Ved Prakash Upadhyay or Ved Prakash Upaddhay (born 1947) is an Indian scholar of Sanskrit language and Hinduism, author, professor and social activist. He is the author of many books on Sanskrit literature and Hinduism. He is mostly known for his work Kalki Avatar and Muhammad, which asserts that there are references to Muhammad as Kalki in some Hindu scriptures.
Early life and career
Upadhyay was born on 2 February 1947 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father was Saryuparin Vedic scholar Pt.Shriramjeevan Upadhyay. He is a former professor of Punjab University.
Reception
In 2017, he received the Sanskrit Sahitya Alangkar Award from the Haryana Sanskrit Academy. In 2017, he received the Sahitya Ratna Padak from the Punjabi Language Department and in 2019 he received the President's Award of Certificate of Honour of India 2018 for his contribution to Sanskrit language. Upadhyay was also honored with the UGC Senior Fellowship, Shastrachudamani. Furthermore, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, appointed him as the President of Adarsh Sanskrit Sanstha in Himachal Pradesh.
Selected works
Kalki Avatar and Muhammad
Upadhyay's most notable work was Kalki Avatar and Muhammad which was published in 1969 by Saraswat Vedanta Prakash Sangghha of Allahabad. The book is thought to be a partial adaption of the book Muhammad in World Scriptures (originally "Mithaq an-Nabiyeen", covenant of the prophets) by Ahmadiya scholar Abdul Haq Vidyarthi. Originally written in Hindi language, in this book, he discussed his claim of the mention of Islamic prophet Muhammad as the Hindu avatar of Kalki in the Hindu scriptures (Kalki Purana, Vedas and Bhavishya Purana, etc.). After publication, the book became very popular in India. Bengali scholar Asitkumar Bandyopadhyay translated the book into Bengali language along with Upadhyay's other two books 'Narashangsa and the Antim Rishi" and "Religious Unity in the Light of the Vedas and the Puranas" and combined it in one edition in the same name. The book was later also translated into English by several translators entitling Muhammad in the Hindu scriptures and Muhammad in the Vedas and the Puranas, which gave the book immense popularity outside India. Besides popularity, the book was also criticized by many Hindu and Muslim bodies, describing the book as wrong explanation of Hindu scriptures by many Hindu scholars and as exclusion of Hinduism and Hindu scriptures from people of the Book and devine books by some Islamic scholars, whereas both of the sectors claimed the subjects of the book as later interpolations in Hindu scriptures.