Kamadeva

Also known as Manmatha, Madana and Ananga, Kamadeva is the god of love, desire, pleasure and beauty alongside his wives, Rati and Priti. Longing, attraction and passion are all within his domain and he embodies the concept of kama--love, desire and sensuality. But he also wields the creative energies of the universe which create life! He and his wives play active roles in love stories, inspiring the other gods into action. Resembling the Hellenes deity Cupid, Kamadeva shoots arrows with his sugarcane bow, each arrow one of five kinds of flowers which are known to incite all different kinds of emotions and motivations related to desire--some even causing madness and heartbreak!

Radiant, vivid and enchanting, Kamadeva is portrayed as the Sanatanis epitome of male beauty, considered totally irresistable! His features include a gold complexion with tinges of red along his hands, face, legs and fingers, a straight nose and refined facial features, a broad and muscular chest with a slender waist, plump thighs and calves, eyes shaped like lotus petals and thick eyebrows, soft and wavy blue-black hair and flawless teeth. He adorns himself in flowers and blue garments, wielding his sugarcane bow and quiver with five different flower arrows: ashoka blossoms, mango flowers, jasmine, blue lotus and white lotus. Meanwhile his vahana is the parrot Suka and he is rarely depicted alone, accompanied by his wives, the Asparas, Gandharvas and Vasanta, the god of spring. Other symbols of Kamadeva include the makara, peacocks, stallions, cuckoos, bees, spring and gentle breezes.

Kamadeva has two wives, Rati and Priti. Priti is the goddess of love and affection while Rati is the goddess of erotic love and desire, each being a different part of his shakti, his divine power. Rati is believed to be born from a sweatdrop from Daksha before being offered to Kama as a wife.


Kama also works alongside Vasanta, the god of spring, who acts as his assistant while a violent group of ganas, the Maras, work for him. Kamadeva also commands the apsaras (celestial nymphs), sometimes sent by Indra to distract or lead sages astray!

Kamadeva is a central figure in Bharatavarsa, the patron of their royal line Bharata Ganarajya! Most recent legends -influenced by the Birth of the Erlithmanil- claim he is the son of Shiva and Parvati, born during Samudra Manthana and embodying his mother's passion and his father's tranquility! In older legends he is either the son of Dharmadeva or one of the Manasaputras himself, created in order to inspire the Prajapatis to procreate and populate creation!

While Kamadeva is among the youngest generation of Devas, his legends and worship are among the most ancient! He was originally more of a concept as a universal creative force, that he was the first seed of mind which emerged from the cosmic ocean--it is desire which stirs all ganas into matter! Soon enough, he became a wish-granting deity who was invoked to attain desire or to motivate. Eventually, with influence from the Quiris-Hellenes Empire and Cupid, Kamadeva transformed into the god of love whose arrows instill intense desire, passion, heartbreak or even madness!