Dear ones, I am writing today about Ardhanareshwara and the understanding of Transgenders. Ardhareshwara is a Hindu form of Shiva combined with his consort Parvati. Ardhanareshwara is depicted as half male and half female. Ardhanareshwara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe—Purush and Prakriti. Another name for Prakriti is Shakti and they are inseparable. The right half is usually Shiva, and the left half is Parvati. However, the timeline is pre-Vedic. The earliest depiction of Ardhanareshwara (Shiva and Parvati as a single androgynous form) are found in the Kushan period art of Gandhara, dating back to 1st Century CE.

The Ardhanareshwara form is believed to represent the reconciliation and harmonizing of opposites including the male and female principles. The spiritual and materialistic, active and passive and all other opposing dichotomies in existence.

In the Mahabharata, we have Shikhandi, who is represented as a Trans. The dating is 1000BCE. The story is that Shikhandini was born as a female, named Amba, who after being wronged, underwent a transformation to become a man to take revenge on Bhishma. The actual story is that Amba was a princess, who was abducted by Bhishma. And then he rejected her. She was very angry and vowed to take her revenge. She was reborn as Shikhandini, the daughter of King Draupada. She performed intense penance, and she was able to change her gender and she became Shikhandi. In the Mahabharata when the great battle took place, Bhishma recognized Amba and refused to fight her as she was a woman originally. Arjuna used Shikandi as a shield and he was able to defeat Bhishma.

The Kinnar Akhara established in 2015 is a religious organization of transgenders. It provides a spiritual and social platform for transgender individuals. It redefines its transgender identity within Hinduism, offering a new framework for transgender individuals to reclaim their spiritual and religious space.

Please examine the first two stories. Ardhanareshwara represents that we are Purush and Shakti. We are incomplete without either of them.

Shikhandi’s story represents the transgender theme and the struggle for identity.

Lastly the Kinnar Akhara, which recognizes Transgenders.

‘The psychological definition of gender refers to a person’s internal sense of self as male, female or a gender that differs from the assigned sex at birth, encompassing both personal experiences and societal influences.’

Gender identity is a person’s deeply felt internal sense of being a boy, a man or male; a girl, a woman, or female; or a non-binary gender (gender queer, gender neutral, agender, gender-fluid, transgender).

So now dear ones, it is extremely essential for us to understand empathize with the gender identity of individuals. As Yogis, our sense of awareness is enhanced and therefore we must try to understand the non-binary umbrella. It is a term for those people whose gender identity does not sit comfortably with man or woman.

Going back to Hinduism, we have accepted and been aware of the non-binary umbrella. We accept inclusion and we have the exclusive Kinnar Akhara, which was a draw for transgender people from all over the world at the Kumbh Mela.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Raphael Renter | @raphi_rawr on Unsplash