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{{short description|Medieval era Sanskrit text, one of twenty major Puranas}}{{italic title}}(File:Bhavishya Purana, Bhavishyottara, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|A page from the Bhavishyottara section of Bhavishya Purana (Sanskrit, Devanagari)){{Hindu scriptures}}The 'Bhavishya Purana' ({{IAST|Bhaviṣya Purāṇa}}) is one of the eighteen major works in the Purana genre of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit.{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=71}}{{Sfn|Winternitz|1922|p=541}} The title Bhavishya means "future" and implies it is a work that contains prophecies regarding the future.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}}{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=215 with note 1180}}The Bhavishya Purana exists in many inconsistent versions, wherein the content as well as their subdivisions vary, and five major versions are known.{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=215 with note 1180}} Some manuscripts have four Parvam (parts), some two, others don't have any parts.{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=71}}{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}} The text as it exists today is a composite of material ranging from medieval era to the modern era. 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.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}}{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=72}} The veracity and authenticity of much of the Bhavishya Purana has been questioned by modern scholars and historians, and the text is considered an example of "constant revisions and living nature" of Puranic genre of Hindu literature.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=153}}{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=48-49 with note 246}}The first 16 chapters of the first part of the Bhavisya Purana is called Brahmaparvam. It shows similarities to, and likely borrowed verses from some version of the Manusmriti.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}}JOURNAL, Sarma, KV, Review of The Manava Dharmasastra I-III and the Bhavisya Purana by Ludwik Sternbach, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Cambridge University Press, 109, 2, 1977, 217, 10.1017/s0035869x00133957, 163650785, However, some of the caste-related and women's rights related discussion in the Bhavishya Purana is egalitarian and challenge those found in the 19th century published manuscripts of the Manusmriti.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=152 with footnotes}}Raj Arora (1972), Historical and cultural data from the Bhavisya Purana, Sterling Publishers, {{oclc|844555576}}, pages viii-ix, 92-119, Chapter 4L Gopal (1986), Bhavisya Purana Brahma Parvan Chapters 40-44, Journal: Purana, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2 (July), pages 174-196 The second part of the text, called Madhyamaparvan, is a Tantra-related work.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=153}} The "prophecy"-related third part Pratisargaparvan includes sections on Christianity, Islam, Bhakti movement, Sikhism, Sultanate history, Mughal history, British rule, and others. {{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=153-154}}{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=72}} The fourth part of the text called Uttaraparvam, is also known as Bhavishyottara Purana. This last part describes festivals related to various Hindu gods and goddesses and their Tithis (dates on lunar calendar), as well as mythology and a discussion of Dharma particularly vrata (vow) and dana (charity).{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=153-154}}{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=72}} The text also has many Mahatmya chapters on geography, travel guide and pilgrimage to holy sites such as Uthiramerur,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=154 with footnotes}}{{Sfn|Ariel Glucklich|2008|p=146, Quote: The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were called mahatmyas}} and is one of the Tirtha-focussed Puranas.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=78}}The available versions of Bhavishya Purana are based on a printed text published during the British colonial era.

Manuscripts

The Bombay edition contains:

• Brahmaparvan which has 215 chapters.
• Madhyamaparvan which has three sections with a cumulative total of 62 chapters,
• Pratisargaparvan which has four sections with 7, 35, 32 and 26 chapters respectively, and
• Uttaraparvan which has 208 chapters.

Some manuscripts of the text do not have these Parvans and have different number of chapters.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}} A few manuscripts assert that it has five parts (Sanskrit: parvans), but all extant editions contain only the above four parts.For self-report of five parts, but only four parts in the printed text, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Purāṇas}}", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263. The text is sometimes titled {{IAST|Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa}}.{{Sfn|Winternitz|1922|p=541}}

