When Kamadeva reached Kailasha, the sway of Vasant was spread all over. Ethereal flowers were blossoming, the chirping of birds turned into songs of romance, rays of the moon made the ambiance even more lovely, and the breeze of Kailasha was laced with exquisite fragrance. Much like this life-sized bronze dancing Kamadeva and Rati icon, in divine words, the Shiva Purana mentions that drenched in the ecstatic nectar that was flowing from Kama-Rati, not just the living beings, but the non-living, immovable objects were enlivened.

It is as though Kama himself inspired the artist to create an image that ceases the heart with desires, this bronze Kama-Rati icon is beyond words in its beauty and aesthetic qualities. The lotus platform on which the duo stands is an oval-shaped structure, demarcating the area of performance for Kamadeva and Rati. Their countenance is modeled in a manner that reminds us of the incomparable allure of Kama and Rati- perfect almond eyes, sharp nose, and lips like fresh petals of lotus blossoms. Peacock, the Hindu motif that represents royalty, passion, and beauty is a symbol used repeatedly in the adornment of this dancing Kamadeva and Rati icon, with two stylized peacocks on the crowns, and a singular feather in the necklace, armbands, and garlands that frame their dynamic posture. Kamadeva is also known as “Makaradhvaja”- one whose emblem (dhvaja) is Makara (a mythical animal that symbolizes divine beauty). This mythical creature has been employed by the Sthapati of this bronze in the ear ornaments of Kama-Rati, as “Makarakrita-Kundala”, carrying whose weight, the earlobes of the celestial couple droop, a feature captured in the bronze tastefully.

It is no surprise that the god and goddess of love and desire have the most mesmerizing form- from the toenails to the arched eyebrows and soles of their upraised feet to the hands raised in the air, Kamadeva and Rati in this bronze are the epitomai of a mystical elegance and beauty. The Tamil craftsman has left no stone unturned in making this dancing Kamadeva and Rati icon into a sensual and spiritual experience for the viewer and has carved the icon in a rounded manner to bring a true-to-life character to it.

Hand in hand, Kama and Rati, desire and its fulfillment dance in this bronze and in their spirited posture, bring out the unhindered and free nature of passions. The agility and vigorousness of the two in this bronze are symbolic of the expansion of Kama and Rati’s powers over the universe, Brahma’s Srishti, which also serves as the stage where the Lord of Desire performs with his potency.

To go back to the episode from Shiva Purana, Kamadeva shot Shiva with his arrow of desire at the moment when goddess Parvati was standing near him. Shiva came out of his meditative state and admired his Shakti, Maa Parvati for a moment, and then enraged by the hindrance in his austerities, opened his Third eye and burnt Kama to ashes. The story of Kama-Rati does not end here. For playing his part in protecting the gods and universe from Tarakasur, Kamadeva was brought back to life soon, and since then, empowered by his Shakti Rati, Kamadeva, the Lord of Desire, continues to dance within all of us, assisting Lord Brahma in his task of creation.