The Bhagavata Purana narrates that the grief-stricken Rati goes mad by Kama's death and in the Matsya Purana and the Padma Purana versions, she smears herself with her husband's ashes. Further in Bhagavata Purana, Rati undergoes severe penance and pleads with Parvati to intercede with Shiva to restore her husband. Parvati reassures her that Kama would be reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna, the Avatar of the god Vishnu on earth, and Rati should wait for him in the asura Sambara's house.
In other variants, she curses the gods who sent Kama for this doomed mission and the gods, as a group or Brahma, seek relief for the grieving Rati from Shiva or Parvati. In some legends, like the one in the Brahmanda Purana, Parvati revives Kama immediately, hearing the pleading of the wailing Rati and the gods.
The renowned Sanskrit poet Kalidasa dedicates canto IV discussing the plight of Rati in his Kumarasambhava, which focuses on the story of the wedding of Shiva and Parvati and the birth of their son Skanda, who kills Tarakasura. Canto IV narrates that Rati witnesses the death of her husband and laments his death, and then tries to immolate herself on a funeral pyre. A heavenly voice stops her on time, stating that after the marriage of Shiva, he will revive her husband.
The Kedara Khanda chapter of the Skanda Purana presents a very different version. In this version, after the burning of Kama, Parvati is worried that she could not achieve Shiva in absence of Kama. Parvati is consoled by Rati, who asserts that she will revive Kama and starts severe austerities to achieve her goal