Additional Vedic References
By Amara Das Wilhelm

Hindu teachings are based on the Rg, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas as well as a vast array of corollary texts expounding their truths.  In ancient times, Vedic knowledge was orally transmitted but eventually put into writing by Srila Vyasadeva at the dawn of Kali Yuga.  These writings include the four Vedas mentioned above as well as the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanisads and texts known as the “fifth Veda”: the various Shastras, Samhitas, Itihasas, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, etc.  Lord Ganesha served as the celestial scribe in this enormous task.  There are furthermore countless other texts expounding on Vedic knowledge and subsequently accepted as Vedic literature.  These include the many sacred and revered texts written throughout the ages by previous acaryas, perfected saints and accomplished scholars.

People of the third sex are mentioned in nearly all of the literature cited above.  Descriptions of any detail, however, are less common and found mostly in the texts presented within this chapter.  Since there are no real English equivalents for the Sanskrit terms napumsaka, shandha, kliba, etc. and because these words cover such a wide range of different people, I prefer to translate them simply as “third sex” or “third gender.”  These terms are less limiting and leave themselves open to interpretation.  In most cases, the third-gender personalities mentioned in Vedic texts are not explicitly described as castrated, intersex, homosexual or anything else and to assign specific terms to them when this is not clearly indicated is speculative at best and incorrect at worst.  I reject the traditional Victorian terms “eunuch,” “neuter” and “hermaphrodite” because they are not only archaic but also inaccurate and misleading.  Similarly, the single word “impotent” does not fully convey the meaning of a third-gender man since one of the most common types—the homosexual—is not considered impotent in the modern sense.  The phrase “impotent with women” is more accurate and the term “intermediate sex” is also suitable in some cases.  Lastly, it should be kept in mind that the Vedic canon is extremely voluminous and new material is translated into English every few years.  While this chapter represents the bulk of Vedic literature describing the third sex to date it is by no means necessarily complete.

Third-Gender Men of the Bhagavata Purana

The Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, is one of the most important Vaishnava scriptures.  It was composed by Srila Vyasadeva as his final commentary on Vedic knowledge and focuses on the subject of God realization.  The following verses from the Bhagavata Purana serve as typical examples of the third-gender men (kliba, shandha, napumsa, etc.) mentioned here and there throughout Vedic texts.  The first three recognize such men as a distinct category of gender:

Any cruel person—whether male [pums], female [stri] or third sex [kliba]—who is only interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by the king. (4.17.26)

Sometimes you think yourself a man, sometimes a chaste woman and sometimes neither [na ubhayam].  This is all because of the body, which is created by the illusory energy. (4.28.61)

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not female, intermediate [shandha], or male; nor is He an animal.  He is not a material quality, a fruitive activity, a manifestation or a nonmanifestation. (8.3.24)

In some of his last notes on the Srimad Bhagavatam (10.1, Notes, p. 105), A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada mentions the third sex as follows: “The word puman refers to any person, whether man, woman or in-between.”  In this instance, Srila Prabhupada mentions the third sex as an intermediate gender situated between male and female rather than simply as “eunuch” or “neuter.”  As noted in Appendix 3, His Divine Grace was not at all satisfied with the latter terms.

The Vedic third sex is similarly mentioned throughout the other Puranas. For instance, the Garuda Purana (2.32.29) states: “Whatever the sex of the child—whether male, female or third sex (napumsaka)—it is born in the ninth or tenth month.” The Varaha Purana (142.50) also mentions: “If this regime [of self-control] is practiced without devotion to Me (Krsna)—despite having knowledge and whether man, woman or third sex—it will not yield rewards.”

The next two examples refer to third-gender men as effeminate and unmanly.  In these instances, the subjects are not actually third gender but accused as such as a matter of insult: 

[Urvasi rebuked her husband, Pururava:] “Now I am being killed,” she said, “under the protection of an unworthy husband who is actually a member of the third sex [napumsa] although he thinks himself a great hero…My husband lies down at night in fear, exactly like a woman, although he appears to be a man during the day.”  (9.14.28-29)

[Pradyumna said:] “Except for Me, no one born in the Yadu dynasty has ever been known to abandon the battlefield.  My reputation has now been stained by a driver who thinks like a member of the third sex [kliba]…Certainly My sisters-in-law will laugh at Me and say, ‘O hero, tell us how in the world Your enemies induced You to become so unmanly.’” (10.76.29, 31)

