Kamadeva
Hindu · deity · cosmogonic · Recorded classification
God of love and desire, mind-born son of Brahma, burned to ash by Shiva, consort of Rati
Parentage
- parent: Brahma
Domains
- love
- desire
Powers
- Inflame desire in gods and mortals with flower-arrows
- Persist as a bodiless power after being burned to ash
Epithets
- मन्मथ Churner of the mind/heart; god of loveMahābhārata; Kāmasūtra; Kumārasambhava of Kālidāsa (primary)
- मदन The Intoxicator; god of desireKumārasambhava of Kālidāsa; classical kāvya (primary)
- अनङ्ग The Bodiless One, after being burned by Shiva's third eyeKumārasambhava 3 (the burning of Kāma); Śiva Purāṇa (primary)
Relations
- equated with: MāraReciprocal of buddhist_mara.equated-with — Māra carries Kāma's bow and flower-arrows and the epithet Kāmadeva; desire's god is recast as death-and-desire personified, the adversary of awakening. Kāma's consort Rati and playful eros drop away.Aśvaghoṣa, Buddhacarita XIII.2 (Māra introduced as Kāmadeva, wielder of the flower-arrows); Lalitavistara ch. 21 (primary); T.O. Ling, Buddhism and the Mythology of Evil (1962) (secondary)
- spouse: RatiReciprocal of hindu_rati.spouse — Goddess of carnal pleasure, consort of Kamadeva; pleads for his revival after Shiva burns him.Kalika Purana 1-2; Matsya Purana 227 (Rati, consort of Kamadeva, laments his immolation by Shiva) (primary)
Sources
- existence: Atharvaveda 9.2 (primary); Shiva Purana (primary)