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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.22.10

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 22: Story of Kāma: The loss of his body. At the Sarayū–Gaṅgā confluence, Viśvāmitra recounts how Śiva’s fiery gaze destroyed Kāma’s body, the travellers stay at the hermitage

In the sequence: Viśvāmitra tells an earlier story: Kāma once possessed a body → here he assailed Śiva during his disciplined austerities → Śiva's fierce gaze burned his limbs and destroyed his body

1.22.10

kandarpo mūrtimān āsīt kāma ity ucyate budhaiḥ

Kandarpa (Love) was once embodied, and is called Kāma (Desire) by the wise.

Words: kandarpo — Kandarpa (the god of love); mūrtimān — embodied, having a body; āsīt — was; kāma — Kāma (Desire); ity — thus; ucyate — is called; budhaiḥ — by the wise

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.