Like Cupid who is the God of love in Roman philosophy, Kamadeva is held to be the god of love according to Hindu mythology .He is also referred to as Ragavrinta ,Ananga ,Kandarpa,Manosij, Mandana ,Ratikanta, Pushpavan and Pushpadhanva or simply Kama

Kamadeva is portrayed in Hindu philosophy as a young and handsome winged man with bow and arrow in his hand. His bow is made of sugarcane, strung with a string of honeybees, and his arrows are decorated with five kinds of fragrant flowers.He is accompained with a cuckoo ,parrot, hummingbees, the season of spring, and the gentle breeze.All these symbolizes the joyful spring season when everyplace is filled with happiness.

There are various myths surrounding this God .Kandarpa (kamadeva) helped Parvati to catch the attention of Shiva .In order to help her, Kandarpa shot his arrows-of -desire at Shiva in order to distract him in his meditation .But things turned out to be completely different,Shiva was enraged .He opened his dreadful third eye and reduced Kandarpa into ashes with a single fiery glance.With the annihilation of Kama (desire) the world was devoid of love and totally barren and fertile .However on the request of gods and Parvati and in favour of Kamadeva`s lamenting wife Rati , Shiva resurrected him to live and thus ensuring the procreative continuity of the world .Shiva resurrected Kandarpa,but only as a mental image symbolizing the true ,emotional platonic love rather than physical lust .

In the Shiva puranam , it is said that Brahma the creator of the universe has a son who is Kamadeva .According to the Skanda puranam ,Shatarupa who is Brahma`s creation has two sons .They are Prasuti and Kamadeva.Sources reveal that Kamadeva is married to Rati who is the daughter of Prasuti and Daksha .It is also believed that Kamadeva once took birth as the son of Krishna and Rukmini named Pradyumna .

Kama in Hinduism has another significance .It comes under the four goals of life -Dharma ,artha ,kama and moksha .Kama is ranked the lowest among the four aims of Hindu life.In Buddhism, kama (desire)is renounced by those seeking Enlightenment. Kama involves the enjoyments of life that uncludes sexual fulfillment, sensual gratification, sensual pleasure , love, and also the aesthetic enjoyments of life.