Who are the authors of the sacred scripture Bhaviṣya Mālikā?

Around six-hundred years ago, the five closest friends and devotees of Lord Krishna, popularly known as the ‘Panchasakha‘, were reborn in Odisha, the holy land of Lord Jagannath. Among other things, they are credited with writing numerous scriptures containing detailed prophecies about future events. Meticulously written on palm leaves, these prophecies are quickly coming to be known to be uncannily accurate to date. As a result, these scriptures, collectively known as the ‘Bhaviṣya Mālikā,’ are now widely propagated in various languages.

At the end of each of the four yugas, Lord Shree Maha-Vishnu descends to Earth to restore righteousness and order, known as Dharma. When Lord Maha-Vishnu incarnates, He is accompanied by His five companions, Panchasakha, who are born from His plenary portion and take different mortal bodies in each yuga. The Panchasakha assist Lord Maha-Vishnu in institutionalizing Dharma on Earth. Once the task of re-establishing Dharma is accomplished, Lord  Maha-Vishnu returns to His eternal spiritual abode in Golok Vaikuntha. The Panchasakha also ascend along with Him to the same abode.

According to the Bhaviṣya Mālikā and other Puranas, the Panchasakha in Satya Yuga were known as Narada, Markandeya, Gargava, Swayambhu, and Kripajala. After completing their ordained tasks at the end of Satya Yuga, the Panchasakha returned to Golok Vaikuntha.

Again, in the Treta Yuga, to assist Lord Shree Rama in re-establishing Dharma, the Panchasakha were reborn and were known as Nal, Neel, Jambavan, Sushena, and Hanuman. Despite being an Avatar of Rudra (Shiva), Lord Hanuman concurrently became one of the Panchasakha and helped Shree Ramachandra to re-establish Dharma in Treta Yuga. Once again, after completing their ordained task, they returned to Golok Vaikuntha.

Then, in the Dwapara Yuga, the Panchasakha were reborn as Dam, Sudama, Subala, Subahu, and Shreebacch to assist Lord Shree Krishna in re-establishing Dharma.

Finally, in Kali Yuga, about 500 years before the end of the Yuga, Lord Maha-Vishnu’s five companions, the Panchasakha, again took birth as Achyutananda Das, Sisu Ananta Das, Jasobanta Das, Jagannath Das, and Balaram Das. On the instructions of the Supreme Lord, the Panchasakha collectively compiled the divine Bhaviṣya Mālikā.

Table: Identity of ‘Panchasakha’ in each Yuga

Lord Shree Maha-Vishnu, Himself instructs the Panchasakha:

“Whenever the burden of sins and crimes on this Earth increases, there is a decline in righteousness, and thoughts of mercy, tolerance, peace, love, and other noble values in the peoples’ minds are replaced by thoughts of violence, hatred, anger, lust, and envy. At that time, I Myself descend on this Earth to end the misfortunes of my pure devotees, to re-establish truth, peace, compassion, mercy, and love, to reduce the burden of unrighteous actions on Mother Earth, and to destroy the wicked and protect the virtuous. Towards the end of Kali Yuga, before My descent and birth as Kalki, you, Panchasakha, will compose the Bhaviṣya Mālikā, which will guide and unite my devotees from all the four Yugas who have again taken birth on Earth and empower them to leave the path of corruption & dishonesty and embrace one of honesty and righteousness.”

Therefore, Mahapurush Achyutananda Das has written –

“hetu rasāibā pāīn ki Acyuta sāhāstra purāṇa kale

kali kāla ṭhāru bali kāla jāeen haka kathā ṭā lekhile”

(Source: Bhaviṣya Mālikā, Achyutananda Das)

Purport:

To arouse the dormant consciousness of the devotees, Mahapurush Achyutananda has earnestly described, in Bhaviṣya Mālikā, all the events that will occur during the transitory period, known as Sangam Yuga, from Kali Yuga’s end culminating into Satya Yuga. On reading the Bhaviṣya Mālikā, the devotees will have their quiescent consciousness awakened and begin their search for Bhagwan (Lord Kalki) to seek shelter under His protection.

Mahaprabhu ‘Anadi Aadikand Hari’ (The Supreme Lord who is without beginning or end), Lord of the Universe Shree Jagannath, gave a garland of lotus flowers to Mahapurush Achyutananda Das and instructed him that the spot where all the flowers in the wreath will wither and fall off, that spot shall be his place for meditation. On Lord Jagannath’s instructions, after wandering through various regions, when he reached the banks of the Chitrotpala river at Nemal village in Kendrapara district in Odisha, the last flower left in that garland withered and fell to the ground. As per the shastras, in Satya Yuga during the ‘Samudra Manthan’ (churning of the ocean), the lotus that emerged from ocean fell to the Earth at this very spot; therefore, this spot is also known as ‘Padma Vana’ (Lotus Forest.)

