Kalki Purana

by B.K. Chaturvedi

Purunas are almost like an encyclopaedia listing the human achievements in this part of the world till the time they were edited or compiled. In every cycle of time the master editor called Vedavyas emerges to edit, vet and compile these records. Their significance is enormous even in the present, as they give a peep into the distant past of Hindus when the world was evolving and the psyche of the race was being formed. These Puranas record the arguments that make us to decide as to what is holy and what is vile; what is good and what is had. By going through them we can compare our present day jurisprudence vis-a-vis the ancient norms. Apart from that, they are a huge store-house of information conceiving every subject under the sun. It is with the view of unearthing these gems that the present series of the puranas has been planned.

Genres: Mythology

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2014

Reviews

[Parag · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Kalki Purana is an upa-purana that describes how Sri Kalki brings an end to KaliYuga and heralds the pure era of SatYuga. There's some speculation about when when this Purana was written, but most people seem to date it somewhere between 5th century CE - 10th century CE.

The book begins with the Devas requesting Sri Vishnu to bring an end to the diabolical KaliYuga and help restore dharma and harmony in earth. Vishnu Ji is soon born in a village called Sambala (which could either be someplace in Tibet or Sambalpur in Odisha). He studies various arts and warfare, etc under Parshram's tutelage. After completing his education, he marries Padma (who is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi). Then he takes on the forces that are inimical to dharma by fight tand vanquishing two kings (and their allies). There's a decisive war with the personified energy of KaliYuga, in which KaliYuga is defeated and forced to retreat into the unmanifest. This last battle is metaphorical with warriors such as Krodha (anger) and Sukha (joy), etc. So it's a battle between wholesome and unwholesome emotions where the dominant unwholesome emotions are defeated. This battle is followed by the beginning of SatYuga and Dharma. There are a few more events that explain certain dharmic principles. The book ends with Sri Kalki returning to Vaikuntha when urged by the Devas.

While I appreciate the effort B. K. Chaturvedi must have put to translate the original into English, I felt that the language (choice of words and sentence construction) could have been much better. I reduced one star for the translation because the reading experience was significantly compromised due to the language.

The Puranas are written from a state of deep meditative insights. However, while reading this upa-purana, one can feel the lack of that finesse to the events, structure, and the stories. I don't know if the Kalki Puran itself lacks finesse or if this translation has ommited parts of the original. (I found an online translation by Bhumipati Das that's significantly longer than this. I'll check that out too). I've deducted one star for the lack of finesse.

[Jai · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because I had it, and ordered it because I thought it would be an interesting read. It was not, it was terrible. I don't even remember any storyline from it, the book was weak there was nothing spiritual or remotely awakening about it. Frankly, I think I wasted a couple of hours trying to finish it, which I should not have. I just skimmed through it quickly and fell asleep in between.

[Deepak Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to follow the contents in many places. Lacks smooth flow.

[Avneesh Waikar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read

I would definitely recommend people to read...I liked the simplicity with which it was explained...now u would now how future would be

[ALEKSEY KOLYZHIKHIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about life on Earth by Avatar Kalki. I think the Avatar of Kalki is on Earth now.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun stuff!