Kama Deva - The God of love

The Eros of the Greek, the Cupid of the Romans, The Kama Deva in Hinduism. Classically represented as a handsome, winged young man, wielding a bow and arrow, Kamadeva, is the God of human love and passion is known to awaken carnal desires among humans.

Kama Deva is a distinct god in the Hindu pantheon of Gods. Straying away from acts of war and destruction, his sole purpose is to create the atmosphere of love and to arouse passion and longing among those who are struck by his cosmic arrow. Visualized as sitting on a large parrot, Kamadev’s love weapon of choice is a bow made of sugarcane with a string of honeybees. Each of the arrows in his arsenal are adorned with five kind of fragrance to incite every sense—the Asoka tree flowers, the lotus, the blue lily, the jasmine and the mango flowers- the Asoka tree flowers represent fertility, the lotus represents purity in life, the blue lily represents peace and tranquility, the jasmine induces the heightened sensitivity related to seduction and the mango flowers represent prosperity and fulfillment.

The birth of Kamadeva, the God of love has been accounted in several different ways. Some Puranas state that Kamadeva was created from the mind of Lord Brahma while according to other beliefs, He is son of Sri.

Kama manifests through sensuous love, longing or sexual desire while Deva means heavenly or divine. Hence, in the Atharva-Veda, Kama is described as desire and not merely an act of sex.

While lord Kamadev is said to be the God of Love, his wife Rati, is the Goddess of Love.

To invoke love from the person you are in love with, you need to chant the 'Kleem Mantra', which his said to be quite powerful. Not just lovers, but dancers and performers too are often advised to chant this mantra and worship Kama Dev, to retain their charm, grace and beauty and remain an evergreen performer.

Without the presence of Lord Kama, they say the world turn barren and infertile, hence, eventually come to an end.

As the God of love, and in his close traditional relation to the ascetic Lord Shiva, Kama speaks to the ability of the supreme divinity to absorb aspects of both asceticism and eroticism. While Shiva is proof of the power of asceticism, the bland and desolate world which resulted from his impetuous incineration of Kama is tantamount proof of the poignant necessity of love and desire.’

Kama Deva has inspired artisans from across India to create masterpieces in tribute to him. While several portray him in the classical representations, sculptors have also used the legends and the mythology of this unique deity to create sculptures and paintings devoted to the idea of love and the sensual appeal that Lord Kama awakens in human beings.