Kamadeva
God of Love
The god of love, who shoots flower arrows from a sugarcane bow. He once dared to aim at the meditating Shiva - and was burned to ash by the third eye.
- Sanskrit/Telugu name: మన్మథుడు
- Also known as: Manmadha, Madana, Ananga
- Vehicle (vahana): Parrot (చిలుక)
- Weapons: Sugarcane bow, Five flower arrows
- Symbols: Sugarcane bow, Flower arrows, Makara banner
Story
Kamadeva - Manmadhudu in Telugu - is the god of love, and his equipment is the sweetest arsenal ever: a bow made of sugarcane, strung with a line of humming bees, shooting five arrows tipped with flowers. Whoever his arrows touch falls in love. His most famous mission was also his most dangerous. After Sati's death, Shiva sat in deep, unshakable meditation, but the universe desperately needed Shiva and Parvati to marry, so their son could defeat the demon Tarakasura. The devas begged Kamadeva to wake Shiva's heart. Bravely, he crept close and fired his flower arrow - and Shiva's third eye snapped open, releasing a blaze that burned Kamadeva to ash in an instant. His wife Rati wept and pleaded, and Shiva relented: Kamadeva would live on, but body-less, invisible - which earned him the name Ananga, "the limbless one." And his arrow did work: Shiva's heart softened toward Parvati after all. In many tellings Kamadeva was later reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna himself.
Fun fact
The festival of Holi is linked to Kamadeva in South India - the bonfire is remembered in some traditions as the flame that burned the god of love, and his name Ananga means "the one without a body."