Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/287

 origin arises probably from the following. In the "RigVeda," Kāma is described as the first movement that arose in the One, after it had come into life through the power of fervour or abstraction. In the ":AtharvaVeda," this Kāma or desire, not of sexual enjoyment, but of good in general, is celebrated as a great power superior to all the gods, and is supplicated for deliverance from enemies. According to one hymn in

the “Rig-Veda,” Kāma is worshipped and said to be unequalled by the gods; according to another, he is the god of sexual love, like Eros of the Greeks, and Cupid of the Latins. In the latter aspect he is thus addressed: “May Kāma, having well directed the arrow, which is winged with pain, barbed with longing, and has desire for its shaft, pierce thee in the heart." It is in this character that he appears in the Purānas. Kāma is known in Hindu mythology as a victim of Siva's anger. A demon named Tāraka, having greatly