kamdeva is god of love. ‘kam” means the desire and deva means divine. In the ancient art forms image of kamdeva as young handsome man with green skin and holding bow and arrow . His bow is made of sugar can and honeybees for the string.The arrows are represented by 5 flowers .The five flowers are Ashoka tree flowers, white and blue lotus flowers, Mallika plant (Jasmine) and Mango tree flowers.
According to Purana, Kamadeva is a son or a creation of Brahma.The deity of Kamadeva along with his consort Rati is included in the pantheon of Vedic-Brahmanical deities such as Shiva and Parvati.In the traditions of hindu ceremony itself, the bride’s feet are painted with pictures of Suka,(the parrot vahana of Kamadeva)
The religious rituals addressed to him offer a means of purification and re-entry into the community. Devotion to Kamadeva keeps desire within the framework of the religious tradition. Kamadeva appears in many stories and becomes the object of devotional rituals for those seeking health, physical beauty, husbands, wives, and sons. In one story Kamadeva himself succumbs to desire, and went to worship his lover in to be released from this passion and its curse.
The Kamadeva that was incinerated is believed to be a celestial demigod capable of inducing lusty desires. He is distinguished from the spiritual Kamadeva. Here Krishna is the source of Kamadeva’s inciting power, the ever-fresh transcendental god of love of Vrindavana, the origin of all forms of Kamadeva, yet above mundane love, who is worshiped with the Kama-Gayatri and Kama-Bija mantras
The myth of Kamadeva’s reincarnaton is referenced from Purana to reveal a relationship between Krishna and Kamadeva.In the literature Kama is reincarnated in the womb of Krishna’s wife Rukmini as Pradyumna, after being burned to ashes by Shiva’s anger.
