History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.571

v6.c81.571

The 2nd point made much of by Weber was that Nārada is represented as having brought from Śveta-dvīpa (white land) the doctrine of salvation by faith Weber holds that Śvetadvīpa was Alexandria, while Lassen holds that it was Parthia If we read the description of Śvetadvīpa in the Śāntiparva (chapters 336-339) and in such Purāṇas³⁶¹ as Vāmana (chap. 25. 16 and 60. 56) and Kūrma (I. 49) it would be clear that Śvetadvīpa was an imaginary or mythical place where everything was white, where Viṣṇu and the gods dwelt and that it had no earthly existence at least in the minds of the authors who wrote the above works.