Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2
भगवान्स्वां सतीं भार्यां वधार्थं चापि तारकम् । सत्याश्च विरहात्तप्यन्ददाह किमसौ स्मरम्
bhagavānsvāṃ satīṃ bhāryāṃ vadhārthaṃ cāpi tārakam | satyāśca virahāttapyandadāha kimasau smaram
ഭഗവാൻ—താരകവധം സാധിപ്പാൻ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ച്, സതിയുടെ വിരഹവേദനയിൽ ദഹിച്ചുകൊണ്ട്—അതുകൊണ്ടുതന്നെയോ സ്മരനായ കാമദേവനെ ദഹിപ്പിച്ചത്?
Unspecified (context: dialogue continues; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa narrating within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Himālaya (tapas-bhūmi)
Type: peak
Listener: devarṣi (respondent)
Scene: Arjuna’s pointed question visualized: Śiva, scorched by Satī’s separation and intent on Tāraka’s end, opens the third eye; Kāma (Smara) is reduced to ash, while the cosmos holds its breath.
FAQs
Desire (kāma) is subordinated to dharma and divine purpose; even cosmic events serve the restoration of order.
No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse; it is a mythic-theological setup within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa narrative.
None explicitly; the verse frames the cause behind Kāma’s burning and the divine mission regarding Tāraka.