Generally, when we study apocalyptic events, we refer to the Judeo-Christian and Islamic texts, where a particular prophet was assigned to prophesize about the futuristic events. However, in Hinduism, the Bhavisya Purana covers the eschatological aspects, which will occur in the Kali Yuga, the darkest age in the Hindu faith. The Bhavisya Purana is one of the most controversial texts, as many of the apocalyptic and prophetic stories were borrowed from various ancient Semitic, Mesopotamian, Persian, Christian, and other sources. This title deals with the critical analysis of Bhavisya Purana. The book deals historicity of the Puranic texts since it is one of the important sources of studying ancient Indian empires, such as Pauravas, Vidishas, Nandas, Mauryans, Shungas, Ikshvakus, Andhras, and other dynasties dating around 3rd to 4th century AD. Primarily, this book deals with the content of the texts, which records the major predictions and prophecies associated with the future. The title also deals with the structure of the text, compositions, textual variants, hermeneutics, interpolation, and the manuscript tradition, wherein it discusses Bhavisya Purana’s codices found in different libraries across India and outside India. It also deals with the variants written in a non-Sanskrit language like Prakrit, which is the sacred language of the Jains, and inscriptions found in different parts of India. About the Author F. E. Pargiter (1852-1927) was a British civil servant, judge, antiquarian, and an Orientalist. He was the judge of the Calcutta High Court in 1904. He wrote some books on ancient Indian history, these include The Markandeya Purana (English translation) and Ancient Indian Historical Tradition.
• Introduction v
• List of Authorities xxix
• Abbreviations xxxiv
• The Purana Text of the Dynasties 1
• Translations 65
• Appendixes 77
• Index 89
