Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 114
तामानय महाभाग भार्यां कुरु महाबल । अतीव रूपसंपन्ना या आनीतास्त्वयानघ । तासां मध्ये रूपवती रतिः सा मदनप्रिया
tāmānaya mahābhāga bhāryāṃ kuru mahābala | atīva rūpasaṃpannā yā ānītāstvayānagha | tāsāṃ madhye rūpavatī ratiḥ sā madanapriyā
“Bawalah dia ke mari, wahai yang bertuah; jadikan dia isterimu, wahai yang perkasa. Dalam kalangan wanita yang amat jelita yang engkau bawa, yang paling rupawan ialah Rati—dialah kekasih Madana (Dewa Kama).”
Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa, per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Scene: Śambara (or his adviser) commands that Rati be brought and made wife; Rati stands apart, luminous and resistant, amid a procession of captured/assembled beauties, emphasizing her singular radiance and Madana-connection.
FAQs
Worldly power tries to claim what is sacred to another; dharma is tested when desire and possession arise.
Kedāra-kṣetra is the textual setting (Kedārakhaṇḍa), though the verse focuses on narrative action.
None; it describes counsel regarding Rati, not a rite.