Depicted as the most handsome and desirable man among the deities, Kaamdev is often considered the Indian Cupid. He rides a parrot and carries a bow of sugarcane that is strung with a line of honeybees along with floral arrowheads. As he strikes with his arrows, no man, or even God at times, can escape the arousal of passionate desire. This season of love, we bring a few things that you probably didn’t know about the God of love and desire.

But Kaamdev lived on

Rati, struck with maddening grief approached Parvati to convince Shiva to bring her husband to life. Coaxed by Parvati, Shiva’s heart softened and he granted Kaamdev’s life. However, there was a condition. Kaamdev would live on but only in a formless manner.

Thus, Kaamdev lived on without a body, as the invisible power of love and desire prevailing in the cosmos. Rati got her husband back but only as a mental image and not in body. Some believe that this was Shiva’s way of ensuring that Kaamdev symbolized true love and longing and not just physical lust.

Kaamdev in Buddhism

Certain theories indicate that Kaamdev was the Hindu counterpart of Mara who tried to come in the way Lord Buddha and his enlightenment. Buddhism depicts Mara as four evil influences that come in the way of spiritual enlightenment. The fourth Mara or the Devaputra Mara (the son of God), is the demon of temptation and desire and identified as Kaamdev.

It is said that Siddhartha during the dusk before his enlightenment, defeated the temptations of Kama. It is interesting to notice that although Kamadev is held in high regards in Hinduism, his counterpart in Buddhism is considered a demon.