Skandapurana 1.4.22: adhyāyaḥ 24

Nārada said: / Having heard this along with his wife, his mind flooded with joy, / he bowed to me and said: 'If this is so, I am fortunate.

I will ask something further: my daughter's right hand / is upturned. What is the cause of that? I wish to hear it, O Nārada.'

Thus questioned by the mountain, I then stated the reason: / 'Her hand is always extended towards all living beings.

It is the bestower of fearlessness; therefore her hand is upturned. / She is the wife of the lord of the universe, whose banner bears a bull, O mountain-bearer,

the mother of all worlds, the future goddess, the creator of beings. / Therefore, in such a way that she may soon achieve union with Pinākin,

it must be properly arranged by you, O best of the mountain lords! / In this matter there is a very great task for the gods, O snow-mountain.'

Having said this and taken leave of him, I reported that to Vāsava: / 'What remained as my duty, that has indeed been accomplished by me.

However, the five-arrowed [Kāma] must be dispatched for the remainder of the work here, O Vāsava.' / Having instructed thus, I went towards Tāraka, O Phālguna,

due to my love of strife, in order to disclose this matter clearly to him. / And the snow-mountain, prompted by my words regarding Pārvatī,

Then [Himavat] instructed [Pārvatī] along with her female companions to worship Bhava. / Seeing her good conduct, she attended upon the Lord.

Appointed thus, Pārvatī offered flowers, water, fruits, and other gifts. / And Mahendra also, at my word, remembered Smara, O Bhārata.

Knowing that recollection of him, Manobhava, accompanied by Spring and Rati, / armed with a mango-sprout arrow, suddenly appeared.

The wise [Indra], as if recalling [his purpose] and touching him, spoke these words to him: / "What need is there of much instruction to you, O lover of Rati?

You dwell in the heart; therefore you know what is in the minds of living beings. / Nevertheless, mindful of devotion to my own duty, I shall speak to you.

You ought to perform one very great task for me, O Manmatha: / Maheśvara, the lord of compassion, has been separated from his wife Satī;

unite him again with the Goddess born in the house of the Snowy Mountain. / The Goddess and the God, being pleased, will fulfill your desire here."

Madana said: / "This is false, O king of the gods, for he is the chief of the gods. / The sage declared: 'Other radiances are not to be approached.'

And in the Vedāntas, the brahmins rebuke me again and again: / 'This desire is a great devourer, a great evil, an insatiable fire.'

'Knowledge is veiled by this eternal enemy of the wise.' / Therefore, this desire is always to be abandoned by the best of beings, like a serpent.

Why should Maheśvara be pleased with one of such nature as mine, / as Vāsudeva, the guru of the world, [is displeased] with a sinful drunkard?"

Indra said: / "Do not speak thus, O highly fortunate one! Without you, what man on earth / is capable of attaining virtue, wealth, desire, or liberation?

Whatever is accomplished in the world, the root of it is desire. / Why, then, do those seekers of liberation condemn desire?

And true is the word of the Veda: your form has become threefold, / tāmasic, rājasic, and also sāttvic, O Manmatha.

Desire apart from liberation is that tāmasic form of yours; / longing with the thought of pleasure is that rājasic form of yours;

that which is merely for the sake of what is necessary is that sāttvic form of yours. / Tell me, who indeed does not worship this threefold form of yours?

You are directly supreme and venerable; perform this task of ours. / Moreover, seeing even ordinary beings afflicted, the wise / protect them even with their own lives; this is the highest, great fruit.

Considering this, perform the task in every way, clearly."

Hearing this and saying 'So be it,' Smara, accompanied by Spring and Rati, / equipped with an army of cuckoos and other creatures, set out for the Snowy Mountain.

There he saw Śambhu's holy hermitage grounds, / filled with various trees and crowded with peaceful animals.

There he saw the Three-eyed God's doorkeeper named Vīraka, / who looked just like Maheśāna in person, and tens of thousands of his gaṇas.

And he saw Maheśāna, whose eyes were fixed on the tip of his nose, / seated in the center of an altar beneath the shade of a deodar tree, / his body straight, seated at ease, established in meditation, the great lord,

motionless, restraining the range of his senses, / the God, a treasure of austerity, absorbed in the Self by the Self.

Beholding him thus, Madana made an effort to penetrate inside, / and entered his mind under the guise of the humming of bees.

In the meantime, the God opened his eyes, / and, his heart filled with passion, remembered the daughter of the king of mountains.

Announced by Vīraka, the mountain's daughter entered, / the highly fortunate one, at that time, just as she always approached.

Then, observing that his own mind had become enamored of her, / the God playfully restrained it and looked behind him; / just then he saw the lover of Rati, his bow fully drawn.

Out of compassion to avert his destruction, the God moved to various places; / yet he saw him standing behind him, having drawn the arrow to his bow.

Wandering across rivers, mountains, hermitages, and lakes, / Mahādeva still saw him standing behind him.

Having wandered through the three worlds, he returned again to his own hermitage; / seeing him still standing behind him, Hara breathed a sigh.

Then, by the fire sprung from his third eye, while the dwellers of heaven / cried out, Kāma was reduced to ashes, O son of Pāṇḍu.

Having reduced him to ashes, the fire born from Hara's eye / flared up to burn the world, the quarters of space filled with its flames.

Then, for the sake of the world, Bhava distributed the fire / among arrogant people, in the moon, in flowers, and in songs,

in bees, in the mouths of cuckoos, and in amorous sports—the fire of Smara. / When it is attained, that fire, difficult to cure and bringing distress,

constantly inflames the hearts of impassioned lovers with affection. / Beholding Smara reduced to ashes by the flame of Hara's breath,

the miserable Rati lamented alongside her kinsman Madhu. / As she lamented again and again, she was consoled by Madhu.

Hearing Rati's lament, the God of gods whose banner bears the bull, / with supreme compassion looked at Kāma's wife and said:

"Even though bodiless, O auspicious one, this husband of yours / will certainly accomplish all your tasks at the time of lovemaking, O young girl; there is no doubt.

When the all-pervading Viṣṇu becomes the son of Vasudeva, / then he who will be his son shall become your husband."

Having bowed to Rudra after being spoken to thus, Rati / went at her own pleasure, accompanied by Spring and the others.

Thus ends the twenty-fourth chapter, named 'The Burning of Kāma,' in the Kumāreśvaramāhātmya of the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first section, the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.