A small collection of quotes from Vishnudharmottara Purana.
King Vajra asks his teacher Sage Markandeya, “how can one
depict in an image, the Supreme Being who is devoid of form, smell and
emotion; and destitute of sound and touch?”
Sage Markandeya explains, “the entire universe
should be understood as the modification (vikriti) of the formless (prakriti).
The worship and meditation of the Supreme is possible for an ordinary
being only when the formless is endowed with a form; and that form is full of
significance”
“The qualities that we admire in a divine being are within
us. And, when we worship the images that personify such attributes, we awaken
those divine aspects latent in us. When we are filled by that grace, there is
no space left for base desires and pain; we have become that deity.”