Dating

In records of land grants of the fifth century CE, verses are quoted which occur only in the Padma, Bhavishya, and Brahma Puranas. On this basis Pargiter in 1912 assigned these particular Puranas to the early centuries CE. However, Moriz Winternitz considers it more probable that these verses, both in the inscriptions and in the puranas, were taken as quotations from now nonextant dharmaśāstras.For the fifth century CE land grant references, citation to Pargiter (1912), and debunking of the theory, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 526, note 2. According to Winternitz, the text which has come down to us in manuscript form is certainly not the ancient work which is quoted in the {{IAST|Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra}} ; a quotation attributed to the {{IAST|Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa}} cannot be found anymore in extant editions.For statement that the extant text is not the ancient work, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.For the quotation in {{IAST|Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra}} attributed to the {{IAST|Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa}} not extant today, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 519.It is now accepted that the four parts have different dates. However, Puranic scholars have increasingly arrived at a consensus that it is impossible to meaningfully date most of the Puranic corpus due to their extremely fluid nature. Gustav Glaesser reiterates this argument to highlight how the surviving manuscripts of Bhavishya Purana are neither the ancient nor a medieval version of some original Bhavishya Purana.

Contents

Despite being labelled a purana or "tales of ancient times", the work relates only a few legends. It is one of several puranas in which a list of royal dynasties of the "past" are followed by lists of kings predicted to rule in the future.For the {{IAST|Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa}} as one of several puranas predicting future kings (others being the Matsya, Vāyu, {{IAST|Brahmāṇḍa}}, {{IAST|Viṣṇu}}, Bhāgavata, and {{IAST|Garuḍa}} Puranas, see: Winternitz, volume 1, pp. 523–524.The first 16 chapters of the first part of the Bhavisya Purana is called Brahmaparvam. The second part of the text, called Madhyamaparvan, is a Tantra-related work.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=153}} The "prophecy"-related third part Pratisargaparvan includes sections on comparing Upanishadic ideas to those found in non-Indic religions, as well as a history through the 18th century. It is considered by scholars as an 18th or 19th century creation.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=153-154}}{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=72}} The fourth part of the text called Uttaraparvam, is also known as Bhavisyottara Purana. This last part describes festivals, vrata (vow), dana (charity) and pilgrimage sites.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=78, 153-154}}{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=72}}In the Padma Purana,Mathett, Freda, "The Purāṇas" in Flood (2003), p. 137 it is classified in the rajas category, which contains puranas related to Brahma.{{Sfn|Wilson|1864|p=xii}}Flood (1996), p. 110.Mathett, Freda, "Purāṇa" in Flood (2003), p. 137 Scholars consider the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas classification as "entirely fanciful" and there is nothing in this text that actually justifies this classification.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=21}}

Brāhmaparvan

This part of the text has 215 chapters.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}} It covers topics such as rites of passage, ceremonies and feasts.For the characterization of the content, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 541-542. It also covers the duties and rights of women, a discussion on the nature of people and how to identify good and bad characters, and a caste-related discussion. According to Arora, and other scholars,{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=478-479 with note 2648}} the caste-related and women's rights related discussion in the Bhavishya Purana is egalitarian, similar to those found in Brahma Purana and Vajrasuchi Upanishad, thus challenging Manusmriti.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=152 with footnotes}}For women and varna-related discussion, signs of people, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Purāṇas}}", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 264.{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=478-479 with note 2648}}The Brahmaparvan also includes sections on festival dates and methods for worshipping Brahma, Ganesha, Skanda, and the Nāga.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}}For Brahma, Ganesha, Skanda, and the Snakes see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Purāṇas}}", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 264. A considerable section deals with Sun worship in a place called "Śākadvīpa" which may be a reference to Scythia.For the sun worship in "Śākadvīpa", which may be Scythia, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.For a large number of chapters on Sun worship, solar myths, and Śāka-dvipa, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Purāṇas}}", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 264. This overlaps with Zoroastrianism-related views,{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=72}} and may be related to ancient migration or interaction between Persia and central Asia with Indian subcontinent.{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=49 with note 247}}{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=218-219}} These chapters are the most comprehensive and important source of sun-worship tradition in India, and may be related to the escape and resettlement of people from Persia into western India during the mid to late medieval era.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=217-219 with footnotes}}

Madhyamaparvan

The second part of the Bhavisya Purana has 62 chapters on Tantra.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}}This is not mentioned in other Indian text, states Hazra, to have been a part of the Bhavishya Purana, and therefore might be "a late appendage" abounding in Tantric theories of the 2nd millennium.For quotation from Hazra regarding the Madhyamaparvan as a late appendage, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Purāṇas}}", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263. However, states Rocher, these sections were likely integrated by about 1500 CE.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=153 with footnote 92}}

