tretāyāḿ rakta-varṇo 'sau
catur-bāhus tri-mekhalaḥ
hiraṇya-keśas trayy-ātmā
sruk-sruvādy-upalakṣaṇaḥ
tretayam -- in Treta-yuga; rakta-varnah -- red-complexioned; asau -- He; catuh-bahuh -- four-armed; tri-mekhalah -- wearing three belts (representing three phases of Vedic initiation); hiranya-kesah -- having golden hair; trayi-atma -- personifying the knowledge of the three Vedas; srak-sruva-adi -- the sacrificial wooden ladle, spoon and so on; upalakshanah -- having as His symbols.
In Treta-yuga the Lord appears with a red complexion. He has four arms, golden hair, and wears a triple belt representing initiation into each of the three Vedas. Embodying the knowledge of worship by sacrificial performance, which is contained in the Rig, Sama and Yajur Vedas, His symbols are the ladle, spoon and other implements of sacrifice.
The sruk is a particular implement for pouring ghee in sacrifices. It is about an arm's length long and is made of a particular type of wood called vikankata. The sruk has a rodlike handle and a spout with a shallow groove at its tip that resembles a swan's beak. Its front part is a carved-out spoon the size of a fist. The sruva is another implement used in sacrificial oblations. It is made of khadira wood, is smaller than the sruk and is used to pour ghee into the sruk. It is also sometimes used instead of the sruk to pour ghee directly into the sacrificial fire. These are the Lord's symbols in Treta-yuga, when the Lord incarnates to introduce the yuga-dharma of yajna, or sacrifice.
