Kama

Kāma (Devanagari: काम) is the Sanskrit and Pali word for sensuality, which encompasses sensual gratification, sexual fulfillment, pleasure, love, and the aesthetic enjoyments of life.

In Hinduism, kāma is regarded as one of the four ends of man (purusharthas). Kama is the lowest step on the ladder of aims in Hindu life, below worldly status (artha), because even animals seek physical pleasures. The other two purusharthas are dharma and moksha.

In Buddhism's Pali Canon, the Buddha renounced (Pali: nekkhamma) sensuality (kāma) en route to his Awakening. More generally, especially in the Theravada school of Buddhism, Awakening is preceded by insight (vipassana) which is bolstered by concentration (samadhi) that is developed through the meditative cultivation of jhana states, which are preceded by withdrawal from sensuality (vivicc'eva kāmehi). Additionally, the Buddhist lay practitioner recites daily the Five Precepts, the third of which is a commitment to abstain from "sexual misconduct" (kāmesu micchācāra).

The God Kama

Kāmadeva (Sanskrit: कामदेव) 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, Pushpadhanva (one with bow of flowers) 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, strung with a string of honeybees, and his arrows are decorated with five kinds of fragrant flowers.

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. Later interpolations consider him as Vishnu's son. 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.

Legends

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 infertile. 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 commemoration this legend.

See also

• Cupid
• Kama sutra

Sources

• Ireland, John D. (trans.) (1983). Dhammika Sutta: Dhammika (excerpt) (Sn 2.14). Retrieved 5 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.14.irel.html.

• Khantipalo, Bhikkhu (1982, 1995). Lay Buddhist Practice: The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence (The Wheel No. 206/207). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 5 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html.

• Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (n.d.) (SLTP). Pañcaṅgikavaggo (AN 5.1.3.8, in Pali). Retrieved 3 Jul 2007 from "MettaNet-Lanka" at http://mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara3/5-pancakanipata/003-pancangikavaggo-p.html.

• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Sorts of Thinking (MN 19). Retrieved 3 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.019.than.html.

• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). Samadhanga Sutta: The Factors of Concentration (AN 5.28). Retrieved 3 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.028.than.html.

External links

• About.com page
• http://www.webonautics.com/mythology/kamadeva.html
• Kamadeva's holy sacrifice
• God Of Desire: Tales Of Kamadeva In Sanskrit Story Literature (book)
• Theosophical dictionary on Kamadeva

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