Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c27.s3.t1.7

v2.c27.s3.t1.7

The Festival of Kamadeva.—The last days of spring are dedicated to Kamadeva, the god of love. The scorching winds of the hot season are already beginning to blow, when Flora droops her head, and “ the god of love turns anchorite ” ; yet the rose continues to blossom, and affords the most fragrant chaplets for the Rajputnis, amidst all the heats of summer. Of this the queen of flowers, the jessamine (chameli), white and yellow, the mogra,² the champaka, that flourish in extreme heat, the ladies form garlands, which they twine in their dark hair, weave into bracelets, or wear as pendent collars. There is no city in the East where the adorations of the sex to Kamadeva are more fervent than in ‘ the city of the rising sun ’ (Udayapura). On the 13th and 14th of Chait they sing hymns handed down by the sacred bards :