Kamadeva
For other meanings, see kama.Kāmadeva is the
Hindu god of love. His other names include
Ragavrinta (
Stalk of Passion),
Ananga (
incorporeal),
Kandarpa ("God of amour"),
Manmatha (
churner of hearts),
Manosij (
He Who Arises from the Mind; the contraction of the Sanskrit phrase
Sah Manasah Jāta),
Madana (
intoxicating),
Ratikānta (lord of the seasons),
Pushpavān or just
Kāma ("desire").
Kāmadeva is represented as a young and handsome
winged man who wields a
bow and
arrows. His bow is made of
sugarcane with
honeybees on it and his arrows are decorated with five kinds of fragrant flowers. Its string is made of a chain of honeybees.
His companions are a
cuckoo, a
parrot, hummingbees, the season of spring and the gentle breeze. All of these are symbols of spring season.
According to the Shiva purānam, Kāmadeva is a son (actually a creation) of
Brahma, creator of the universe. According to other sources including the Skanda purānam, Kāmadeva is a brother of
Prasuti; they are both the children of Shatarupa, a creation of Brahmā. All sources concur on the fact that Kāmadeva is wed to
Ratī, a daughter of
Prasuti and
Daksha (another son/creation of Brahmā). According to some beliefs, Kāmadeva was also once reincarnated as Pradyumna, the son of
Krishna and Rukminī.
Perhaps the best-known legend concerning Kāmadeva pertains to his annihilation and subsequent resurrection at the hands of
Shiva. As related in the
Kumārasāmbhavam, Kandarpa (Kāmadeva) resolved to aid the maiden
Pārvatī in gaining the favour of
Shiva. Kandarpa shot his arrows-of-desire at
Shiva in order to disrupt the latter's meditation and help Pārvati gain the attention of the lord. The ploy backfired badly; Shiva was momentarily distracted but immediately realised what had happened. He was enraged, opened his dreadful third eye, and annihilated Kandarpa with a single fiery glance. Kandarpa's body was instantly reduced to ashes. The calamity was more than merely personal, since with the annihilation of Kāma (desire), the world became barren and unregenerative. Eventually, the marriage of
Shiva and
Pārvatī nevertheless came to be held. Later, at the behest of the gods and upon the intercession made by Parvati in favour of Kāmadeva's lamenting wife
Rati,
Shiva resurrected him to life, thus ensuring the procreative continuity of the world. Shiva resurrected Kandarpa, but only as a mental image, representing the true emotional and mental state of love rather than physical lust.
Holi, the Indian festival of colours, and especially the bonfire traditionally lit on that day, are believed by some to commeration this legend.
The Kaliyug is characterised by the rise in the number of followers of kama the consequence of which is an exponential increase in sin. All the followers of this supernatural evil regard him as a guide in some form or the other from which arise the five sins EGO, ATTACHMENT, GREED, LUST and ANGER. At the end of the Kaliyug all his followers including him will be destroyed in a fire hotter than envisioned by human beings. Before the end human beings will have the choice to follow him or renounce his ways and strive to achieve purity of soul. This path however is not easy and according to Kaliyug scriptures, most will lack the courage to follow this path. However, the few humans who do manage to have enough courage to wilfully abandon sin to attain purity will be helped by God to achive their goal under the condition of unflinching devotion to Him.
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Cupid*
Kama sutra*
Shiva purānam
