The notion of gender as a spectrum may feel to some a modern revelation, but Hindu literature and mythology for centuries has taught of the figures who defied the binary. And while the reproductive connection between man and woman has always been revered in the faith, Hinduism, unlike most Western faiths, historically treats homosexuality as a natural behavior, one documented in folk tale and religious text alike. Behold, this incomplete list of Hindu deities and divine descendants who defied gender and sexual norms back in the day.
“There were eight different types of marriage according to the Vedic system, and homosexual marriage that occurred between gays or lesbians, was classified under the gandharva or celestial variety,” writes Amara Das Wilhem in Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex: Understanding Homosexuality, Transgender Identity and Intersex Conditions Through Hinduism.
India, popularly known as ‘the land of Kama Sutra’ has a fascinating cultural past when sex itself was not a taboo and its offshoots — homosexuality, bisexuality, lesbianism were acceptable behavioural patterns
Today, many discriminate against people like Shikhandi, including Hindus. But true Hinduism means promoting love and respect based on equality of the soul, regardless of a person’s gender, race, or sexual orientation. Hinduism thus has a history that is inclusive of all types of people and the pivotal roles they have played in India’s most beloved sacred stories
The story of Arjuna cursed to spend time as a hermaphrodite is well known. That happens when the apsara Urvashi approaches him desiring sex and Arjuna politely refuses, telling her she is like a mother to him because in one of her lifetimes on earth she was the wife of Pururava, his ancestor. He sticks to his stand even when she tells him those are human rules and they are not applicable to apsaras. A furious Urvashi curses him that he will spend time as a eunuch among women. It is using this curse that Arjuna lives one year in the antahpura of Virata during his life incognito following the dice game.
Of the numerous forms of Shiva, Ardhanarishvara is probably the most unique. We look at the myth, science and reality behind the symbolism of the Ardhanishvara and explain why Shiva is depicted this way.
Mohini is introduced in the Hindu legends of the narrative epic of Mahabharata. She appears as a form of Vishnu, who acquires the pot of Amrita from Asuras(demons) and gives it back to the devas (gods), helping them retain their immortality.
According to the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana, Ila, the goddess of speech, is the mother and the father of the Chandravanshis or the Lunar Dynasty, one of the principal houses of the Kshatriya caste. So how does one be mother AND father? This was because Ila was able to transition between genders, a trait that she was bestowed with because of her father’s desire for a son.
Malikappurathamma Devi temple alias Malikapuram Temple is situated on a small hill just 100 meters away from Sabarimala. According to legend, Malikapuram temple is the place where the demon Mahishi rests in eternal wait. The temple complex houses the shrines of the Devi and Kaduthaswamy and also the the shrines of the snake god, Nagaraja and goddess, Nagayakshi. Here coconuts are offered only after rolling them on the ground. On the way to the temple, there is a temple tank called as Bhasma Kulam where the devotees can take a holy bath in memory of the tapaswini Sabari, who had committed her mortal life by entering the fire. After this incident the hill was named Sabarimala.
Yuvanashva was a king who had a hundred wives but no children. In the Vishnu and Bhagavatam Puranas Yuvanashva went into the forest to seek help from ascetics. Yuvanashva found a group of brahmins who promised him sons if he did a special ritual sacrifice, the Indradaivata yaga.
