Which Hindu deity is the god of love and desire?

Kamadeva is the Hindu deity who embodies love and desire.

Also called Kama, Manmatha, Madana, and Ananga, Kamadeva represents attraction, passion, pleasure, beauty, and longing. His name combines kama, meaning desire or passion, with deva, meaning a divine being. In early Vedic thought, kama could be an abstract cosmic force; later Hindu epics and Puranic traditions developed it into the personified god Kamadeva.

He is conventionally portrayed as a youthful, handsome figure carrying a sugarcane bow and flower-tipped arrows. His consort is Rati, who personifies passionate desire. A famous myth says that Shiva burned Kamadeva with the fire of his third eye when the god tried to interrupt Shiva’s meditation. Kamadeva survived in bodiless form, which explains the epithet Ananga.

Kamadeva is not the same as Shiva, although Shiva’s mythology prominently features him. Kubera is associated with wealth, and Indra is the Vedic king of the gods and lord of storms. The broader concept of kama also includes aesthetic enjoyment and affection, not only romantic or sexual desire.