Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus

All about The Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus

The Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus (Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, lit. “Future Purana”) is one of the eighteen major works in the Purana genre of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit. The title Bhavishya means “future” and implies it is a work that contains prophecies regarding the future, however, the “prophecy” parts of the extant manuscripts are a modern era addition and hence not an integral part of the Bhavishya Purana. Those sections of the surviving manuscripts that are dated to be older are partly borrowed from other Indian texts such as Brihat Samhita and Shamba Purana. The veracity and authenticity of much of the Bhavishya Purana have been questioned by modern scholars and historians. The text is considered an example of the “constant revisions and living nature” of the Puranic genre of Hindu literature.

The Vedas, meaning “knowledge,” is the oldest texts of Hinduism. These are written in Sanskrit but the meaning is not always direct. A symbolic, cryptic & complex style is used to convey divine knowledge. The meaning of the text can only be understood by great scholars & researchers.

To make this knowledge available to the common person in simple knowledge Puranas were written which are often known as the commentary of Vedas. In these holy books written thousands of years ago, the knowledge is conveyed by the narration of many stories. There are a total of 18 Puranas in various aspects. Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus is one of them. Its theme is bhavishya or future.

The content of Bhavishya Puran

There is a total of 18 Puranas in various aspects. Bhavishya Purana is one of them. Its theme is bhavishya or future. There are many stories in the book covering a wide variety of subjects. Several aspects of life and social situations of common person are described and suggested ways to deal with these are also woven intelligently in the stories. In a way, it is a guide for a common person for living a satisfying life.

According to Indian culture, the time cycle is divided into four parts or yugs which are known as sat-yug, dwapar-yug, treta-yug & kal-yug. In most of the Puranas, there is mention /description of the first three yugs but in Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus, there is extensive mention & description of kalyug (meaning the age of machines) which refers to the present time in which we are living now. Since the text was written thousands of years ago, the time in which we are living now was a ‘future time’ that time. Yet the symbolic description matches so well with the reality that it puzzles many readers. It appears that the people who created this text were equipped with some mysterious & powerful techniques to visualize & calculate the possible events of a future time.

There are four parts (called parvs) of this book. The first part of ‘brahman parv’ revolves around the Sun and symbolically represents it as a god. It explains many facets or dimensions of the characteristics of the sun and also suggests ways to deal with this powerful entity. All of this is done through symbolic stories to convey the appropriate message for a common person. Apart from the sun, there is also the description of many other powers as God.

The second part of the ‘madhyam parv’ deals with the creation of the universe. It has got geographical & astrological references. It describes the indications of a person who is all set to go to hell, due to his sins and suggests ways to correct these defects. Most of the ways suggested are environmental-friendly practices giving importance to tree plantation, water conservation & animal care especially the cow. The process of popular ‘Satyanarayana katha’ is also described.

The third part, ‘pratisarg parv’ describes the stories of various kings/queens of different times. The description of modern time or kalyug is very interesting here. There are many references to the geographical locations/cities like Ajmer, Chitrkoot, Kolkata & Delhi, etc.

The fourth part in Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus is ‘Uttar parv’. Here the description of ‘Paap & Punya’ (sin & virtue) is explained in detail. Many vrat (vows) and festivals are also explained in this portion.

Rituals in Bhavishya Puran:

There are rituals mentioned in the Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus to deal with various events like vivah (marriage) & Upnayan sanskar etc and also code of conduct to deal with guru, parents, spouse, guest, etc.

Nowadays also we formulate rituals/codes of conduct for such events and relationship-handling which suits the modern ways of living for society. When a ritual is instituted in society, most people perform it/ see others performing many times and this way learn to do it unconsciously.

you can find here Bhavishya Puran in English

World Religions

Sources: 1, 2

Bhavishya Puran Of Hindus | All about The Bhavishya Purana