(1) Kaam means work or task.
(2) Kaam Dev - the god of love (Cupid)
(3) Kaam means desire. This desire can be of any worldly thing, but the Kaam word is mostly used in the context of sexual desire, for example a "Kaamee Purush" (lusty man) or "Kaamee Stree" (lusty woman) means who loves to have sex in access. Kaam is one of the four goals of Hindu life - Dharm (virtuous living), Arth (material prosperity), Kaam (aesthetic and erotic pleasure) and Moksh (liberation).

It is interesting to know that the first book on this subject, Kaam or art of love making, Kaam Shaastra, was written in India by Vaatsyaayan

History
The earliest text of the Kaam Shaastra tradition, said to have contained a vast amount of information, is attributed to Nandee, the sacred bull of Shiv, Shiv's doorkeeper, who was moved to sacred utterance by overhearing the lovemaking of the god Shiv and his wife Paarvatee. During the 8th century BC, Shwetketu, the son of Muni Uddaalak, produced a summary of Nandee's work, but this summary was still too vast to be accessible. A scholar called Babhravya, together with a group of his disciples, produced then a summary of Shwetketu's summary, which nonetheless still remained a huge and encyclopedic tome. Between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, several authors reproduced different parts of the Babhravya group's work in various specialist treatises. Among the authors, those whose names are known are Charayan, Ghotakamukh, Gonardeeya, Gonikaputra, Suvarnanabh, and Dattak.

However, the oldest available text on this subject is the Kaam Sootra ascribed to Vaatsyaayan who is often erroneously called "Mallanaga Vaatsyaayan". Yashodhara, in his commentary on the Kaam Sootra, attributes the origin of erotic science to Mallanag, the "prophet of the Asur", implying that the Kaam Sootra originated in prehistoric times. The attribution of the name "Mallanag" to Vaatsyaayan is due to the confusion of his role as editor of the Kaam Sootra with the role of the mythical creator of erotic science.

Vaatsyaayan's birth date is not accurately known, but he must have lived earlier than the 7th century since he is referred to by Subandhu in his poem Vaasavadattaa. On the other hand, Vaatsyaayan must have been familiar with the Arth Shaastra of Kautilya also, because Vaatsyaayan refers to and quotes a number of texts on this subject, which unfortunately have been lost. He is known to live between 400 and 200 BC.

After Vaatsyaayan, a number of authors wrote on this subject, some writing independent manuals of erotica, while others commented on Vaatsyaayan. Later well-known works include Kokkak's Rati Rahasya (13th century) and Kalyaanamalla's Anang Rang (16th century). The most well-known commentator on Vaatsyaayan is "Jayamangal" by Yashodhara 13th century).