MUMBAI, OCTOBER 5, 2009: Amidst all the action at the First Session of the Provincial Chapter at the Provincial House in Mumbai on October 1, 2009, Fr. Nelson Falcao’s Marathi translation of the Biblical epic: Khristapurana was officially released.
The Khristapurana was originally written by Thomas Stephens, a Jesuit missionary who set foot in Goa in 1579. He mastered the local languages and (Konkani and Marathi) and immersed himself in the Hindu Vaishnavite tradition to come out with his 11,000 verse purana, which has been acknowledged as a genuine masterpiece of Marathi poetry.
The Khristapurana is one of the great examples of inculturation as Stephens has expressed the Christian story in Vaishnavite terms. Fr. Nelson translates Stephen’s Sanskritized ancient Marathi into contemporary Marathi. This is the very first critical edition of the Khristapurana, and also the first ever translation.
The Khristapurana is one of the gems of Marathi literature. This is a book that will be appreciated and treasured not only by scholars but by a wide section of the general public.