hariyà «piyà(modern Hali-ÃÂb) and YavyÃÂvatë rivers (modern Zhob). In a hymn to Sarasvatë, it is stated that she aided (or is sought to aid) Vadhryaà Âva in defeating niggards, foreigners, insulters of gods, haters, and the sons of BrÃÂ¥saya. Witzel notes that the name BrÃÂ¥saya is of non-Indo-Aryan origin, and Parpola proposes that the name came from the language of the BactriaâÂÂMargiana Archaeological Complex. He states that BrÃÂ¥saya was a hereditary regnal title in the region, and that it existed even till the time of Alexander the Great. In addition, the poet expresses the desire not to leave the Sarasvatë river (modern Helmand and Arghandab). Both hymns mentioning the two are attributed to BharadvÃÂja BÃÂrhaspatya.
Under the chieftain DivodÃÂsa Atithigva, the Bharatas moved through the Hindu Kush mountain range, which borders the Indian subcontinent in the northwest. DivodÃÂsa was adopted by Vadhryaà Âva after the former was given to him by the river goddess Sarasvatë. DivodÃÂsa defeated the aboriginal mountain chief à Âambara in the autumn of the fortieth year of campaigns, after destroying ninety-nine of the latter's forts. Under DivodÃÂsa, the Bharatas were also enemies of the Yadu-Turvaà Âas. DivodÃÂsa's allies were Prastoka, Aà Âvatha, and SrÃ¥ñjaya's son. Scholars differ on whether SrÃ¥ñjaya's son was a different person from Prastoka or Aà Âvatha. Several Rigvedic poets mention a patron-client relationship between DivodÃÂsa and BharadvÃÂja. According to a hymn attributed to Suhotra BhÃÂradvÃÂja, BharadvÃÂja was involved in DivodÃÂsa's battles with à Âambara. In another hymn, Garga BhÃÂradvÃÂja enumerates the gifts that were donated to the Bharadvajas by DivodÃÂsa and his allies, of which included part of the booty that was looted from à Âambara.
Under SudÃÂs Paijavana (a descendant of DivodÃÂsa) and his purohita Vià ÂvÃÂmitra GÃÂthina, the Bharatas crossed the VipÃÂà  and à Âutudrë rivers (modern Beas and Sutlej). Eventually Vià ÂvÃÂmitra was replaced by Vasiá¹£á¹Âha MaitrÃÂvaruá¹Âi.
Under SudÃÂs and Vasiá¹£á¹Âha, the Tá¹Âtsu-Bharatas win the Battle of the Ten Kings. The first phase of the battle took place on the banks of the Paruá¹£në river (modern Ravi) near MÃÂnuá¹£a, west of Kuruká¹£etra. The principal antagonist is doubtful and names of the participating tribes are difficult to retrieve, in light of the phonological deformations of their names. Plausible belligerents of the tribal union include (in order) â Pà «rus (erstwhile master-tribe of Bharatas), Yadu (probably commanded by Turvaà Âa), Yaká¹£u (relatively unimportant or a pun for Yadu), Matsyas, Druhyus, Pakthas, BhalÃÂnas, Alinas, Viá¹£ÃÂá¹Âins, à Âivas, Vaikará¹Âa, and Anu.
Though seemingly an unequal battle, going by the numbers (this aspect is highlighted multiple times in the hymns), SudÃÂs decisively won against the tribal alliance by strategic breaching of a (natural) dyke on the river thereby drowning most (?) of the opponents; the victory is attributed to the benevolence and strategizing of Indra, the patron-God of Bharatas, whose blessings were secured by Vasiá¹£á¹Âha's poetics.
Thereafter, the battleground (probably) shifted to the banks of river YamunÃÂ, wherein the local chieftain Bheda was defeated along with three other tribes â Ajas, à Âighras, and the Yaká¹£us.
The Battle of the Ten Kings led Bharatas to occupy the entire Pà «ru territory (Western Punjab) centered around Sarasvatë River and complete their east-ward migration. SudÃÂs celebrated his victory with the Aà Âvamedha ritual to commemorate the establishment of a realm, free of enemies from the north, east, and west. He still had enemies in the KhÃÂá¹Âá¸Âava Forest to the south, which was inhabited by the despised non-Indo-Aryan Këkaá¹Âas
A political realignment between Pà «rus and Bharatas probably followed soon enough and might have included other factions of the tribal union as well; this is exhibited from how the core collection of Rigveda prominently features clan-hymns of both the sides.
There is no clear mention of SudÃÂs' descendants or any succeeding Bharata king in the Rigveda. The Bharatas eventually evolve into the Kuru kingdom; however, there is no record of this development due to the time gap between the RÃÂ¥gveda and other Vedas.
In the epic MahÃÂbhÃÂrata, the ancestor of Kurus becomes Emperor Bharata, and his rule and empire is called BhÃÂrata. The Bharata clan mentioned in Mahabharata is a Kuru clan which is a sub clan of the Puru clan who were the cousins of the Yadavas. "BhÃÂrata" today is an official name of the Republic of India.