The Vishnu Purana contains a similar narration involving Garga Muni, the head priest of the Yadu Dynasty, who was ridiculed by the Yadavas as belonging to the third sex.  Infuriated by their laughter, Garga vowed to beget a son who would terrorize the Yadus with the fury of Siva.  Such a son, Kalayavana, was indeed begotten by the muni through the wife of a yavana king.  This story is not directly mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana but often cited in relation to Kalayavana’s attack on Lord Krsna’s capital city of Mathura (10.50.43-48).

The following verse from the Bhagavata Purana serves as a good example of homosexual behavior that does not involve third-gender men:

Lord Brahma then gave birth to the demons from his buttocks, and they were very fond of sex.  Because they were too lustful, they approached him for copulation. (3.20.23)

In his essay, Vaishnava Moral Theology and Its Application on the Issue of Homosexuality (2005), Hridayananda Goswami presents a thorough analysis of this verse in its entire context (3.20.23-37), referring to commentaries from well-known Vaishnava acaryas such as Sridhara Swami, Vira Raghavacarya and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura.  All three acaryas agree that the demons were in fact lusty after women, as described at the end of the narration, and do not mention them as homosexual by nature.  Hridayananda Goswami writes: “The godless demons who chased Brahma for sex were apparently attracted to the specific part of his body that manifests female beauty.  Both in the Bhagavatam text itself, and in the commentaries of the great Acaryas, we find unanimous evidence that these demons were actually lusting after women…Therefore, it is clear that the demons had a strong heterosexual appetite, as well as an ambiguous attraction to a lusty female aspect of Lord Brahma.”  It can also be noted that third-gender terms such as kliba, napumsaka, etc. appear nowhere in this narration.  Thus, the demonic men of Srimad Bhagavatam 3.20.23 have nothing to do with the third sex or people born with exclusive homosexual orientation.

A possible reference to bisexual behavior as a symptom of Kali Yuga appears in the Twelfth Canto of the Bhagavata Purana (12.3.37), wherein it is stated that men will reject their relatives and friends to instead “associate with the sisters and brothers of their wives.”  According to most commentators, the word samvadah or “associating regularly” in this connection refers to having sexual relations.  Such men are also described as strainah or “controlled by women.”

Lack of Specific Statements On Homosexuality

Many Hindu scholars have pondered over the lack of specific statements on homosexuality in the most popular and commonly read Vedic scriptures.  While homosexual desire and behavior are clearly described in less familiar texts such as the Sushruta Samhita, Narada-smriti, Kama Sutra, Kamatantra, Smriti-ratnavali and so on, the more widely-read scriptures seem to ignore the topic completely.  In the essay cited above, Hridayananda Goswami further writes: “Srila Prabhupada taught that we must understand the spiritual science through guru, sadhu and sastra—‘one’s teacher, other saintly persons, and revealed scriptures.’  Srila Prabhupada also taught unceasingly that his own ultimate qualification, and indeed the qualification of any bona fide guru, is always to faithfully repeat the teachings of Krsna as they are found in revealed scriptures.  Thus we must search the most important Vaishnava scriptures presented by Srila Prabhupada—the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam—for specific, explicit, unambiguous scriptural statements about homosexuality.  The result?  There are none.  Remarkably, neither the Gita nor the Bhagavatam gives a single explicit reference to mutually consensual homosexuality…Thus according to Krsna’s own statement, since we do not find a specific, explicit, unambiguous set of rules for dealing with homosexuality, we must engage in spiritual reasoning about it.”

Of course, employing spiritual reasoning does not exclude us from considering the less-familiar Vedic texts mentioned above, which in fact can be quite helpful, and the Dharmasutras themselves enjoin: “When there are no specific rules in Vedic texts, Manu has said that one may follow the laws of one’s region, caste, or family” (Vasistha Dharmasutra 1.17).  Nevertheless, it is true that people with exclusive homosexual orientation are not specifically addressed in any of the most important Vaishnava scriptures.  The Bhagavad Gita, for instance, does not mention homosexual behavior or the Vedic third sex at all.  Hindu scholars sometimes cite verse 7.11 as a condemnation of homosexuality (“I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles…”) but this verse simply exalts religious sexuality as the highest representation of Lord Krsna.  Krsna also states in the Gita (10.31), “of fishes I am the shark,” but this does not mean that all other species of fish are therefore condemned and useless.  The Lord Himself does not dismiss people falling short of religious principles but instead encourages them to remain in the fold by working for Him (12.10).  Furthermore, the key criteria of irreligiosity and social degradation cited in the Bhagavad Gita (1.40-43) are the exploitation of women and subsequent unwanted progeny—elements having nothing at all to do with homosexuality.

