Skandapurana 16.96

The Lord said: / Then one should go, O great goddess, to what is known as Kāmeśvara, / situated in the northern direction of that very [shrine], at a distance of three bows; / it was celebrated as Ratīśvara in the Tretā age, O queen of gods.

When it is beheld, and indeed worshipped by human beings, O fair-faced one, / the sin of seven births is destroyed, and ruin of the household does not happen.

The goddess said: / By whom was this installed, O god? Why is it called Ratīśvara? / What good comes from seeing it? Tell me everything in detail.

The Lord said: / Hear, O goddess, and I will narrate the sin-destroying story. / There was a virtuous and renowned wife of Kāma named Rati.

When the mind-born [Kāma] was burned formerly by the god who was the enemy of Tripura, / Rati, indeed, performed austerity in that place for his sake.

Standing on the tip of her big toe for four ages, / Mahādeva was worshipped by her with a serene mind, O beloved.

Then, at a certain time, having split open the surface of the earth, / a liṅga belonging to Maheśvara rose up before her, O beloved.

At that very time, a bodiless voice spoke, / suddenly gladdening her heart, O fair-faced one: 8

“Since this liṅga of Maheśvara has suddenly emerged through your devotion, / you should worship it, O fortunate lady; then you will regain your beloved.” 9

Hearing this utterance of the divine messenger, that chaste woman / worshipped that liṅga, filled with supreme devotion. 10

Then Kāma arose, like one waking from sleep, O beloved; / from then on, that liṅga has been renowned as Kāmeśvara. 11

Then that beloved of Kāma spoke these words, / overjoyed at regaining Kāmadeva, before the god with the flower-bow: 12

“And whatever other people worship this liṅga with concentrated mind / shall likewise obtain their desired success and further attain the highest state. 13

Likewise, every desire of their heart, even if it be extremely difficult to obtain, / they shall obtain—of this there is no doubt—by the grace of this liṅga.” 14

Having spoken thus, the virtuous Rati, united with Kāma, / went to her own abode, her desire fulfilled, her inner self overjoyed. 15

Whoever worships this [liṅga] on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra / will have all desires fulfilled; it is traditionally taught as granting good fortune to men. 16

Thus ends the ninety-sixth chapter, named “The Description of the Māhātmya of Kāmeśvara,” in the Māhātmya of the Eleven Rudras, in the first [part], the Māhātmya of the Prabhāsakṣetra, in the seventh [book], the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses]. 96