Kāma
Kāma, “desire”
Grammar: masculine noun, from the root kam (to wish, to love): “wish, desire”.
Meaning: desire, longing; also the third of the four purushārthas (the aims of human life: dharma, artha, kāma and moksha), the rightful enjoyment of what one wishes for.
In the scriptures: the Vāmana Purāṇa shows kāma first as a force that overpowers the mind:
- Andhaka, struck by kāma (kāmopahata) for Gaurī, gave up food by day and sleep by night; he thought of nothing but her and lost his reason (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 33).
- Defeated at last, Andhaka said to Śiva, whom he called Maṅgalākara and Girīśa, that he had been overcome by kāma, “the terrible enemy”, and so had committed a dreadful offence (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 44).
It also shows kāma as one of the four purushārthas. On the Akhaṇḍa mountain there are four āśramas: the Dharmāśrama facing east, among palāśa trees; the Arthāśrama facing west, among sugarcane; the Kāmya āśrama facing south, among banana and aśoka trees; and the Mokshāśrama facing north, made of crystal. Moksha dwells there at the end of the Kṛta yuga, kāma at the end of the Tretā, artha at the end of the Dvāpara, and dharma at the beginning of the Kali. Vishṇu, as Akhaṇḍa, is made of all four purushārthas (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 62).
Related terms: Purushārtha · Dharma · Artha · Moksha · Kāmadeva
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 33, 44, 62