Emperor Bharata was the son of Rishabha. He had many brothers who were followers of the Vedanta system. Out of them, Kavi, Hari, Antariksha, Pipplayana, Agnihotra, Drumil, Camas, Prabuddha and Karabhjana were passionately after spiritual pursuits. Hence they were supreme spiritual masters or Gurus.
They were known as the elevated and enlightened ones. The Devas, the Siddhas, the Gandharvas, the Kinnaras, the Nagas, the Vdiyadhars, the Carans, the Yakshas and the Brahmins were admirers of these nine elevated brothers who were famous as jivanmuktas.
All these jivanmuktas used to wander anywhere according to their sweet will. Once they visited the sacrificial place of king Nimi. The king welcomed them and put certain searching questions to them. The jivanmuktas were pleased and began to explain Bhagavata Dharma. This question and answer form of discussion contains the tenets of Bhagavata Dharma.
Such type of discussions and discourses preserved by Puranas are the sources of the religious history in which the sages and seers played the role of spiritual masters. Puranas have preserved this religious history.