Since the major Hindu and Vaishnava scriptures are silent and consequently neutral in their approach to homosexuality, perhaps our teachers would do best to remain unbiased as well.  Through this approach, sexual abstinence and responsibility can be promoted equally across the board regardless of a person’s sexual orientation or gender differences.  Some of Srila Prabhupada’s more memorable statements such as “sex is sex” or “what is the difference if a person is held in this material world by a gold chain, or by a silver chain?” illustrate this preferred approach, wherein no particular class is demonized or excluded from the Vedic path.

The Dharma Shastra

The Bhavisya Purana states that the Dharma Shastra or scriptures dealing in religious law and behavior were originally transmitted from Lord Brahma to Manu at the beginning of the creation and later abridged into four smaller texts by the sages Bhrgu (Manusmriti), Narada (Narada-smriti), Brhaspati, Angiras, and others.  The Manusmriti is the most prominent of these texts and also known as the Manu Samhita.  Its present written form is dated approximately to the third century B.C. but was orally transmitted for many thousands of years before that.  The Narada-smriti is lesser known and especially relevant to our study of the third sex since it contains explicit definitions of the fourteen types of panda or “men who are impotent with women.”  The current written text is dated to the first century B.C. and was particularly prominent in northeastern India and Nepal.  The Narada-smriti influenced early Buddhist concepts regarding the third sex and can be traced as far eastward as Vietnam, wherein twelfth-century inscriptions from the Kingdom of Champa mention a dignitary in the court of Jaya Harivarman I said to have been a great scholar of the text.  Other Dharma Shastra texts include the Visnusmriti, Yajnavalkya-smriti and various Dharmasutras composed by Vasistha, Apastambha, Gautama and Baudhayana.  The written Dharmasutras are similar or even older in date to the Manusmriti but mostly consistent in their approach.  Injunctions regarding third-gender citizens are summarized in the sections below.

Defining the Third Sex:  The first reference to the third sex in the Manusmriti states: “As a third-gender man is unproductive with women…so also is a brahmana useless who does not know the Vedas” (2.158).  The second reference describes the third sex as inborn:

A male child is produced by a greater quantity of male seed, a female child by the prevalence of the female; if both are equal, a third-sex child (napumsa) or boy and girl twins are produced; if either are weak or deficient in quantity, a failure of conception results. (Manusmriti 3.49)

This verse is highly significant and repeated throughout the Vedic canon.  It establishes the third sex as an inborn nature rather than an adopted vice or crime and subsequently all laws within the Dharma Shastra regarding third-gender citizens are based upon this premise.  The term “seed” refers to the male and female reproductive fluids and hormones known as sukra and sonita, respectively.  Similar verses are found throughout Vedic literature; for instance, in Chapter 48 of the Brahmanda Purana it is stated: “At the time of conception, if the woman’s vaginal fluids exceed the amount of semen the child will be female; if the semen exceeds, then it will be male.  If both are equal in quantity the offspring will be of the third sex.”

The next question is: What exactly is a napumsaka or third-gender person?  The Manusmriti does not provide this answer but the Narada-smriti gives us a clue—out of the fourteen types of third-gender men listed as panda, seven are declared incurable: the nisarga, vadhri, irshyaka, sevyaka, vataretas, mukhebhaga and anyapati.  In regard to these it is important to note that all seven are either clearly or possibly homosexual, transgender or intersex and that only the first (nisarga) would be recognizable at birth.  The third sex is thus often known as “the hidden sex” because it is commonly not identified until later in life.

