Bhāratas are an Aryan tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, especially in Mandala 3 attributed to the Bharata sage Vishvamitra. In the "river hymn" RV 3.33, the entire Bharata tribe is described as crossing a river. Bharatá is also used as a name of Agni (literally, "to be maintained", viz. the fire having to be kept alive by the care of men), and as a name of Rudra in RV 2.36.8.
Mandala 7 (7.18 etc.) mentions the Bharatas as taking part in the Battle of the Ten Kings, where they are on the winning side. Due to the victory of the Bharata chieftain Sudas in this battle, the Bharata tribe was able to settle in the Kurukshetra area[1]. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various Aryan and non-Aryan tribes so that in post-Vedic (Epic) tradition, the Mahābhārata, the eponymous ancestor becomes Emperor Bharata, the mythical conqueror of all of India, and his tribe and kingdom is called Bhārata. The Bharata tribe later allied and merged with the Puru tribe, to form the Kuru tribe.[2]
"Bhārata" today is the official name of the Republic of India (see also Etymology of India).