Kamadeva

This article is about the Hindu deity of love. For the concept of emotions and love, see Kama. For others, see Kama (disambiguation).
Kamadeva
God of Love, Desire, Attraction, Pleasure and Beauty
Sculpture of Kamadeva on a temple wall of Chennakesava Temple, Belur
Other namesManmatha, Madana, Ananga
Devanagariकामदेव
Sanskrit transliterationKāmadeva
AffiliationDeva
AbodeKamaloka
Mantraकाम (kāma)[1]
WeaponSugarcane bow and floral arrows
SymbolMakara
MountParrot
TextsAtharvaveda, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Harivamsha, Puranas
GenderMale
Genealogy
ParentsBrahma (father)[a]
ConsortRati[b]
ChildrenHarsha and Yasha (sons)
Equivalents
GreekEros[6]
RomanCupid[5]

Kamadeva (Sanskrit: कामदेव, IAST: Kāmadeva), also known as Kama, Manmatha, and Madana is the Hindu god of erotic love, carnal desire, attraction, pleasure and beauty, as well as the personification of the concept of kāma. He is depicted as a handsome young man decked with ornaments and flowers, armed with a bow of sugarcane and shooting arrows of flowers. He often portrayed alongside his consort and female counterpart, Rati.[7]

Kamadeva's origins are traced to the verses of the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda, although he is better known from the stories of the Puranas.[8] The Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as a powerful god, the wielder of the creative power of the universe, also describing him to have been "born at first, him neither the gods nor the fathers ever equaled".[9]

In the Puranas, Kamadeva is generally mentioned as a manasaputra (mind-born son) of the creator god Brahma. His most popular myth is his incineration by the god Shiva's third eye and rebirth on earth as Pradyumna, the eldest son of Krishna and his chief consort Rukmini.[10]

  1. ^ Kāṇe, Pāṇḍuraṅga Vāmana; Institute, Bhandarkar Oriental Research (1958). History of Dharmaśāstra.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VM2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Chandra, Suresh (November 7, 1998). Encyclopaedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 978-81-7625-039-9 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 1, Rosen Publishing, New York, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, page 340
  7. ^ Sanford, A.W. (2005). "Shifting the Center: Yakṣas on the Margins of Contemporary Practice". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 73 (1): 89–110. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfi005.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference kamadeva was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Webster, David (2004-12-31). The Philosophy of Desire in the Buddhist Pali Canon. Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-134-27941-8.
  10. ^ Hudson, D. Dennis (2008-09-25). The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-19-536922-9.


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