“Sambara!” Kama roared loud enough to shake the nearby mountains, as he stood in front of the gates of the demon king’s excessively opulent castle, bursting to the seams with bloodthirsty men, gluttonous riches, hedonistic women, and weapons of every type of violence. Sambara, arrogantly disregarding Narada’s insight of his own demise, grabbed his otherworldly weapons and ordered all of his basic infantry to stand guard ready to attack. 

Standing on the palace tower behind the climbing stone walls and towers of his castle, Sambara yelled, “Kama, you fool! You think you are a hero, but what kind of man are you really? What kind of man burns his own mother and shames his father, the great Sri Bhrama? What kind of man disturbs the great Shiva in meditation and allows himself to be killed with just a single attack? What kind of man wields the barbed fires of desire and strikes the unaware? What kind of man uses illusion taught by a mistress, whose flirtatious pleas of affection are unbecoming to you both? Who in the three worlds would honor a lowly, beguiling mistress like Mayavati when surrounded by the most desirous of women? What kind of man are you to stand up to a true man like me?”

Kamadeva’s anger and inner fire erupted so powerfully, it penetrated the ether. Channeling the unrelenting powers of Mayadevi’s devotion, divine pleasures, beauty and pure love, Kamadeva in one swift motion, strung his bow and launched hundreds and thousands of barbed arrows bursting with the power of Maya. And in a split second, all of Sambara’s once towering walls, bastions and battle ramparts exploded into debris, limbs and blood-soiled refuse. Screams of horror filled the air along with the cries of mayhem, confusion and terror. Kama did not plan to relent. 

Sambara, enraged, did not hesitate to retaliate. Thousands of thousands of arrows launched into the air from archers deeper within the now crumbled walls. But before they reached their apex, Kama used his enchantments taught to him by his guru, his yogini, his Goddess, his wife, his love and in an instant, incinerated every arrow into cinders, making it rain soot and ash on Sambara’s now choking men, as if bringing down the purifying fires of Shiva’s wrath. Kama with his relentless might gratified Shiva as he now channeled his power. 

Already frightened by the power of Kama’s enchantments, the demon Sambara summoned the rest of his lieutenants, battle commanders and Asuras. “Kamadeva, if we do not wipe him off the face of the universe, will destroy everything we hold dear and forever hold us captive. Have no fear however, we have always used disillusionment and enchantment to subjugate our mighty foes. Let us show him who is the strongest wielder of enchantment and who is the strongest of all men! 

Act 5.2

“My Battle Commanders and Asuras who hold our weapons of the illusion of desire,” Sambara ordered in a bellow, “go forth and use your power to destroy Kama!” Samabara’s forces holding the nooses of desire, attacked Kama immediately. Kamadeva faltered. The bonds immediately made him sickly and caused him to bleed, choke and sputter out virulent poison. In response, the great Kamadeva prayed. He prayed to his dear Rati and her enchantments on him. And with her unrelenting memory of love, he used the spell of desire to recreate his body anew  and break his bonds with a mere flicker. Kamadeva exploded in strength and radiance, like Valin who can only be defeated by the great Lord Rama. Like the Ashwin Twins bursting with their prana. And with his newfound strength, he beat, incapacitated and bonded Sambara’s infantry with their own evil perverted inventions.

Sambara heard the report of his men’s defeat and bellowed in anger. “This Kama is a pitiful fool! My men who hold the illusion of power, go and prove your strength to me and the world!” With their massive, blunt weapons, they attacked the lone, fierce Kama. Kama again faltered and became weak, deep in delusion. But Kamadeva can never be defeated, this he knew. Channeling the purest of powers, the power of Mayavati’s austerities, devotion and compassion, he punched into the ground so hard an earthquake charged with Bhraman, the power of the Creator himself, erupted and blasted Bhumi’s Earth, shattering and crumbling his foes with their own huge, blunt weapons. 

Sambara, furious, resolved never to relent. He called on his commanders who were the masters of the illusion of knowledge. To them, Sambara proclaimed “You are those that we trust most of all. Your witchcraft can subjugate nations when the Asuras so desire.” And on their roaring, raging chariots, the masters of the illusion of knowledge attacked the son of the once mind-born son of Bhrama. Kama faltered, deluded and confused by the bombarding sounds and cycloning dirt caused by the raging chariots now encircling him in the Chakra Vyuha, a battle attack formation meant to surround, emotionally devastate and unrelentingly destroy the strongest of foes.  

