Shloka 3
Adhyaya 23: श्वेत-लोहित-पीत-कृष्ण-विश्व-कल्पेषु रुद्रस्वरूप-गायत्री-तत्त्ववर्णनम्
श्वेतास्थिः श्वेतरोमा च श्वेतासृक् श्वेतलोहितः तेन नाम्ना च विख्यातः श्वेतकल्पस्तदा ह्यसौ
śvetāsthiḥ śvetaromā ca śvetāsṛk śvetalohitaḥ tena nāmnā ca vikhyātaḥ śvetakalpastadā hyasau
His bones were white, his body-hair was white; his blood was white, and even the red element of his flesh appeared white. Therefore he became renowned by that very name, and that age was celebrated as the Śveta-kalpa.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
FAQs
It establishes the Purāṇic setting of a specific aeon (Śveta-Kalpa). In Linga traditions, identifying the Kalpa frames the cosmic cycle in which Shiva’s linga-manifestation, worship, and boons are narrated, grounding Linga-pūjā in a timeless, cyclical cosmology.
By highlighting ‘whiteness’ as an all-pervading trait of the figure linked to the Kalpa, the text evokes purity and sattva—pointers to Shiva as Pati who transcends guṇas yet graciously reveals signs (lakṣaṇa) within creation to orient the paśu (bound soul) toward liberation.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; the takeaway is the symbolic emphasis on śuddhi (purity). In Shaiva practice this aligns with preparatory disciplines—inner and outer purification supporting Pāśupata-oriented devotion and steadiness for Linga-pūjā and dhyāna.