The Third Gender and Hinduism

A Story

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me and I am also a friend to him.” Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, 9.29.

The ongoing debate for the rights of LGBTQ+ members of society is riddled with religious bias. Especially in India, where political parties strongly argue against many of the basic rights for people in these communities. This hateful rhetoric is often times contributed to having a backing in Hinduism, and it is important to understand what Hinduism actually says about the LGBTQ+ community.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and has under gone many different forms. Throughout the years, the LGBTQ+ community has been mentioned in numerous texts and stories that can be traced back to the Vedic Texts of Ancient Hinduism. Including the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Rigveda texts, and many different puranas (stories). Members of the LGBTQ+ community, are referred to by the umbrella term Tritya Prakiti or the third gender in these texts, and often times are highly revered and play important roles in the myths/ stories. Out of the multiple Hindu myths that mention the Tritya Prakiti, I wanted to recount the story of Lord Iravan or Koonthandavar and another small story from the Ramayana that emphasize the importance of respecting people for who they are and show how the LGBTQ+ society is actually seen in Hinduism.

Iravans Marriage

Lord Iravan, also known as Iravit, or Aravan, is a character mentioned in the Mahabharata epic during the battle of Kuruksetra between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. There are many different versions of this legend, but the one of Koothandavar is mainly based on the version as retold by Viliputuralvar.

Iravan is the son of Arjuna of the Pandavas and the serpent princess Ulupi. He was asked to fight in the war by his father and along with the Naga army had brought many defeats to various members of the Kauravas clan. He even offers to sacrifice himself to the Goddess Kali to ensure victory for the Pandavas. Before he sacrifices himself though, he asks Lord Krishna, for three benedictions. The first, is to be able to observe the rest of 18-day battle even after his death. To fulfil this wish Krishna brings to life just Iravan’s head so he can see the death of his enemies. The second boon, is for Iravan to have a heroic death. This is linked to justifying previous versions of the legend of Iravan where it is told he died at the hands of Alambusha. The last of the three being to marry and lose his virginity before the sacrifice. As no parent was willing to marry their daughter to someone who was going to die in a day, Krishna himself decides to assume the form of the Tritya Prakiti Mohini. Krishna in the Mohini form marries Iravan for the night and consummates the marriage. The next day Iravan is sacrificed and Mohini becomes a widow for the day before returning to his form as Krishna.

This story is especially prevalent in the state of Tamil Nadu where the Koovagam temple in Villupuram is located. This temple’s main deity is Koothandavar and the yearly festival of Koothandavar is celebrated by the followers of Iravan. The festival has a duration of 6 days, and is attended by members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as local townspeople. During the festival, the Mahabharata story of Iravans marriage and subsequent death is re-enacted and the Krishna deity in that temple is adorned with a white sari as the sign of widowhood. Members of the transgender community dress up as the wife of Iravan and on the day of Iravan’s death mourn his death by wailing, beating their chests, and breaking their bangles in a symbolic commemoration of Iravan’s sacrifice and painful emotions experienced by his loss. A traditional Tamil song and dance of mourning is also performed. It is believed that when they are lamenting the death of Iravan, they are not only grieving his death but also lamenting the pains and sorrows of their lives.

Alongside the main rituals, people from the LGBTQ+ community organize a series of town hall meetings to discuss LGBTQ+ issues that are prevalent in todays society, and hold talent competitions to exhibit their musical and dance talent.

Fun Fact: Tamil Nadu was also one of the first states to introduce a welfare policy catering to the needs of people under the third gender, specifically transgenders (Deccan Herald, 2015)

Third Gender and The Ramayana

In the Ramayana, when Lord Rama embarks on his journey into the forest all the townspeople of Ayodhya follow him to the banks of Sarayu to send him off. On his departure, Lord Rama tells all the men and women to head back into town. 14 years later on his return he sees mounds of human skeletons on the banks where the townspeople had sent him off. When Lord Rama rejuvenates the skeletons and asks them what happened, he sees that they were all of the Tritya Prakriti. Out of the devotion and love to their Lord, they decided to stay where they were since he had specified only “men and women” return and didn’t mention the third gender they identify by. Upon hearing this he realizes his mistake and assures them that they will be treated better in his next avatar, and that they will be born with multiple talents and as singers to sing the praise of the Lord.

Hinduism is a religion that runs on a foundation of being inclusive and accepting of others. The Rigveda one of the most important texts of Hinduism even states that “Vikruti Evam Prakriti”, which translates to what seems unnatural, is also natural. Meaning that just because something is unnatural to you, doesn’t make it unnatural.

References

Govt to bring policy for transgenders. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2017, from http://www.deccanherald.com/content/465345/govt-bring-policy-transgenders.html

Hunt, S., & Yip, A. K. (2012). The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality. doi:10.4324/9781315612836

Roy, J. (2014). Unveiling Koovagam. World Policy Journal, 31(2), 91–99. doi:10.1177/0740277514541061

Somasundaram, O. (2009). Transgenderism: Facts and fictions. Indian Journal of Psychiatry,51(1), 73. doi:10.4103/0019–5545.44917

Wilhelm, A. D. (2010). Tritiya-Prakriti: people of the third sex: understanding homosexuality, transgender identity, and intersex conditions through Hinduism. Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/books?lr=&id=iZ5RAAAAQBAJ&dq=transgender in Hinduism