``O descendent of Kasyapa, best among the brahmanas, on the12th, a pitcher full of cold water and decorated with flowers and leaves should be placed before Kamadeva, and before sunrise a husband himself should bathe his wife with water (from the pitcher).’’.
--from Neelmat Puran
Much before Valentine’s Day became popular in India and fundamentalists started opposing it as a Western construct, people in Kashmir used to celebrate sex and love through a festival dedicated to Kamadeva, the Indian God of sex and love, with much gaiety and aplomb.
More than a thousand years ago, Kashmiris celebrated Madantrayodashi, a festival of love celebrated on 13th of the bright half of Chaitra (March-April), when Kamadeva , the Indian equivalent of Eros of the Greeks and the Cupid of the Latins, used to be worshipped with various types of garlands and diverse incenses. Madantrayodashi comes from two words- `Madan’ which means he who intoxicates with love and `Trayodashi’, which means the 13th.
The 6-8th century AD Sanskrit text Nilmata Purana says that ``on the 13th of bright half of Chaitra ``Kamadeva , (painted) on cloth should be worshipped with various types of garlands and diverse incenses’’.
In verse 680, Nilmata Purana records that on this day, ``One should decorate one’s own self and worship the ladies of the house. O twice born this (13th day) should be necessarily celebrated, the rest may be or may not be celebrated’’.
On how this festival was celebrated, the famous text mentions, ``O descendent of Kasyapa, best among the brahmanas, on the12th, a pitcher full of cold water and decorated with flowers and leaves should be placed before Kamadeva, and before sunrise a husband himself should bathe his wife with water (from the pitcher).’’.
The importance of Kamadeva in the life of Kashmiris could be gauged from the fact that there is reference about a pilgrimage in the name of Kamadeva. In verse 1365, Nilamata Purana states, ``Having bathed at Kamatirtha, a man obtains the fulfillment of his desires and having bathed at Apasarastirtha, he becomes possessed of beauty’’. At another place the text mentions,``One obtains happiness and becomes beautiful after seeing Kamadeva erected by Agastya on the mountain’’.
There is another connection of Kamadeva with Kashmir, the land of Shiva. There is a legend about Kamadeva’s annihilation and subsequent resurrection at the hands of Shiva. It is said that wishing to help Parvati, the daughter of Himalayas, in gaining the favour of Shiva, Kamadeva shot his floral arrows at Shiva to disrupt His meditation and help Parvati gain Shiva’s attention. Enraged by this, Shiva opened his third eye, and annihilated Kamadeva with a single glance. Later, at the behest of the Gods and Parvati, Shiva resurrected Kamadeva to life, thus ensuring the procreative continuity of the world through desire, love and sex. It is said that it was Kamadeva who succeeded in bringing Shiva who had turned away from love after the death of wife Sati, near to Parvati.
Kamadeva, who is also called Madana (intoxicating), is represented as beautiful young man, having a bow made of sugarcane and five floral arrows in his hands, traveling through the three worlds accompanied by his wife Rati, the cuckoo, the humming bee, gentle breezes, all symbolizing the spring time and the ambience of romance. And Kashmir, with its natural bounty, seems made for love. Kamadeva’s ornaments are the conch and the lotus, both related to water, the symbol of creativity and fertility. And Kamadeva’s this ornament, is found aplenty in the emerald waters of Kashmir .
Some critics feel that V-Day is being propagated by some market forces as a whole new industry has come up to market ``love’’. Some rightwing activists have been opposing V-Day celebrations on the grounds that it is a Western concept and is diluting the age-old Indian culture. V-day may be a Western construct, but love itself isn't Western or Eastern. In our tradition, Kama is the personification of the divine will which leads and propels the ray of creation.....