Richard W. Lariviere’s translation of Narada’s text (The Naradasmrti, 2003) interprets three types of panda somewhat differently from those mentioned in this book.  Lariviere translates sevyaka as “homosexual,” vataretas as “one who ejaculates prematurely,” and aksipta as “one who cannot ejaculate.”  In regard to the sevyaka as homosexual, this definition is put forward by Bhavasvamin, an important eighth-century A.D. commentator on this text.  The Narada-smriti also mentions several clues for testing a pandaka such as examining his physique, gait and voice for masculine traits, seeing that his stools sink in water and observing his urination as noisy and foamy (12.8-10).  In Lariviere’s notes on the testing of prospective grooms for impotence, he writes: “I translate the term pandaka as ‘impotent’ rather than the conventional term ‘eunuch.’  A eunuch would be easily identifiable by a simple physical examination.  The term must be taken to mean, broadly, a male who is unable to impregnate a woman.”  Herein Lariviere recognizes that the term “eunuch,” as understood today, is not sufficiently broad enough to convey the true meaning of a panda.  It should also be noted that, based on the different types of panda described in the Narada-smriti, testing for male impotence would necessarily include not only a physical examination of the man’s anatomy but also a study of his interaction with women.  Such a study using women is curiously absent from the Narada-smriti although it is clearly given priority in other Vedic accounts of the procedure.

Besides Lariviere, other modern scholars are also beginning to reexamine and revise the traditional English translations of Sanskrit third-gender terms.  To cite an additional example, author Patrick Olivelle (Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana and Vasistha, 2000) defines shandha as “a man whose sexual organs are lacking or have been removed” and kliba as “an impotent or effeminate man.”  While these definitions are somewhat simplistic it is nevertheless encouraging to see modern authors reevaluating third-gender terms and discarding the older, archaic interpretations.

Absence of Punishment For the Third Sex:  Because the Dharma Shastra considers the third sex to be an inborn nature rather than an acquired vice, no verses punish third-gender citizens for their characteristic behavior.  No laws penalize third-gender men for refusing to marry women or conceive children (quite the contrary) and no laws punish crossdressing, male prostitution, private homosexual behavior, etc.  A few ordinances admonish homosexual behavior among brahmanas, twice-born men and unmarried girls but only mildly or under specific circumstances.  This attitude contrasts greatly with Western religious codes that misidentify cross-gender behavior as an acquired vice and punish it severely, even up to death.  Indeed, the Dharma Shastra texts verily forbid a king from using his weapon against a third-gender man or kliba (Yajnavalkya-smriti 1.326) and declare that he must never beat or even fine such a person (Narada-smriti 15.14-15).

Laws Admonishing Homosexual Behavior Among Brahmanas and Unmarried Girls:  As previously mentioned, the Manusmriti declares homosexual intercourse involving brahmana or twice-born males (pums) to cause loss of caste unless atoned for by a ritual bath (11.68, 175).  These are the only statements in the Dharma Shastra explicitly admonishing homosexual behavior among men.  In regard to women, the Manusmriti’s only concern is with the violation of young, unmarried girls; typically aged eight to twelve years in Vedic times.  A fine of two hundred panas (small copper coins) plus double the wedding fee, along with ten lashings, is prescribed for sexual penetration between two unmarried maidens.  If an adult woman is the violator, her head is shaved or two fingers are cut off and she is made to ride through town on a donkey (8.369-370).  The same punishment of amputation is prescribed for men violating young girls and there are no prohibitions against homosexual relations between adult women.  The Narada-smriti, Yajnavalkya-smriti and Dharmasutras offer no specific injunctions against male or female homosexual behavior whatsoever.

Several verses in the Dharma Shastra admonish brahmanas, priests and twice-born men that engage in viyoni or ayoni sex.  Viyoni sex refers to intercourse in a “base vagina” such as with a sudra woman, a prostitute or a female animal, whereas ayoni sex refers to “non-vaginal” methods of intercourse including using one’s hand, the mouth of another, the thighs, the anus, etc.  The Apastambha (1.26.7), Gautama (25.7), Baudhayana (3.7.1-7; 4.1.19; 4.2.13) and Vasistha Dharmasutras all admonish snatakas or purified brahmanas who engage in viyoni or ayoni sex.  If these codes are violated, atonements are prescribed that include taking a ritual bath, fasting, or reciting prayers.  The Narada-smriti (12.75) offers fines of one hundred to five hundred panas as an alternative to such atonements whereas the Yajnavalkya-smriti (293) offers a smaller amount of twenty-four panas.  Brahmanas and twice-born men who habitually break these religious codes lose their brahminical or twice-born status (Gautama Dharmasutra 21.1).