Pratisargaparvan

The Pratisarga parvan has 100 chapters,{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}} which deal with topics such as the genealogy of the kings and sages, and prophecies.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=153}} It is written as a universal history with the first and the second chapters (called Khandas) dealing with old time, the third part with the medieval, and the fourth with the new age. The text includes the plundering of regions and major massacres in India after the 12th century, including those of Timur-Tamburlaine in section 3.4.6 (the text calls him Timiralinga, or "linga of darkness"). It compares "Upanishadic" religion with the religions of the mlecchas in a way "comparative religions" studies do, states Alf Hiltebeitel, along with historical characters whose ideas and actions impacted India between the 11th and 14th centuries. It includes critical comments about the Mughal history (the texts calls them "Mukula") and refers to a Mahamada who is a Last Prophet of the "mlecchas" The Arabs. This suggests this section was written well after the 14th century. The author of this parvan of the Bhavisya Purana seems to know both English Biblical and Arabic Islamic texts, but virtually all terms used here are derived from Arabic words and names, not the English sources. Thus, this part of the text must have been composed after the start of the Mughal empire and after Arabic sources were available in India.BOOK, Alf Hiltebeitel, Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics,weblink 1999, University of Chicago Press, 978-0-226-34050-0, 274–277, This section has led numerous scholars to question the authenticity of much of the Bhavishya Purana, and as evidence that these Puranas were not scriptures, but rather a document of history that was constantly revised and thus of a living nature, both over time and over geography.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=8-13, 153}}{{Sfn|K P Gietz|1992|p=48-49 with notes 246-247}}BOOK, Alf Hiltebeitel, Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics,weblink 1999, University of Chicago Press, 978-0-226-34050-0, 216–218, 271–287, According to Alf Hiltebeitel, the second quarter of the eighteenth century marks the terminus a quo for the text's history of the Mughals because it mentions Nadir Shah (calling him Daitya Nadira) and Muhammad Shah in section 3.4.22. This c. mid-18th century terminus a quo would also apply to Pratisargaparvan's first khanda Genesis-Exodus sequence where its author is aware of both Arabic and English sources.Alf Hiltebeitel Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics 2009 Page 276 "Thus 1739 could mark a terminus a quo for the text's history of the Mughals. If so, the same terminus would apply to its Genesis-Exodus sequence in its first khanda, its Jesus-Muhammad diptych in its third (the Krsnam&acaritd), and the history ..." Further, mention of Queen Victoria's palaces, Calcutta and several 18th century historic events place the terminus ad quem (completed before a year) at mid to late 19th Century.Alf Hiltebeitel Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics 2009 Page 277 "Since references to Queen Victoria's Calcutta provide a mid- to even late-nineteenth-century terminus ad quem for other ... but of the Genesis-Exodus sequence and the Krsnamsacarita —with its Jesus and Muhammad passages— as well."Bonazzoli, Giorgio: Christ in the Bhavisya Purana [Engl.]. (a methodological approach to Bhav. P. III. 3.2.21-32), Journal: Purana issue 21, January 1979, pp. 23-39. Hiltebeitel states that this part of the Bhavisya Purana was mostly likely composed in the 19th century.BOOK, Alf Hiltebeitel, Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics,weblink 1999, University of Chicago Press, 978-0-226-34050-0, 217–218, BOOK, PDFDRIVE, Bhavishya Puran,weblink 2021, PDFDRIVE, 978-0-226-34050-0, 217–218, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar claimed in his book "Hinduism and Islam: The Common Thread" that Muhammad is explicitly prophesied in Pratisargaparvan of Bhavishya Purana.BOOK, Hinduism & Islam: The Common Thread (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) (2002) [Kindle edition], 2002, Santa Barbara, CA: Art of Living Foundation USA, 20,weblink The Prophet Mohammed and His Appearance in Vedic Literature The Vedic text Bhavishya Purana (Parva 3, Khand 3, Adya 3, texts 5-6) predicts the appearance of Mohammed. Therein it states: "An illiterate teacher will appear, Mohammed is his name, and he will give religion to the people of the desert.",

