Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59
निधाय तत्पुरः प्रोचुः पटीं पश्य कलावति । तवानंदकरी यत्र काचिदस्तीष्टदेवता
nidhāya tatpuraḥ procuḥ paṭīṃ paśya kalāvati | tavānaṃdakarī yatra kācidastīṣṭadevatā
അത് അവളുടെ മുന്നിൽ വെച്ച് അവർ പറഞ്ഞു—“കലാവതീ, ഈ ചിത്രപടം നോക്കൂ. ഇവിടെ നിനക്ക് ആനന്ദം നൽകുന്ന ഏതോ ഇഷ്ടദേവത വിരാജിക്കുന്നു।”
Skanda (narration); direct speech by attendants (paricārikāḥ)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Attendants place the painted cloth before Kalāvatī and gently speak, identifying it as her beloved chosen deity—an intimate devotional moment framed as therapeutic reassurance.
FAQs
Personal devotion (iṣṭadevatā-bhakti) becomes a doorway through which the sacred power of Kāśī works upon the heart.
Kāśī is the sacred setting; the narrative is part of the lead-up to Jñānavāpī’s praise.
Darśana (beholding) of a sanctified image is implied as a devotional practice.