Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23
न गौरी न महालक्ष्मीश्चित्रेपि परिलेखिते । प्रतिमाकरणे चैषां न कुरूपो न दुर्भगः
na gaurī na mahālakṣmīścitrepi parilekhite | pratimākaraṇe caiṣāṃ na kurūpo na durbhagaḥ
نہ میں نے گوری کو، نہ مہالکشمی کو—حتیٰ کہ تصویروں میں بھی—کبھی نقش کروایا۔ اور ان کی مورتیاں بنوانے سے انسان نہ بدصورت ہوتا ہے اور نہ ہی بدبخت۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Devī-auspiciousness within the city)
Type: kshetra
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.
FAQs
Honoring the Divine Feminine through sacred art and icons is auspicious and protective, dispelling misfortune rather than causing harm.
The verse sits within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī milieu, though it speaks generally about Devi depiction and icon-making.
Creating or commissioning paintings and images (citra, pratimā) of Gaurī and Mahālakṣmī for worship.