LGBTQ themes in Hindu mythology
In Hindu mythology, there are deities or heroes whose attributes or behavior can be interpreted as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) or have elements of gender variance and non-heterosexual sexuality.
[2][3][4][5] Non-divine beings also undergo sex-changes through the actions of the gods, as the result of curses or blessings, or as the natural outcome of reincarnation.
Although married to the goddess Svaha, Agni is also shown as being part of a same-sex couple with Soma, the god of the moon.
Orthodox Hinduism emphasises that these are "mithuna", ritual sexual encounters, and Agni and his mouth represent the receiving role.
[11][12] Agni also accepts semen from different deities, in the myth of the conception and birth of Karttikeya, a god of male beauty and battle.
[n 1] Numerous versions of Karttikeya's birth story exist, many having a conception from only male input, although heterosexual sex or desire also plays a part.
[14] The semen causes a burning sensation in those that ingest it, prompting Agni to divest it into wives of a group of sages, under Shiva's advice.
The sages' wives, in turn, drop the semen into the Ganges river (the Ganga), where it flows to the shore from which Kārttikeya springs.
In some myths, Agni ejaculates onto a mountain that was itself made from Shiva's divine semen, making Kārttikeya the child of the two gods, according to an interpretation by Markandeya in the Vana Parva.
(Shatapatha Brahmana 2.4.4.19) Varuna is similarly said to implant his seed in Mitra on the full-moon night for the purpose of securing its future waxing.
In Hinduism, the new- and full-moon nights are discouraged times for procreation and consequently often associated with citrarata[definition needed] or unusual types of intercourse.
This form of Shiva represents the "totality that lies beyond duality", and is associated with communication between mortals and gods and between men and women.
"[3] According to Tamil versions of the Mahabharata, the god Krishna – an avatar of Vishnu – also took the form of Mohini and married Aravan.
[16] A similar merger occurs between the beauty and prosperity goddess Lakshmi and her husband Vishnu, forming the hermaphroditic or androgynous Lakshmi-Narayana.
[17] In the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu takes the form of the enchantress, Mohini, in order to trick the demons into giving up Amrita, the elixir of life.
In the Brahmanda Purana, Shiva's wife Parvati "hangs her head in shame" when she sees her husband's pursuit of Mohini.
[4] Stories in which Shiva knows of Mohini's true nature have been interpreted to "suggest the fluidity of gender in sexual attraction".
In this version, Ayyappa is referred to as ayoni jata, "born of a non-vagina", and later Hariharaputra, "the son of Vishnu and Shiva", and grows up to be a great hero.
Thus Arjuna gained entry into the city ruled by king Virata, where he taught the arts of music, singing and dancing to the princess Uttarā and her female attendees.
[21][22] In the Padma Purana, Arjuna is also physically transformed into a woman when he requests permission to take part in Krishna's mystical dance, which only women may attend.
[22] The story of Ila, a king cursed by Shiva and Parvati to alternate between being a man and woman each month, appears in several traditional Hindu texts.
Various stories link Bahuchara to castration or other changes in physical sexual characteristics, sometimes as the result of her aiming curses against men.
[31][32] In another story, Bahuchara curses her husband when she catches him sneaking to the woods to engage in homoerotic behavior, causing his genitals to fall off and forcing him to dress as a woman.
One night Bahuchara appeared to the prince in a dream and ordered him to cut off his genitals, wear women's clothes and become her servant.
Shiva appeared before the king's two widowed queens and commanded, "You two make love together and by my blessings you will bear a beautiful son."
[43] The Manimekalai a literary work, written by Sangam era poet Satthanar, describes the story of how Buddha showed compassion to the people of a city including a cross-dressing man.
Goldman writes of transgenderism in Hindu literature: "Few cultures have accorded this phenomenon so prominent a place in the realms of mythology and religion as has that of traditional India."
[48] According to the Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, queer theorists and activists have reinterpreted ancient texts "searching for alternative voices" that demonstrate the diversity of gender models and sexualities in Hinduism.
These scholars include Giti Thadani, who attempted to uncover lesbian subtext in ancient Vedic and Sanskrit texts in Sakhiyani: lesbian desire in ancient and modern India, and Ruth Vanita, who attempts "to locate spaces of same-sex intimacy in vernacular texts" in Same-sex love in India: readings from literature and history.
The book stated that Ganesha's trunk represented a flaccid penis and his love of sweets indicated a desire to perform homosexual oral sex.
