ABSTRACT
Many of the characteristics which contribute to the apparently paradoxical nature of the Puranic Siva may be traced back to individual characteristics of gods of the Vedic pantheon. Siva is more explicitly related to the erotic, destructive fire in the myth of the Pine Forest, which can be traced directly to the story of Agni and the wives of the Seven Sages, a text which is the source of much of the myth of the birth of Kumara as well. The conflict between Siva and Kama is a central point of the Saiva Puranas. In the later texts, Kama is sent against Siva by Brahma, merely out of spite and in revenge against Siva for chastising Brahma's incestuous behavior, as well as against Kama for causing this behaviour. In the creation myths composed at the time of the Epic, the "desire" which Brahma felt for his daughter was personified as Kama.
