Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 15
Varṣa-devatā Worship in Jambūdvīpa: Hayagrīva/Hayaśīrṣa, Nṛsiṁha, Kāmadeva (Pradyumna), Matsya, Kūrma, and Varāha
केतुमालेऽपि भगवान् कामदेवस्वरूपेण लक्ष्म्या: प्रियचिकीर्षया प्रजापतेर्दुहितृणां पुत्राणां तद्वर्षपतीनां पुरुषायुषाहोरात्रपरिसङ्ख्यानानां यासां गर्भा महापुरुषमहास्त्रतेजसोद्वेजितमनसां विध्वस्ता व्यसव: संवत्सरान्ते विनिपतन्ति ॥ १५ ॥
ketumāle ’pi bhagavān kāmadeva-svarūpeṇa lakṣmyāḥ priya-cikīrṣayā prajāpater duhitṝṇāṁ putrāṇāṁ tad-varṣa-patīnāṁ puruṣāyuṣāho-rātra-parisaṅkhyānānāṁ yāsāṁ garbhā mahā-puruṣa-mahāstra-tejasodvejita-manasāṁ vidhvastā vyasavaḥ saṁvatsarānte vinipatanti.
舒迦提婆·高斯瓦弥继续说道：在名为凯图玛拉（Ketumāla-varṣa）的地域，毗湿奴主以爱神迦摩天（Kāmadeva）的形相居住，只为令其奉献者欢喜，尤其为悦纳吉祥天女拉克什米（Lakṣmī）。那里有生主萨姆瓦特萨拉（Saṁvatsara）及其诸子诸女：女儿为夜之主宰神，儿子为昼之主宰神。按人寿一生昼夜之数，其后裔共三万六千。每至岁终，诸女见至上人格神之大武器光辉——苏达尔沙那轮（Sudarśana-cakra）——心神震荡，遂受流产之苦。
This Kāmadeva, who appears as Kṛṣṇa’s son named Pradyumna, is viṣṇu-tattva. How this is so is explained by Madhvācārya, who quotes from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa: kāmadeva-sthitaṁ viṣṇum upāste. Although this Kāmadeva is viṣṇu-tattva, His body is not spiritual but material. Lord Viṣṇu as Pradyumna or Kāmadeva accepts a material body, but He still acts spiritually. It does not make any difference whether He accepts a spiritual or a material body; He can act spiritually in any condition of existence. Māyāvādī philosophers regard even Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body as material, but their opinions cannot impede the spiritual activity of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse states that in Ketumāla-varṣa the Supreme Lord manifests as Kāmadeva, not as an ordinary god of lust, but as a divine form connected with pleasing Lakṣmīdevī and demonstrating His overpowering spiritual potency.
The verse explains that the Lord assumes this form with the intention of pleasing Lakṣmī (Śrī), indicating that even seemingly worldly motifs are ultimately situated in His divine, auspicious relationship with the goddess of fortune.
It highlights that when divine reality is approached through mere material desire, the mind becomes disturbed; the takeaway is to redirect attraction toward the Supreme with devotion rather than exploitation or lust.