Laws Prescribing Castration:  Male castration is occasionally mentioned in the Dharma Shastra as a punishment for heterosexual crimes involving adultery and rape.  The Manusmriti (8.374) and Gautama Dharmasutra (12.2) recommend castration for a sudra who has intercourse with an unguarded woman of a higher varna while the Narada-smriti (12.72-74) prescribes the same for a non-brahmana who pollutes various types of respectable women.  The Apastambha Dharmasutra (26.19-20) ordains castration when a young man rapes another man’s wife or an unmarried maiden.  Voluntary castration is suggested as the atonement for a brahmana who violates the wife of his guru or some other elder.  The Manusmriti (11.104-105) and Yajnavalkya-smriti (259), as well as the Gautama (23.9-10), Baudhayana (2.1.13-15) and Vasistha (20.13) Dharmasutras, all enjoin such a brahmana to either embrace a red-hot idol of a woman or cut off his male organs, hold them in his palms and walk toward the southwest until death.

No injunctions in the Dharma Shastra prescribe castration for third-gender men and there are no accounts of castration as a voluntary practice among the same.  The Narada-smriti (12.12) defines the vadhri as “a man whose testicles have been cut out” but offers no description of such men or why they have been castrated.  The earliest Sanskrit reference explicitly linking third-gender men to castration—the fourteenth-century A.D. Smriti-ratnavali’s definition of a shandha—comes to us well after the arrival of Islamic influence in India.

Impotence and Marriage:  The Manusmriti is silent on the topic of marrying impotent or third-gender men to women but other Dharma Shastra texts clearly forbid it.  The Narada-smriti in particular prohibits the marriage of homosexual and other types of impotent men to women (12.14-18) and allows a woman to reject any suitor or husband lacking male virility (12.37, 97).  It presents clear guidelines for testing the potency of men and identifies the fourteen types discussed earlier.  The Yajnavalkya-smriti (1.55) similarly states that the potency of a bridegroom should be “well tried” prior to marriage and the Vasistha (17.20) and Baudhayana (2.3.27) Dharmasutras provide one of the definitions of a remarried woman as “she who leaves an impotent husband (kliba) to marry another man.”  The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions that the wife of an impotent husband may, with his permission, get another man to impregnate her with a son; in such cases, both men are considered legal fathers to the boy (2.3.17-18).  Regarding infertile women, the Baudhayana Dharmasutra declares that a man may dismiss his wife if she does not bear him a child after ten years of marriage (2.4.6).

The eight types of Vedic marriage or vivaha are listed and defined in the Manusmriti (3.20-34) as follows:

1. Brahma—the father gives away his daughter, covered with costly garments and jewels, to a learned man of good conduct.
2. Daiva—the father gives away his daughter, decked with ornaments, to a priest officiating at a sacrifice.
3. Arsha—the father gives away his daughter to the groom after receiving a cow and a bull, or a pair of either, from him.
4. Prajapatya—the father gives away his daughter as a gift and blesses the new couple after showing honor to the groom.
5. Asura—the groom receives the maiden after voluntarily giving as much wealth as he can afford to her and her family.
6. Gandharva—the maiden and her lover unite voluntarily, spurred on by their desire for sexual intercourse.
7. Rakshasa—the maiden is forcibly kidnapped from home after her family has been killed or wounded in battle.
8. Pisacha—the maiden is secretly violated and raped while asleep, intoxicated, disabled, etc.

The Manusmriti considers the first six of these lawful for a brahmana and the last four for a ksatriya.  The same last four, with the exception of the seventh, are permitted for a vaishya and a sudra (3.23).  The Baudhayana Dharmasutra (1.20.10) considers only the first four lawful for a brahmana but then states: “Some commend the gandharva form of marriage for all, because it flows from love” (1.20.16).

Verses throughout the Dharma Shastra extol marriage, procreation and child rearing but also point out their illusory nature in favor of renunciation.  To cite one example, the Apastambha Dharmasutra provides two interesting quotes in regard to not desiring offspring:

The eighty thousand seers who desired offspring went along the sun’s southern course.  They obtained cremation grounds.

