Shiva thought that if he spares Kaamdeo then the whole world would lose the
strength of its moral fibre and fall apart in tatters.
Even the holy men and those who were called ascetics and hermits fell in the trap
laid by Kaamdeo. Since Lord Shiva is their patron deity, he decided to end this
scourage inflicting the society by eliminating the root of the evil—which was
Kaamdeo. So the Lord burnt Kaamdeo to death.
The statement that “Kaamdeo extended or spread his influence over the whole
world” implies that he was preparing a background to launch his final attack on
Shiva. Shiva is the ‘Lord of the world’, which means that Shiva is like a ‘king-
emperor’ in the context of the mortal world, and like a ‘king-emperor’ he is also
responsible for the conduct of his subjects, the creatures of the world. To bring a
king-emperor down and defeat him, a clever enemy first corrupts the subjects of his
kingdom and brings them under his influence so that when he launches his attack on
the soverign there would be no support from his own subjects, which would
demoralise the king-emperor and bring about his downfall. A lord who cannot exert
control over his subjects and in whose realm anarchy prevails has no moral right to
rule. Such a lord is isolated and easy to defeat.
This was in essence the plan of Kaamdeo—he would first corrupt the world and
bring it under his own influence by showing the world the pleasures that are
synonymous with Kaamdeo, and then telling them to abandon the path shown by
Shiva which robs them of all these worldly pleasures. This would ensure that when he
launches his attack on Shiva, the latter would find no support even from his own
devotees and followers. Thus isolated, it would be easy to trap Shiva and enforce
passion and desire on him so that he may agree to enjoy the life of worldly
indulgences like the rest of the world over which he rules.
Kaamdeo thought that when Shiva realises that the whole world has started
following the path shown by the former, it would be prudent on the latter’s part to
adapt to the changed scenario and toe the line of Kaamdeo out of apprehension of
mass revolt by the subjects of the world over which Shiva rules if both of them, Shiva
and Kaamdeo, confront each other.]∑§Ù¬©U ¡’®„U ’ÊÁ⁄Uø⁄U∑§ÃÍ – ¿UŸ ◊„È°U Á◊≈U ‚∑§‹ üÊÈÁà ‚ÃÍH 6H
kōpē'u jabahiṁ bāricarakētū. chana mahum̐ miṭē sakala śruti sētū. 6.
[The following narration tells us how Kaamdeo influenced the world.]
As soon as Kaamdeo, whose flag bears the emblem of a fish, unleashed his
angry outburst upon the world, all the bridges established by the Vedas (that took a
creature across the whirlpool of worldly delusions and entanglements, and helped in
maintining self-restriant) were swept away in an instant. (6)
[Note—The “bridge” is a metaphor for all the laws and codes of conduct established
by the scriptures that help to regulate the society and maintain the path of Dharma.
They are called a ‘bridge’ because by following the path of self-restraint and
detachment from worldly indulgences as shown by the Vedas it becomes easy for the
creature to cross over this world of miseries and a constant cycle of birth and death to
find eternal freedom and peace much like a man easily crossing a turbulent river with
the help of a bridge. Just like an enemy first destroys the bridge, Kaamdeo’s first
move was to sweep away the laws as envisioned by the Vedas for regulation of
society and helping its members to lead a life of morality and nobility. This means,
the people no longer followed the path of Dharma as pronounced by the Vedas, and
instead they became fallen and sinful, and there was widespread moral anarchy, chaos
and spiritual degradation.]