Today the word ‘Kama’ attracts a lot of attention and raises eyebrows. In Sanskrit, ‘Kama’ means love, desire, sensuality, and longing. In Hinduism, the Lord who embodies all these four qualities is Kamadeva, the God of Love. The beauty of love lies in the ways it can bewitch the mind. The feeling of love, desire, and longing can be deceptively beautiful. At one point it can make you feel as if you’re riding the clouds, the next second it can cause immense pain. This invisible yet the most powerful force in the world is what Lord Kamadeva plays with. That is why he is also known as Manmath, the one who churns the heart; Madana, the intoxicating one; and Ananga, the intangible one. According to popular sources , Kama is one of the manasputra or mind-born sons of the creator god Brahma. In the most common narrative, after Brahma creates all the Prajapatis (agents of creation) and a maiden named Sandhya, an extremely handsome and youthful man emerges from his mind and enquires Brahma about the purpose of his birth. Brahma names him Kama and orders him to spread love in the world by shooting his flower arrows. Kama decides to first use his arrows against Brahma and shoots him with his floral arrows. He becomes attracted to Sandhya and desires for her. The Prajapati Dharma becomes worried by this and calls the god Shiva, who watches them and laughs at both Brahma and Kama. Brahma regains consciousness and curses Kama to be burnt to ashes by Shiva in the future. However, on Kama’s pleading, Brahma assures him that he will be reborn. In a later version of this story found in the Skanda Purana, Brahma creates Kama from his mind to ignite passion in the Prajapatis (agents of creation) after they refused to procreate.
