# Kamala — Siddhartha character guide

> Kamala in Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** O Kamala, beautiful Kamala

**First appearance:** 0006-part-ii-kamala

## Snapshot

A brilliant courtesan who trades Siddhartha lessons in love and money for the world he has never entered.

## Who they are

Kamala is the most desired woman in the city, sharp, self-possessed, and clear-eyed about the price of everything, and she agrees to teach Siddhartha the arts of love and business. She sees through him early, telling him he cannot love, and she is right — yet she also draws him into the sensual life that nearly drowns his seeking. Her presence anchors the middle of the book, where desire and wealth become the next teachers Siddhartha must exhaust before he can leave them.

## Relationships

### [Siddhartha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters/siddhartha)

_romantic_

Kamala is Siddhartha's lover and teacher in the arts of love and worldly pleasure.

### [Govinda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters/govinda)

_social_

Govinda and Kamala have minimal, passing interaction as figures in Siddhartha's life.

### [Vasudeva](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters/vasudeva)

_social_

Kamala and Vasudeva have minimal, indirect connection through Siddhartha.

### [Gotama](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters/gotama)

_social_

Gotama and Kamala have no significant direct relationship in the story.

### [Siddhartha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters/siddhartha)

_romantic_

Kamala is Siddhartha's lover and teacher in the arts of love and worldly pleasure.

## In the story

### [Kamala](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-kamala)

The beautiful courtesan who becomes Siddhartha's teacher in love and a guide into worldly life. She is pragmatic, skilled, and arranges his introduction to the merchant Kamaswami.

### [With the Childlike People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-with-the-childlike-people)

Teaches Siddhartha the art of love, instructing him that pleasure requires mutual giving. She is the central purpose of his life in the town.

### [Sansara](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-sansara)

Remains the only person close to Siddhartha in this world, though he questions the value and necessity of their relationship.

### [By the River](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-by-the-river)

Remembered by Siddhartha as he recalls the three arts (fasting, waiting, thinking) he once boasted to her, which he has since lost.

### [The Ferryman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-the-ferryman)

Not present in the chapter excerpts.

### [The Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-the-son)

Present in memory. Siddhartha recalls her accusation that he could not love, and her garden is where he has his final realization about his son.

### [Om](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/chapters/part-ii-om)

Mentioned as one of the images that appears and is dispersed into the river during Siddhartha's vision of unity.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters/kamala
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/siddhartha_se/characters