Mahapurush Achyutananda Das commenced his meditation at this spot. At this spot, with a focused mind, he composed lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of manuscripts to help uplift the ‘bhaktas’ (devotees) of the four Yugas. This exact spot was later revealed to the general populace as ‘Siddha Sthal’, where Mahapurush Achyutananda attained enlightenment. With his mind centered on the lotus feet of the Lord, he has written about the Siddha Sthal as:

“Srī Acyuta Dāsa Nemāle nivāsa, Padma Bane tānka sthiti,

prabhu nka ājñā ru anubhava kari, lakṣe grantha lekhichanti

chatisa saṁhitā bāstari gītā vanśhānu sapta binsa re,

upavanśhānu dvādasa khanḍa benī bhaviṣya sapta khanḍa re”

(Source: Bhaviṣya Mālikā, Achyutananda Das)

Purport:

Mahapurush Achyutananda authored over 100,000 manuscripts in this auspicious location. Some of his notable works comprised of thirty-six Saṁhitās (Vedic hymns/prayers), seventy-two songs, twenty-seven Vamsa charitra (Lineage History), twenty-four Upa Vamsa Charitra (Sub-lineage History), and over a hundred Malika books. Besides him, the other Panchasakha, Sisu Ananta Das, Jasobanta Das, Jagannath Das, and Balaram Das have also written many more Bhaviṣya Mālikā books. Despite writing so many books, the Panchasakha announced that they themselves have not authored any but only penned down the spoken words of the Lord on Mahaprabhu’s own instructions with the sole purpose of promoting the welfare of humanity. The devotees of the Lord who appeared as ‘Tapis’ (sages or seers) in Satya Yuga, ‘Kapis’ (monkeys with Lord Rama) in Treta Yuga, ‘Gopis’ (beloved companions of Lord Krishna) in Dwapara Yuga and, ‘Bhaktas‘ (honest and pious devotees of the Lord) in Kali Yuga have again taken birth during this time in Ananta Yuga. The Panchasakha have composed the Bhaviṣya Mālikā to awaken the Bhaktas’ dormant sub-consciousness and to guide them in fully realizing the Sanskar (culture/beliefs) of Golok Vaikuntha so that they realize that the time has come to participate in Lord’s/Prabhu’s Leela (divine play). No matter where they reside in the world, on hearing and reading the Malika, the Bhaktas’ dormant consciousness will be fully awakened, and they will become cognizant of the Lord’s descent on Earth, seek Lord Kalki, and take refuge under Him. After that, they will contribute towards the task of  ‘Dharma Sansthapana’ (re-establishing the Dharmic order, i.e., system of ethics, moral obligations, and religion according to Vedic principles). After knowing about the whereabouts of Lord Kalki, the Bhaktas will propagate the rules and regulations of Satya Yuga as promulgated by Lord Kalki throughout the world. They will also disseminate the Lord’s name, brilliance, and glories and engage themselves in the task of ‘Dharma Sansthapana.’

In this respect, Mahapurush Achyutananda writes,

“bhakate ude hoibe,

gaan gaan buli meli karibe, Rāmacandra re

hari caraṇe bhajibe, Rāmacandra re”

(Source: Bhaviṣya Mālikā, Achyutananda Das)

Purport:

Wherever the Bhaktas go, they will interact, integrate, and perform bhajans and kirtans (sing and chant devotional songs in praise of the Supreme Lord) and preach about Dharma to all.                             

A brief introduction to the Panchasakha:

Mahapurush Achyutananda Das was born in 1485 to his father, Deenbandhu Khuntia, and mother, Padmavati, in the village ‘Tilakana’ (also known as Tripura) in the Kendrapara district of Odisha. The great sage Mahapurush Achyutananda Das composed 185,000 books. One year, on Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi (considered a very auspicious day), he sat in Nemal Peeth and went into ‘samadhi‘ (a deep meditational trance) and on ‘Poornima‘ (full moon) day by his own will, gave up his mortal body and disappeared into the void. (i.e., he returned to where he came from – from nothingness to nothingness). Amongst his books – Harivamsa Purana, Gopalanka Ogala O Laudi Khela, Baramasi Gita, Sunya Sanhita, Anakara Brahma Sanhita, Manibamdha Gita, Jugabdhi Gita, Bijasagara Gita, Abheda Kabaca, Asta Gujjari, Naba Gujjari, Sarana Panjara, Strota, Bipra Bacaka, Mana Mahima, innumerable bhajans, Patala, Rasa, Janana, Cautisa (poems starting with 34 alphabets of Odia language comprising of 34 lines), Tikka, Malika are some of his notable works that number in lakhs.