Everything Kama saw became distorted and untrue. He was worse than blind, but still, he would never relent in his Dharmic duty. Kama wisely closed his eyes, and in doing so, remembered his Goddess Rati’s invigorating and intoxicating laughter, her beautiful sobs of compassion, her pure cries of joy and everything true in the world, channeling through his divine, blessed boon of a wife. Filled with the true power of Maya, he saw the pure Truth. And with this sight, he fired thousands of thousands of arrows from his Maya-charged quiver, each one hitting their target with deadly precision. Kamdeva, killing every villain in sight, left the horses to flee, dragging the lifeless chariots spilling with blood and dead corpses. 

With his infantry and chariots extinguished by Kamadeva’s power, Sambara called on his few remaining troops. However, these battle-hardened men were the strongest and most unconquerable of them all. “My men who wield the illusion of space to alienate, divide and cripple our foes, set forth and destroy Kama. Only a few men can conquer you.” Sambara ordered. 

The men, most adept in using Maya, rained hundreds of millions of arrows from the top of Sambara’s grand palace, the destination for those that only care for comforts, hedonism and material desire. The arrows traveled instantly and penetrated Kama with their blinding power without allowing even a breath for Kama to evade. Kama once again faltered, pin-cushioned with hundreds of thousands of arrows. He began to lose himself. His eyes no longer worked and the pain threatened to consume him wholly. He wisely and resolutely tapped into the divine power that he knew could never be beaten. And in his blinded form, he meditated on the beautiful form of Mayavati and his carnal desires of her embraces, kisses and lovemaking, and in doing so, was filled to the brim with the unifying aspect of Maya, of Shiva-Shakti, of Radha-Krshna, the force that cannot be broken or divided. And in the intoxication and exhilaration of this unity with Maya, with his cherished Mayadevi, and with every particle of the three worlds, he tore open the sky and manifested the destructive and purifying rain of all eight elements. And during this downpour of destruction resulting in desperate cries from Sambara’s archers, Garuda, Vishnu’s divine, ever-loyal mount sailed down from the sky, wings filling the sky with the inevitability of justice and fate. After saluting his master’s son, and impervious to all the elements, Garuda devoured thousands and thousands of the perverted warriors, drunk off their own spells. Under the rain of the elements, Garuda, and Kama’s own barbed arrows, Sambara’s men and palace walls began to crumble into blood, guts, torn limbs and red-stained debris. 

Sambara, now panicked, called on his last Asuras, champions in the illusion of time. “My forces who wield the illusionary, all-powerful spells of time, set forth and destroy Kama’s consciousness. If you succeed, he will forever remain weak, brittle, and crippled!” The mages and false sages, world renowned wizards that currently enchant the entire of Sambara’s dominion, began to cast on Kamadeva from the safety of their king’s throne room. Kama still outside of the crumbled debris of what was once Sambara’s castle, faltered and began to lose his resolve, like a man losing his virtue when losing sight of Dharma. His mind split and fragmented. His reality closed in on itself. The fires of his heart nearly extinguished. He cried out in soul shattering sorrow. 

He lost everything he knew- his father and creator, Bhrama, the Prajapatis, Sandhya, Shiva and Parvati, his brother Vasanta, the fires of creation and joy, everything. All was blank. And with this, Kama fell to his knees almost consumed with grief, anxiety, fear, and the deepest of darkness, feeling completely unraveled and unmade. He was almost undone…

Sambara began to laugh hysterically, steadfast in his belief that no one can defeat the illusion of time. Kama was in complete darkness and completely lost. But in the darkness, he found one bright, brilliantly illuminating gem deep in his chest, still radiating with power. And upon activating this gem with his prana, mind and soul, he found the loving and ever-enduring memory of his Goddess Rati, the personification of beauty. His soul bursted back to life with the power of the one true source. He heard the songs of worship and prayer, of devotion and commitment, of Shiva and Shakti, of eternity and infinity, and of Dharma in his universe-spanning form. And with the power of Maya, Dharma, Shiva, Parvati and his beloved and divine Rati coursing through every channel of his now restored mind, body and soul, he wiped Sambara’s mages from existence in a blink of an eye, never to return to this plane again. And in same instant, he was in front of Sambara, ready to unleash his unrelenting will and his unconquerable power. The demon, drunk off of his own illusion, stood up confidently, towering Kama with his all pervasive might. Sambara then burst out in mocking and derisive laughter!

Act 5.3

“Kama, you pathetic weak fool, you who dances far behind the veil of Maya. With such a weakness, you will never be the strongest!” Sambara, invoking the enchanted mantra in calculated, precise form, summoned a sword that spanned dozens of meters, radiating with such powers it would burn a mere human’s eyes. “With my strength, talent, sacrifice and subjugation of Maya, I was granted this boon, a Bhramastra, the most powerful, destructive and inevitable of weapons, created and blessed by Bhrama himself! It is impossible for me to be defeated. You have already been beaten by your own disillusionment.” Kama did not flinch.

