Kamashastra Discourse (Life in Ancient India)
by Nidheesh Kannan B. | 2018 | 52,434 words
This page relates ‘Personification of Kama’ of the study on Kamashastra representing the discipline of Kama (i.e., ‘sensual pleasure’). The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana from the 4th century is one of the most authoratitive Sanskrit texts belonging this genre. This study focusses on the vision of life of ancient India reflected in Kamashastra.
8. Personification of Kāma
Personification is a process in which the invisible thoughts, ideas etc. were made to be visible.
“Hinduism personifies a number of abstract qualities. Gods become the embodiment of a particular quality, such as the vedic god Varuṇa being the lord of Dharma and water. Justice or punishment (daṇḍa) is also anthropomorphized as the god Daṇḍa. Kāma, the Indian god of love and sexual desire, shoots his flower arrows from a bow made of sugarcane strung with a row of bees. Like Eros, this youthful Indian god of love shoots his flowery arrows without regard to caste, customs or public opinion. No one, whether mortal or god, has ever been able to ignore the shafts of Kāma or, as he is sometimes known, Anaṅga (the body-less one)” (Burton F. Richard, 2009: 19-20).
The personified version of Kāma is generally named Kāmadeva and has different names. The genesis, personality and stories of Kāmadeva were depicted in different Purāṇas and he is considered to be one of the superb mythical characters. Several versions of legends are related to the genesis of Kāma (For a detailed reading see Mani Vettam, 1996: 378-379.; Devarajan T., 2011: 5-9).