Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । तथान्यापि च तत्रास्ति गौरी वै पञ्चपिंडिका । लक्ष्म्या संस्थापिता चैव मानुषत्वंव्यवस्थया
sūta uvāca | tathānyāpi ca tatrāsti gaurī vai pañcapiṃḍikā | lakṣmyā saṃsthāpitā caiva mānuṣatvaṃvyavasthayā
സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അവിടെ മറ്റൊരു രൂപവും ഉണ്ട്—‘പഞ്ചപിണ്ഡികാ’ എന്ന പേരിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധയായ ഗൗരി. മനുഷ്യഹിതത്തിനായുള്ള ക്രമപ്രകാരം സ്വയം ലക്ഷ്മീ അവളെ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)
Tirtha: Pañcapiṇḍikā-Gaurī (within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (assembly)
Scene: Sūta describes a shrine where Gaurī is worshipped as Pañcapiṇḍikā—symbolically represented by five rounded piṇḍa-like forms—installed by Lakṣmī for human welfare; pilgrims offer flowers and water.
FAQs
Divine grace becomes accessible through specific sacred forms (mūrtis) established for the benefit of human beings.
A Nāgara-khaṇḍa tīrtha setting where Gaurī is worshiped as Pañcapiṇḍikā; the verse points to a localized shrine within the Tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it introduces the deity-form and its consecration (saṃsthāpana).