God of Desire

Catherine Benton is Lecturer in the Religion Department at Lake Forest College.

• Acknowledgments IntroductionStories externalize internal complexities Kamadeva teaches: Sexual desire (kama) as paradigm for generic desire (kama)Stories mold worldviewTale of Yayati: Telling stories about desireA flow of stories with no reliable datesVisual representations of KamadevaStructure of this study of Kama and kama 1. Stories of Beginnings: Kamadeva and his wivesThe birth of KamadevaKamadeva’s wife: RatiKamadeva’s companions: Vasanta and the Maras Kamadeva’s other wife: Priti / Karnotpala Who is Kamadeva?Translation: The tale of Karnotpala 2. Kamadeva, Skilled Marksman Siva wins: Kama turned to ashKama wins: Kama’s power within SivaDevi wins: Kama as devotee of the goddess 3. Kamadeva as Pradyumna, son of Krsna The story of PradyumnaVariant Pradyumnas and SambarasKama marries Mayavati: Desire embedded in and wedded to IllusionThe story of Pradyumna as allegory 4. Kamadeva and Khandasila: rituals and metaphors The story of KhandasilaThe parallel tale of Indra and AhalyaWhy women become stonesReflecting on Khandasila: Siva in the Pine ForestDevotion to Kamadeva What Kama and Khandasila say about desireTranslation: The tale of Khandasila 5. Worshipping KamadevaKamadeva’s festivals and pujas: The DamanakotsavaKamadeva as fertility god, and vratas for prostitutes Rituals for beauty and husbands: Tirthas for couplesWhy rituals of Devotion to KamadevaTranslation: The Damanaka Festival (damanakotsava) 6. Recognizing Kama: Perspectives of early texts—anger, pursartha, invincible power, tentric energyKama in the Rg Veda and Atharva VedaKama in the BrahmanasKama in the UpanisadsKama as a human goal, a purusartha (Mahabharata)Kama and Krodha: Desire and anger (Mahabharata) Kama: Upholder of the earth and cosmic will (Mahabharata) Song of Kama (Kamagita): The power of desire (Mahabharata) Kama in service to a Tantric goddess: ChinnamastaHistorical progression of Kama and his Greek cousin, Eros 7. Kamadeva’s assistants: Celestial beings, birds, and crocodiles ApsarasesGandharvasParrot: Kamadeva’s vehicleMakara: Emblem of the god of desire 8. Kama as the Buddhist Mara and ManjusriAttitudes toward kama in early Buddhist literatureKama and Mara: Desire and DeathUpagupta and Mara: Mara as the BuddhaVimalakirti and Mara: Enlightened MarasManjusri and Kamadeva: Desire as a path to wisdom 9. Conclusions: Kamadeva and the Meaning of Desire What does Kamadeva teach about desire?Attitudes toward desire in Sanskrit story literature Bibliographies: Sanskrit Texts Sanskrit Translations General Sources