the site of the festival for the entire
month. Kalpavasis also take vows to live
a strict asceticlifestyle, which includes
daily baths in the Ganges, a restricted
diet, particular dress and worship, and
attendance at the religious gatherings
known as satsang.
Kalpeshvar
Temple and sacred site (tirtha) in the
Garhwalregion of the Himalayas, about
ten miles down the Alakananda River
from Joshimath. The temple’s presiding
deityis the god Shivain his manifesta-
tion as Kalpeshvar, the “Lord of the
Cosmic Age.” The Kalpeshvar temple is
one of the Panchkedar, a network of five
sites in the Garhwal region that are
sacred to Shiva; the other four sites are
Kedarnath, Rudranath, Tungnath, and
Madmaheshvar. Shiva is believed to
dwell in the Himalayas. This network of
five sites is seen as a symbolic represen-
tation of his body. Kalpeshvar represents
Shiva’s matted locks (jatas).
Kalyanamandapam
(“marriage hall”) One of the common
architectural features of southern
Indian temples built in the Dravida
style. The kalyanamandapam is a hall
where the images of the temple’s primary
deityand that deity’s spouse could be
ceremonially united on festival days to
symbolize their married state.
Kama
In Indian philosophy, one of the four
purusharthas, or aims of life, with
the others being artha (wealth,
power, and prosperity), dharma
(righteousness), and moksha (libera-
tion). The most basic meaning of
kama is “desire,” with strong overtones
of sexual desire, but kama can also
refer to all types of attraction, including
aesthetic pleasure from the arts. The
most famous treatise on the fulfillment
of kama is the Kama Sutra, which
details the satisfaction of sexual
desires. When pursued within the
boundaries of righteous action, or
dharma, desires and their satisfaction
are recognized as a normal, acceptable
part of life. It is when this governing
force is absent that the search
for pleasure becomes inappropriate
and destabilizing.Kama
(2) Minor deityidentified as the person-
ification of kama (“desire”). Kama is
comparable to the Greek deity Eros and
carries similar responsibility for igniting
human sexual attraction and sensual
desire. Kama is represented as a young
man riding on a parrot, armed with a
bow and arrows. The bow is a stalk of
sugar cane, the bowstring a line of
buzzing bees; his five arrows are five dif-
ferent flowers, each bringing a different
emotional effect to the person it pierces.
The five flowers and emotions are: lotus,
infatuation; ashoka, intoxication (with
love); mango, exhaustion; jasmine, pin-
ing; blue lotus, paralysis. Kama’s icono-
graphy carries strong associations with
spring, and the spring season(personi-
fied as another minor deity, Vasant) is
perceived as Kama’s friend and ally in
awakening desire through the regenera-
tion of the natural world and the showy
display of spring blossoms.
The most famous episode in Kama’s
mythology begins with the ascent to
power of a demonnamed Taraka, who
can only be killed by a son of Shiva.
Taraka seems impossible to defeat, since
Shiva has no sons and is in deep medita-
tion, grieving over the death of his wife
Sati. The other gods ask Kama to shoot
Shiva with an arrow of desire so he will
marry the goddess Parvatiand produce
a son. Kama creeps up on Shiva and
shoots him with an arrow. When Shiva
realizes who has disturbed his medita-
tion, he releases a stream of fire from the
third eye in the middle of his forehead,
instantly burning Kama to ashes.
Through Shiva’s grace, Kama is eventu-
ally brought back to life. One of Kama’s
epithets or alternate names is Ananga,
or “bodiless,” because of the loss of hisKalpeshvar