Why is Bhavishya Malika indispensable at the end of Kali Yuga?

‘Yugchakra,’ represented by a wheel (‘chakra’), with each yuga (epoch) as its segment,  symbolizes the cyclic nature of time. As per the Yugchakra, four yugas appear chronologically: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. The current time we live in is past the end of Kali Yuga and is treading the course of a cusp period called the ‘Yuga-sandhya’ or ‘Sangam-yuga.’ The juncture or the interlude between two yugas is addressed as ‘Yuga-sandhya’ or ‘Sangam-yuga.’ According to the treatise Manusmriti which contains the laws of sage ‘Manu,’ Kali Yuga’s lifespan is 4,32,000 years. However, it also stipulates that the gruesome sins incurred by humanity will curtail the span by 4,27,200 years and shrink it to mere 4,800 years, as substantiated by the couplet (Shloka) from Manusmirti and is quoted below:

“cattvāryjāhu sahasrāṇi tat kr̥tam yugam

 tasya tavacchatā saṁdhyā saṁdhyāṁśaśca tathāvidhaḥ”

                                                                                            (Source: Manusmriti)

(1 millennium = 1000 years) in the Yuga’s duration (4000 = 4 millennia; 1 Yuga-sandhya = 4 x100 = 400 years). Thus, 

  • Age of Kali Yuga = 4,000 years.
  • The combined age of Yuga-sandhyas that precede and succeed the Kali Yuga = 400 years x 2 = 800 years.

Hence, the cumulative age of the Kali Yuga and the Yuga-sandhyas is 4,800 years.

Sudama, the most beloved companion of Lord Shree Krishna from Dwapara Yuga, was incarnated as Brahma Gopal Achyutananda Das, one of the eminent Panchasakha in Kali Yuga. Under the divine instructions of the formless Supreme Lord Himself, in his prophetic treatise Bhavishya Malika, Mahapurush Achyutananda Das revised the Manusmriti’s age of Kali Yuga from 4,800 years to 5,000 years.

 

“cāri lakṣa jē batiśa sahasra,

kalijuga ra aṭai āyuṣa

pāpa bhārā rē kali tuṭi jiba,

                       pāṁca sasra kali bhōga hōiba”                  

 

In the above lines, Mahapurush Achyutananda Das says that the age of Kali Yuga is 4,32,000 years. However, due to the immoral deeds of humans, its lifespan will be reduced to only 5,000 years.

“cāri lakṣa jē batiśa sahasra,

kalijuga ra aṭai āyuṣa

pāpa bhārā rē kali tuṭi jiba,

                                 pāṁca sasra kali bhōga hōiba”                  

In the above lines, Mahapurush Achyutananda Das says that the age of Kali Yuga is 4,32,000 years. However, due to the immoral deeds of humans, its lifespan will be reduced to only 5,000 years. According to Maa Birja Panjika, Jagannath Panjika, Kohinoor Panjika, etc., since the inception of Kali Yuga, we are currently amidst its 5,125th year. Thus, Kali Yuga is beyond its 5,000-year mark and is over! We have already entered the age of Yuga-sandhya or Sangam-yuga. Precisely due to this, in the present time, Bhavishya Malika is indispensable for the welfare and upliftment of human society. Mahapurush Achyutananda Das says in Bhavishya Malika,

“saṁsāra madhyarē kēmaṁta jāṇibē nara aṁgē dēha bahi

gata āgata jē yuga ra byabasthā samastanku jaṇā nāhīṁ”

                                                           (Source: Siva Kalpa Navakhaṁḍa Nirghaṇṭa)

The above lines are an excerpt from one of the scriptures of Bhavishya Malika, named ‘Siva Kalpa Navakhaṁḍa Nirghaṇṭa,’ written by Mahapurush Achyutananda. Here, Mahapurush says that human beings, tricked by the illusions (māyā) of this world, will be oblivious to the perils that will strike at the end of a yuga (Kali Yuga), during the transition (Yuga-sandhya) and right before the beginning of a new yuga (Satya Yuga). Therefore, even wise men will get disillusioned under the spell of māyā and make tall claims in their spiritual discourses that Kali Yuga continues to be in its infancy.

“udayati: yadi bhānu paścima diga bibhāgē,

 bikaśati yadi padma parvatānāṁ śikhāgrē

pracalati yadi mēru śitō tāpatī  banhī,

naṭalatiṁ khaḍū bākya sajjanānāṁ kadā”                                          

In this way, 4,27,000 years will be deducted from Kali Yuga’s 4,32,000 years and thus will be reduced to just 5,000 years.

In line with the above reasoning, we find evidence from various Shastras, Puranas, and Malika Granth that due to the many sinful deeds, the age of a yuga is reduced and the age of this Kali Yuga will also be reduced in the same way, and will last only for 5,000 years. Also, according to the calculations described in the Shastra Purana, the age of Kali Yuga at the moment is 5,125 years, which means that this Kali Yuga is already completely over.