body (and the fact that desire seems to
strike in unseen ways). Despite being
destroyed by Shiva and seemingly foiled,
in the end Kama achieves his goal. His
attempt to draw Shiva out of his medita-
tion succeeds, and eventually Shiva
marries Parvati. For more information
on the interplay between Shiva and
Kama, see Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty,
Siva, 1981.
Kamada Ekadashi
Ekadashi, or eleventh-day, festival of
the bright, waxing half of the lunar
monthof Chaitra(March–April). Most
Hindu festivals have certain prescribed
rites usually involving fasting (upavasa)
and worship, and often promise-specific
benefits for faithful performance. As
promised by its name (“wish-granting”),
faithfully observing this festival will
fulfill one’s desire (kama), whatever it
may be.
Kamadhenu
In Hindu mythology, a goddessin the
form of a cow (dhenu) who has the
power to grant all one’s wishes (kama).
The Kamadhenu is considered the
mother of all cattle. She is associated
with giving gifts of food, and thus is an
extension of the gifts of food given by all
cows. In Hindu mythology, Kamadhenu
is the property of the sage Jamadagni.
Her theft by a local king prompts Jama-
dagni’s son, Parashuram avatar, to circle
the earth twenty-one times, in an attempt
to wipe out the kshatriya(kingly) class.
Kamakhya
(“desiring eyes”) A particular manifesta-
tion of the Mother Goddess, whose tem-
ple on Nilachal Hill overlooks the
Brahmaputra River just outside the city
of Guwahati in Assam. This temple is
one of the Shakti Pithas, a network of
sites that spreads throughout the sub-
continent and is sacred to the Goddess.
Each Shakti Pitha marks the site where a
body part of the dismembered goddess
Satifell to earth, taking form there as a
different goddess. The Kamakhya tem-
ple is the place where Sati’s vulva fell to
earth. Its image of the goddess is a nat-
ural cleft in the rock, around which the
temple has been built. Since Kamakhya
sprang from the most sexually charged
part of the female body, it is no surprise
that she is believed to be extremely pow-
erful. Like many powerful goddesses,
her productive capacity must be con-
stantly recharged through receiving sac-
rifices, especially the blood of living
beings. In modern times the usual sacri-
ficeis a goat, but in earlier times the
offering of human sacrificesis well
documented. Kamakhya was reportedly
offered 140 men when her present tem-
ple was consecrated in 1565. This prac-
tice continued until the British halted it
in 1832. The men offered as human sac-
rifices were reportedly volunteers who
believed that they had been called by
her to do this. In the time between
announcing their intention to be sacri-
ficed and their deaths, they were treated
as virtual divinities, since they were con-
sidered to have been consecrated to the
goddess. For further information see
George Weston Briggs, Gorakhnath and
the Kanphata Yogis, 1973. See also pitha.Kamakotipith
An important center for the Dashanami
sect ofSanyasiascetics, located in the
southern Indian city of Kanchipuram.
According to local tradition, the
Kamakotipith was the first and most
important of the mathsor monastic
centers, established by the philosopher
Shankaracharya, who later established
four other centers at Joshimath, Puri,
Shringeri, and Dwaraka. This claim to
primacy has generated fierce controversy.
Opponents who support one of the
other four maths, not only deny
Kamakotipith’s place as the first of the
maths, but also assert that Kamakotipith
is only a branch of the Shringeri math.
Support for these claims can be drawn
from the symbolism connected with the
number four—the four cardinal direc-
tions, the four sacred texts known asKamakotipith