The Indian Mythology and Androgyny

Human beings have often been perceived to have two clear categories male and female. Though now other categories such as LGBTQ++ too have been recognised and are gradually being accepted. There have been several gender expressions which have been in existence for a long time, but haven't been explored enough. One of them is androgyny. Britannica defines androgyny as a "condition in which characteristics of both sexes are clearly expressed in a single individual." This concept has never been taken into consideration by the society which is often believed and known to be a patriarchal one. As the patriarchal society often has a common notion that men can embrace anything but not femininity. But Indian mythology seems to speak otherwise. As Indian mythology specifically the Hindu mythology highlights multiple instances where the gods have embraced femininity. Also the patriarchal society doesn't believe in women embracing masculinity. Hindu mythology in this case too brings out multiple instances where goddesses have embraced masculinity. This paper examines how Indian mythology, specifically through Hinduism in the form of Hindu deities and some instances of Mahabharata, reflected the androgynous ideals even before the concept of androgyny was formally defined.