The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c20.s4.5

v1.c20.s4.5

In the Atharvaveda⁴ is found the conception of Kāma, ‘desire’ or ‘love’. He is described as the first to be born, and he has arrows⁵ which pierce all hearts. He is not, however, as far as appears from the scanty notices we have of him a god primarily of human love, though that side of his character may have existed from the first or have been soon attributed to him. In his cosmic aspect, which is in accordance with the theosophic tone of the Atharvaveda the one in which he is described in it, he is probably derived from the mention of Kāma in one of the most important cosmogonic hymns of the Rigveda⁶ as the first seed of mind, regarded also as cosmic. It is not until the later literature in the last strata of the epic that we meet with the Indian Cupid with his arrows, who is described as the disturber of the hearts of men whom he vexes with the pangs of love.⁷