Sambara, thinking Kama was frozen in fear, bellowed in victorious laughter. “Kama! You fool! Why do you not flee from such a man like me with your fate so inevitable?” 

Kama smiled, knowing of the truth that resided in his beloved’s heart. He threw his bow and perpetually-manifesting quiver on the floor, the sound of metal and wood insultingly clanging off the throne room ornaments. He smirked at Sambara’s insulted visage, beaming with hate. 

He remembered back to his first painful birth, filled with power, fire, pain and divine creation. He remembered back to his first death in the audience and service of Shiva and Parvati, and the commitment he made to his noble and cherished Rati, the truest form of beauty. He remembered his now father and mother and his longing for them. He remembered the great Mayadevi, his Rati, his Lakshmi and his Shakti. He remembered nothing else but love. And it was this true love that began to fill his soul, no, the entire land with divine transcendental power. His near celestial, radiating body began to transform into an even more enlightened, divine form - almost as divine as his Rati’s purest laugh. His aura began to consume all of Sambara’s surrounding filth and transfigure it into the purest and highest form of Vishnu, the center of all and all that is not.

Sambara, seeing all that he held dear, everything he fought so hard to make his, panicked as his possessions, pride and ego began to vanish into radiating energy capable of creating a galaxy of stars. Sambara bellowed in sky-cracking anger and terror. In his ego-drunk rage, Sambara attacked Kamadeva with his entire might, with everything in him behind his blow, even the small, pitiful slivers of soul he still held solely by the grace of Lord Vishnu. Just the movement of the blade made the air crack. And with a booming thunder that could have even made Indra, the king of kings, chief of the celestials, servant to the celestials, wielder of storm and thunder, fume with jealousy.  Sambara struck his terrifyingly ferocious foe. And on impact, the entire palace, every gilded wall, every stone and ounce of gold in the throne room exploded from the celestial, cosmic attack of Bhrama’s inevitable will. 

Feeling the impact and believing, no, knowing deep down that he was true, ever victorious and unconquerable, Sambara began to laugh in joy, smothered by the cloud of rubble, dust and ignorance around him. His laughs boomed into the air, and with no walls and ceiling to contain them, shocked the entire land in fear. 

His laughs turned into choking cries of desperation when he saw the still glowing, divine, inevitable form of Kamadeva standing, unscathed. Kamadeva, in complete control of his power, again made the land pure. 

“What? What is this? This is impossible? What kind of force can supercede the powers of Bhrama and Shiva” Sambara tried to pull his Bhramastra again for a second blow, but it was securely fashioned into Kama’s outstretched grip, his face deep in meditation, absolutely uninhibited by the ego. Kamadeva opened his eyes in his trance, all his bodies now filled with the true power of Rati, of her love and of her devotion, perpetually sustaining Kama’s strength, resolve and absolute Dharmic power. Kama’s time had come. 

And in pure defiance, intoxication, and divine purpose, Kama responded, “Love, you pitiful excuse of a being.” 

Then, Kamadeva, conqueror and wielder of all, first and foremost devotee of his Goddess Rati, broke Sambara’s Bhramastra in one hand resulting in a time itself standing still in fright and shock. Looking into Sambara’s terrified eyes, Kama commanded, “Tell my fathers I said…‘I’ll see you soon.’” 

He then took the broken edge of the Bhramastra and pierced it into the last slivers of Sambara’s soul, in the plane of existence where the ego has no place, not even Sambara’s. And with the prayers to his Goddess and the powers of soul, love, Bhrama and the lord Vishnu given to him by his blessed and cherished Mayavati, Sambara burst into bright blue flame bright enough to wake Bhrama from his trance. And in a blink, Sambara, the most disillusioned demon King forever tainting this land, ceased to exist, leaving only puffs of smoke now purifying itself. Kama dropped the remains of the Bhramastra. He left his divine bow and his barbed arrows. 

Without a thought, in the next instant, he was besides his Rati, embracing her deeply in victory, devotion and unconquerable love. That beloved couple, the personification of true love, deeply embraced and joined each other, feeling their energies in the highest of forms vibrating off each other, into each other. Mayavati cosmically caressed, kissed and cared for Kamadeva, her hero, her lord, her everything. And after a yugas of union that would rival that of Shiva and Parvati, deep in divine bliss, peace and intoxication that resonated across the cosmic universe, Rati asked her Kamadeva, “Kama, can you recount your story on how your defeated the demon king Sambara? My Kama, what was it that truly happened?”

He kissed her forehead and answered her, “we happened, my love.”