Mahapurush Sishu Ananta Das was born in 1488 to father Kapilendra and mother Gaura Devi in Balipatna village near Bhubaneshwar in the Puri district of Odisha. He composed many texts and books, out of which Hetu Udaya Bhagavat, Bhakti Mukti Dayaka Gita, Sisu Beda Tika, Sunya Nama Bheda, Artha Tareṇī, Ude Bakhara, Thika Bakhara, many bhajans (hymns), Chautisa, Malika grantha, etc, are prominent.

            Mahapurush Jagannath Das was born in 1490 to father Bhagwan Das and mother Padmavati in the Kapileshwar village in the Puri district of Odisha. After the Sanskrit Shreemad Bhagavat, he was the first to compose Shreemad Bhagavat Maha Purana in Odia. Later, he also authored many other scriptures and Bhaviṣya Mālikā texts. Prominent among his compositions are – Sola Caupadi, Cari Caupadi, Tulabhiṇa, Daru Brahma Gita, Diksa Sambada, Artha Koili, Mrguṇi Stuti, Gupta Bhagavat, Anamaya Kundali, Srikrsna Kalpalata, Nitya Gupta Cintamani, Niladrī Bilasa, Kali Malika, and Indra Malikā Grantha. In admiration of his scriptural knowledge and devotion to Lord Jagannath, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave him the title ‘Atibadhi’ or ‘Greatest.’

Mahapurush Balaram Das was born in 1470 (some sources indicate the birth year to be 1482) to father Shomnath Mahapatra and mother Mahamaya Devi in Chandrapur village in the Puri district of Odisha. He authored many sacred texts and Puranas, prominently, Dadhyata Bhakti, Dandi Ramayaṇa, Brahmanda Bhugola, Baula Gai Gita, Kamala Lochana Cautisa, Kanta Koili, Lakshmi Puraṇa, Beḍha Parikrama, Saptanga Yogasara Tika, Bajra Kabaca, Jnana Cudamani (Prose), Brahma Tika (Prose) and many other Malika treatises. He ascended to Golok Vaikuntha at Samgara Paat in the Puri district.  

Mahapurush Jasobanta Das was born in 1482 (some sources indicate the birth year to be 1486) to father Balbhadra Malla and mother Rekha Devi at Nandigram close to Adhang in the Cuttack district of Odisha. He authored Caurasi Ajna, Siba Svaradvaya, Sasthimala, Prema Bhakti Brahma Gita, Tika Gobinda Candra (This poetry filled with mercy and compassion is very popular in Bengal and from Assam to North India), numerous Shastras, Puranas, and various Malika texts. He gave up his mortal body in the Margashira month, Shukla Paksha Sasthi (also known as Odhani Sasthi.)

The Panchasakha were fully endowed with spiritual knowledge and principles. They were constantly in subtle contact with ‘Nirakar’ (the Supreme Formless God), and they ardently penned down the various prophecies that were communicated to them by ‘Nirakar’ in the form of ‘Bhaviṣya Mālikā.’ Brahm Gopal, or the great seer and scholar Mahapurush Achyutananda, describes it as follows: 

“āgama bhāva jāṇe Jaśobanta

gārakaṭā jantra jāṇe Ananta

āgata nāgata Achyuta jāṇe

Balarāma Dāsa tatva bakhāṇe

bhakti ra bhāva jāṇe Jagannātha

Pancasakhāe oḍiśā mahanta।

mleccha patita uddhāribā pāīn

janama labhile Oḍiśā bhuīn”

(Source: Bhaviṣya Mālikā, Achyutananda Das)

Purport:

• Mahapurush Jasobanta Das was competent in visualizing the advent of any event in the future.
• Mahapurush Sishu Ananta Das could know the future using mathematical puzzles. 
• Mahapurush Achyutananda Das had complete knowledge of the past, present, and future.
• Mahapurush Balram Das had full knowledge of the scriptures and all the universal laws and principles.
• Mahapurush Jagannath Das had complete knowledge of the Astadasha Purana’s Bhakti Tattva (the essential reality of the path of devotion as mentioned in the 18 Puranas).

The Panchasakha, through the medium of the Bhaviṣya Mālikā, have prophesied the events of the future under divine instructions of Lord Shree Jagannath or the Supreme Formless Lord, to emancipate the Bhaktas, enable the union between Bhagwan and Bhakta (devotee and Lord), destruction of the wicked and the commencement of the divine Satya Yuga. All those books are precious for human society and, in the present turbulent times, are like ‘Mrityu Sajeevani’ (one that infuses life). During the current time, i.e., at the ‘Sandhya’ (twilight) period of the Yuga, there is no other recourse from the imminent danger but following the Bhaviṣya Mālikā sincerely and taking refuge in the holy name of the Supreme Lord.