Skandapurana 6.3.102

Chapter 102

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go to Manmatheśa, who is bowed to by all the gods. / Merely by a ritual ablution, O king, a person does not see the world of Yama.

And whatever barren woman bathes [there], O son of Pāṇḍu, / she obtains a son, O son of Pṛthā, true to his word and steadfast in vows.

Having bathed there, O king, pure and restrained in mind, / fasting for a single night, a person obtains the fruit of a thousand cows.

There will never be another king of tīrthas so wish-fulfilling. / If one undertakes [a fast of] three nights, O king, he obtains the fruit of a hundred thousand cows.

Dancing should be performed there; the Supreme Lord is pleased / by the sounds of song and musical instruments and by keeping vigil at night.

And at the Eraṇḍī, Mahādeva, the Lord of Manmatha, was beheld by me. / How could Yama, even if angered, have power [over him]? An auspicious man beholds auspicious things.

Śambhu was installed by Kāma; therefore, O king, he fulfills desires. / Manmatheśvara is a stairway to heaven on earth.

And especially at twilight and in offering a śrāddha, O descendant of Bharata, / an excellent fruit is proclaimed, O best of kings, by giving food [there].

All this has been told to you on account of your devotion, O descendant of Bharata. / Manmatheśvara is renowned throughout the earth bounded by the oceans.

A gift of a cow should be made, O best of Pāṇḍavas, on the thirteenth day; / having gone there in the bright fortnight of the month of Caitra with subdued senses,

and having kept vigil at night before the god, O best of kings, / one should offer a lamp with ghee before the god with devotion.

Whether a woman or a man, this fruit is declared to be equal.

Thus ends the one hundred and second chapter, entitled 'Description of the Glory of Manmatheśvaratīrtha,' in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, the fifth part of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.