Uttaraparvan

The Uttaraparvan is large with 208 chapters.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=151-154}} Though nominally attached to the Bhavishya Purana, is usually considered to be an independent work, also known as the {{IAST|Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa}}, and as such is included among the Upapuranas (Lesser Puranas).For independent classification of the Uttaraparvan as the {{IAST|Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa}} see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Purāṇas}}", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263. The {{IAST|Bhaviṣyottara Purana}} is primarily a handbook of religious rites with a few legends and myths.For the contents of the {{IAST|Bhaviṣyottara Purana}} and characterizing it as a continuation of the Bhavishya Purana see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567. Rajendra Hazra characterizes it as "a loose collection of materials taken from various sources" that is lacking in many of the traditional five characteristics of a purana, but which offers an interesting study of vows, festivals, and donations from sociological and religious point of view.For quotation related to loose collection of materials see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The {{IAST|Upapurāṇas}}" in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 285.The Bhavishya Purana also includes Mahatmya (travel guides) to pilgrimage sites such as Uthiramerur.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=154 with footnotes}}{{Sfn|Ariel Glucklich|2008|p=146, Quote: The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were called mahatmyas}}

Influences

Indologist Theodor Aufrecht had noted the Bombay manuscript edition to be a modern era "literary fraud" that plagiarized excerpts from the Pentateuch (Bible) brought to India by early missionaries. According to Gustav Glaesser, this should not be considered "fraud" because such borrowing from all sorts of sources, interpolations and additions are common in the Puranas genre.JOURNAL, Glaesser, Gustav, 1969, Review of Das Bhaviṣyapurāṇa (Münchener Indologische Studien vol. 5) by Adam Hohenberger, Helmut Hoffmann, East and West, 19, 3/4, 511–513, 29755461, {{Efn|Samba Purana, for example, borrows heavily from late medieval era non-Indic texts.}} In the same way, the Bhavishya Purana takes ideas from Semitic, Mesopotamian, Persian, Christian and other sources. This is evidenced by the use of words in Bhavishya Purana that are neither Sanskrit nor Prakrit, such as , Falgun (for February), shashtihi (for sixty) and others.

See also

• Bhagavata Purana
• Shiva Purana
• Markandeya Purana
• Upanishads

Notes

{{Notelist}}

References

{{reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

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• BOOK, Dimmitt, Cornelia, J. A. B., van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas,weblink Temple University Press (1st Edition: 1977), 2012, 978-1-4399-0464-0,
• BOOK, Doniger, Wendy, Wendy Doniger, {{IAST, Purāṇa Perennis, : Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts |year=1993 |publisher=State University of New York |location=Albany, New York |isbn= 0-7914-1382-9}}
• BOOK, Flood, Gavin, Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism,weblink registration, 1996, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 0-521-43878-0,
• BOOK, Flood, Gavin, The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, 2003, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Malden, MA, 1-4051-3251-5,
• BOOK, K P Gietz, etal, Epic and Puranic Bibliography (Up to 1985) Annoted and with Indexes: Part I: A - R, Part II: S - Z, Indexes,weblink 1992, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 978-3-447-03028-1,
• BOOK, Ariel Glucklich, The Strides of Vishnu : Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective,weblink 2008, Oxford University Press, 978-0-19-971825-2,
• BOOK, {{IAST, Bhaviá¹£yapurāna, , Pratisargaparvan| year=1959|publisher= Venkateshwar Press| location=Bombay}}
• BOOK, Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli (Editorial Chairman), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, The Cultural Heritage of India,weblink 1962, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, Second edition, four volumes, revised and enlarged, 1962 (volume II).
• BOOK, Ludo, Rocher, 1986, Ludo Rocher, The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 978-3447025225,
• BOOK, Wilson, H. H., Horace Hayman Wilson, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition (Volume 1: Introduction, Book I), 1864,weblink Read Country Books (reprinted in 2006), 1-84664-664-2,
• BOOK, Winternitz, Maurice, Moriz Winternitz, History of Indian Literature Vol 1 (Original in German, translated into English by VS Sarma, 1981), 1922, Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint 2010), New Delhi, 978-8120802643,

External links

• A Review: The Manava Dharmasastra I-III and the Bhavishya Purana by Ludwik Sternbach, KV Sarma (1997)

{{Puranas}}{{Depictions of Muhammad}}