NBS#64 describes How Bharata Maharaja raised a fawn, and meditating on it, attained the body of a deer in his next life. Krishna, an ocean of cleverness, protected this deer who was previously Bharata to show that compassion, if it is an obstacle to bhakti, must be given up. The Lord shows his affection for his devotee by protecting Bharata in the form of a deer, so that he would fall in the ocean of remorse in order to drown in the ocean of prema.
1) Maharaja Bharata, Deer And Mystic yoga
Srila Sukadeva Goswami
2) Was Maharaja Bharatas Addiction To The Deer Intentional?
His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
3) Maharaja Bharata Pretended To Be Materially Affected?
Srila Sanatana Goswami
4) Are The Tests Manifestations Of Lords Mercy?
Srila Bhaktisiddhnata Saraswati Thakura
5) Unfavorable To Devotional Service
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura