Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

न गौरी न महालक्ष्मीश्चित्रेपि परिलेखिते । प्रतिमाकरणे चैषां न कुरूपो न दुर्भगः

Transliteration

na gaurī na mahālakṣmīścitrepi parilekhite | pratimākaraṇe caiṣāṃ na kurūpo na durbhagaḥ

Translation

私は絵にさえ、ガウリーもマハーラクシュミーも描かせなかった。彼女らの御像を造っても、人は醜くならず、不運にもならない。

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• gaurī: Gaurī
• gaurī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• na: nor
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• mahālakṣmīḥ: Mahālakṣmī
• mahālakṣmīḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; महती लक्ष्मीः (Mahālakṣmī)

• citre: in a picture/painting
• citre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावन/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: 'even/also')

• parilekhite: when depicted/drawn
• parilekhite: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√likh (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-सम्भव; 'when drawn/depicted' (locative absolute sense)

• pratimākaraṇe: in image-making
• pratimākaraṇe: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratimā (प्रातिपदिक) + karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रतिमायाः करणम् (in the making of images)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• eṣām: of these (goddesses)
• eṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• kurūpaḥ: ugly
• kurūpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kurūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (ugly)

• na: nor
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• durbhagaḥ: unfortunate
• durbhagaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durbhaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (unfortunate/ill-fated)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Devī-auspiciousness within the city)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An artisan prepares pigments and a cloth panel; faint outlines of Gaurī and Mahālakṣmī appear. The devotee stands aside, realizing he never sponsored even a painting of the Devīs.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī
• Mahālakṣmī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honoring the Divine Feminine through sacred art and icons is auspicious and protective, dispelling misfortune rather than causing harm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī milieu, though it speaks generally about Devi depiction and icon-making.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Creating or commissioning paintings and images (citra, pratimā) of Gaurī and Mahālakṣmī for worship.