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The Bhavishya Purana (Sanskrit: Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa) is a Hindu religious text and one of the eighteen major Puranas. It is written in Sanskrit and attributed to Rishi Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas. The title "Bhavishya Purana" signifies a work that contains prophecies regarding the future (Sanskrit: bhaviṣya). Despite being labelled a purana (Sanskrit: पुराण purāṇa, meaning "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.

The text as it exists today is a composite of material ranging from very old to very recent. Portions of the extant text are drawn from the law book of Manu, including the account of Creation which it contains. The Bhavishya Purana is classified as one of the ten Shaiva puranas in the classification system used in the Śivarahasya-khaṇḍa of the Śaṅkara Saṃhitā. In the traditional system of classification according to the three gunas given in the Padma Purana, it is classified in the rajas category, which contains Puranas whose central deity is Brahma.

Dating and texts

Dating of the work is problematic. In records of land grants of the fifth century BCE verses are quoted which occur only in the Padma, Bhavishya, and Brahma Puranas, and on this basis Pargiter in 1912 assigned these particular Puranas to an even earlier period. Maurice Winternitz considers it more probable that these verses, both in the inscriptions and in the puranas, were taken as quotations from earlier Dharmashastras, and thus argues that chronological deductions cannot be made on that basis.

According to Maurice Winternitz, the text which has come down to us in manuscript under this title is certainly not the ancient work which is quoted in the Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra. A quotation appearing in the Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra attributed to the Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa cannot be found in the extant text of the Purana.

The Bhavishya Purana itself tells us that it consists of five parts (Sanskrit: parvans), but the extant printed edition of the work contains only four parts (Brāhma, Madhyama, Pratisarga, and Uttara). These four parts have distinctive content and dating.

Brāhmaparvan

Rajendra Hazra says that the major portion of the Brāhmaparvan must have been written between CE 500 and 900.

The greater part of the work deals with brahmanical ceremonies and feasts, the duties of castes, some accounts of snake myths, and other matters. It also covers the duties of women, good and bad signs of people, and methods of worshipping Brahma, Ganesha, Skanda, and the Snakes. A considerable section deals with Sun worship in a place called "Śākadvīpa" which may be a reference to Scythia.

Madhyamaparvan

Of the four existing parts of the text, the Madhyamaparvan, which is not mentioned anywhere else as having formed a part of the Bhavishya Purana, is characterized by Rajendra Hazra as "a late appendage abounding in Tantric elements."

Pratisargaparvan

Hazra has the following to say regarding the Pratisargaparvan:

The Pratisargaparvan, though nominally mentioned in the Bhaviṣya (I.1.2-3), contains stories about Adam, Noah, Yākuta, Taimurlong, Nadir Shah, Akbar (the emperor of Delhi), Jayacandra, ... and many others. It even knows the British rule in India and names Calcutta and the Parliament.

A. K. Ramanujan mentions finding references to Christ, Moses, and Queen Victoria in the "appropriately up-to-date Bhaviṣya Purāṇa" and cites this as an example of the fact that:

"In spite of repeated efforts to impose schemes and canons on them from time to time, Purāṇas are open systems."

Thus, Muhammad is mentioned, as Mahāmada, in III.3.3.5-27. The passage is aware of Muhammad's Arabian origin, and portrays him as an epithet of Brahma. It further regards Muhammad to re-develop an religion for the Arya Dharma people, and will destroy the worshipping of idols. It then claims the other religions as Malechhas (non-aryans) who have brought an powerful enemy Tripurāsura whom Mahamad has collected an great blessing to kill. It then explains the Malechhas religion as dharmadūṣaka ("polluter of righteousness"), a preceptor of paiśācadharma ("ghoulish religion"), and spoil the land of the Arabs.

Also Jesus is mentioned as Easa (Jesus) and Easa Maseeha (Jesus Messiah). The passage describes Jesus being the son of God born to a virgin and is an brahmin with two births.

