Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 72
चक्रीकृतधनुः सज्जं चक्रे बेद्धुं सदाशिवम् । यावत्पुनः संधयति मदनो मदनांतकम् । तावद्दृष्टो महेशेन सरोषेण तदा द्विजाः
cakrīkṛtadhanuḥ sajjaṃ cakre beddhuṃ sadāśivam | yāvatpunaḥ saṃdhayati madano madanāṃtakam | tāvaddṛṣṭo maheśena saroṣeṇa tadā dvijāḥ
L’arc courbé en cercle et prêt, Madana s’apprêta à percer Sadāśiva. Mais au moment où il visait de nouveau le Destructeur de Madana, Maheśa l’aperçut; alors, ô brāhmanes, la colère s’éleva.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (explicit address: dvijāḥ)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages
Scene: Kāma bends his bow into a full circle, arrow poised; Śiva’s face hardens, a storm of tejas gathering—an instant before the third eye opens.
FAQs
Unchecked desire (kāma) dares to pierce even the highest; divine discernment and righteous power restrain it for the protection of cosmic order.
Kedāra-kṣetra, where the Purāṇa situates the drama of Kāma and Śiva within the sacred landscape’s greatness.
No explicit prescription in this verse; it foreshadows the Kāma-dahana teaching motif often associated with self-control and Śiva worship.