Hindu god of pleasure

As a detective tasked with solving the mystery of the crossword clue ‘Hindu god of pleasure,’ my initial thought was that the answer must be related to Hindu mythology. My background knowledge in world religions led me to recall that the Hindu religion includes numerous gods and goddesses associated with different domains of life, including pleasure. Therefore, I narrowed my focus to Hindu deities that could be associated with pleasure, love, or desire.

Upon reviewing the crossword puzzle, I realized that the answer might be a four-letter word. I quickly went through my mental catalog of Hindu gods and goddesses and remembered Kama, the god of love, desire, and pleasure. Kama is usually depicted as a young, handsome man wielding a bow and arrows, which he uses to incite desire in humans and gods alike.

To further confirm my answer, I considered the other clues in the puzzle that could correspond to Kama. For instance, the intersection of the ‘A’ in Kama with another clue that read ‘animal sacred to Hindus‘ could refer to the cow, which is revered in Hinduism and also associated with Kama’s consort, Rati.

Through my background knowledge and analytical skills, I concluded that the answer to the crossword clue ‘Hindu god of pleasure‘ is Kama.