Uttaraparvan

The Uttaraparvan, though nominally attached to the Bhavishya Purana, is usually considered to be an independent work, also known as the Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa, and as such is included among the Upapuranas (Lesser Puranas). The Bhaviṣyottara Purana is primarily a handbook of religious rites with a few legends and myths. 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 points of view.

Internal and external evidences show that it was composed between CE 700 and 800.

See also

• Puranas
• Vedas
• Sutra

Notes

1. For Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa as the name of the text, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 519.
2. For the Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa as one of the eighteen major puranas see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 531.
3. For the title signifying "a work which contains prophecies regarding the future (bhaviṣya)" see: Winternitz, p. 567.
4. For the Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa as one of several puranas predicting future kings (others being the Matsya, Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa, Viṣṇu, Bhāgavata, and Garuḍa Puranas, see: Winternitz, volume 1, pp. 523-524.
5. For use of material from the law book of Manu, including the account of Creation, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.
6. For classification as a Shaiva Purana in the Śivarahasya-khaṇḍa of the Śaṅkara Saṃhitā see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 572, n. 1.
7. For the guna method of classification as given in Padma Purana 5.263.81-4 see: Mathett, Freda, "The Purāṇas" in Flood (2003), p. 137.
8. For classification as a rajas Purana, see: Flood (1996), p. 110.
9. For classification of Bhavishya The Puranas as rajas type, see: Mathett, Freda, "Purāṇa" in Flood (2003), p. 137.
10. For the fifth century BCE land grant references, citation to Pargiter (1912), and debunking of the theory, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 526, note 2.
11. For statement that the extant text is not the ancient work, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.
12. For the quotation in Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra attributed to the Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa not extant today, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 519.
13. Bhavishya Purana I.2.2-3.
14. For self-report of five parts, but only four parts in the printed text, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263.
15. For dating of the Brāhmaparvan as CE 500-900 see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, pp. 263-264.
16. For the characterization of the content, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.
17. For duties of women, signs of people, and methods of worshipping Brahma, Ganesha, Skanda, and the Snakes see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 264.
18. For the sun worship in "Śākadvīpa", which may be Scythia, see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.
19. For a large number of chapters on Sun worship, solar myths, and Śāka-dvipa, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 264.
20. For quotation from Hazra regarding the Madhyamaparvan as a late appendage, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263.
21. For quotation describing the Pratisargaparvan as "practically a new work" see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263.
22. For quotations see: Ramanujan, A. K., "Folk Mythologies and Purāṇas" in: Doniger (1993) p. 105.
23. Bhavishya Puran Parv.III: 1,4,21-23
24. Ibid.,pp.256,257
25. Swami Daya Nand, founder of the Arya Samaj
26. Maulana Abdul Haque Vidyarthi, Muhammad in World Scriptures pg.55 - 67 pdf
27. Dr. Ved Prakash Upaddhay, Book 3 - Religious Unity in Light of the Vedas, Sanskrit Prayag University
28. For independent classification of the Uttaraparvan as the Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Purāṇas", in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 263.
29. For the contents of the Bhaviṣyottara Purana and characterizing it as a continuation of the Bhavishya Purana see: Winternitz, volume 1, p. 567.
30. For quotation related to loose collection of materials see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Upapurāṇas" in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 285.
31. For dating of CE 700-800 for the Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa, see: Hazra, Rajendra Chandra, "The Upapurāṇas" in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1962), volume 2, p. 285.

References

• Doniger, Wendy (editor) (1993). Purāṇa Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts. Albany, New York: State University of New York. ISBN 0-7914-1382-9. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Flood, Gavin (Editor) (2003). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-4051-3251-5. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli (Editorial Chairman) (1962). The Cultural Heritage of India. Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Second edition, four volumes, revised and enlarged, 1962 (volume II).
• Winternitz, Maurice (1972). History of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Second revised reprint edition. Two volumes. First published 1927 by the University of Calcutta.
• Bhaviṣyapurāna, Pratisargaparvan. Bombay: Venkateshwar Press. 1959.

• Prophecy
• Puranas