The eighty thousand seers who did not desire offspring went along the sun’s northern course.  They, indeed, attained immortality.
(Apastambha Dharmasutra 23.4-5)

Varnasrama-Dharma:  The Vedic system of varnasrama-dharma or social organization according to occupation (varna) and order of life (asrama) is promoted throughout Vedic literature but especially in the Dharma Shastra.  The word varna is often misinterpreted as “caste” or “occupation by birth” in English but the ultimate criterion for both varna and asrama is factual qualification, not birth.  The modern-day caste system of India, based on birth alone, is a perversion of the original Vedic system and known as demonic or asura-varnasrama.  Divine or daiva-varnasrama, on the other hand, is God-centered and based on a person’s true qualifications and nature regardless of birth.  To summarize, the four divisions of varna are as follows:

1. Brahmana—priests, teachers and advisors who are truthful, self-controlled and learned.
2. Ksatriya—administrators, officers and soldiers who are strong, heroic and able to lead.
3. Vaishya—merchants, bankers and agriculturalists who are resourceful, efficient and enterprising.
4. Sudra—servants, laborers and craftsmen who are humble, industrious and loyal.

The four divisions of asrama or orders of life are:

1. Brahmacarya—student life.
2. Grhastha—householder or married life.
3. Vanaprastha—retired life.
4. Sannyasa—fully renounced life.

In Vedic culture, brahmanas are educated in the scriptures and trained to uphold higher moral standards.  They receive initiation or diksa into the chanting of sacred mantras and are thus considered “twice born” or dvija.  Ksatriyas and vaishyas may also undergo such training if they are qualified but sudras generally do not.  Thus sudras, as well as uninitiated ksatriyas and vaishyas, are not held to the higher brahminical standards outlined in the Dharma Shastra.  Regarding citizens of the third sex, under the daiva-varnasrama system they can adopt any of the above occupations or orders they are qualified for.  Under the asura-varnasrama system, however, such people are excluded from these and forced to live as social outcastes.  This latter policy is especially prominent in Kali Yuga and based upon bodily prejudice.

Legal Codes Specific To the Third Sex:  Both the Manusmriti (9.201) and Narada-smriti (13.20) exclude men of the third sex from receiving family inheritance, due to their lack of progeny.  If they “somehow or other” manage to take wives and have children, however, the Manusmriti states that the children in such cases are entitled to a share (9.203).  Either way, the family is required to provide maintenance to their third-gender offspring in accordance with their income (9.202).  These same injunctions are repeated in the Yajnavalkya-smriti (2.140-141) and the four Dharmasutras: Apastamba (2.14.1), Gautama (28.43), Baudhayana (2.3.37-38) and Vasistha (17.53-54).  The Vasistha Dharmasutra further states that a king should maintain third-gender citizens with no family because their estates go back to him after their demise (19.35-36).

The Narada-smriti (1.159-171) prohibits people of the third sex, along with countless other types, from testifying in court for minor but not major offenses.  It also forbids third-gender citizens from undergoing the holy water ordeal as a test of innocence at trials (20.45).  In the holy water ordeal, an accused twice-born man drinks bath water from the temple deity and if anything unusual happens to him within two weeks his guilt is revealed.  The Narada-smriti also states that people considered impure by smarta standards—the uninitiated, their wives, impotent men, the crippled, elephant drivers, butchers, outcastes—should be beaten if they violate customary rules or offend virtuous men.  They should not, however, be beaten by the king himself or ever fined (15.12-15).

Smarta-Dharma:  Smarta-dharma refers to the countless rules and regulations followed by smarta-brahmanas (ritualistic priests) and snatakas (purists).  In regard to these, the Manusmriti prohibits people of the third sex, along with many other types, from receiving sraddha offerings from the forefathers and ancestral gods (3.150, 165).  It also discourages smarta-brahmanas and snatakas from receiving meals or attending sacrifices offered by such people (4.205, 206).  The Yajnavalkya-smriti (1.223) similarly prohibits third-gender men from performing sraddha ceremonies and the Gautama (15.16) and Vasistha (11.19) Dharmasutras discourage snatakas from inviting or even feeding third-gender men at such events.  These smarta injunctions are based on the idea that third-gender men and women do not appease their forefathers or ancestral gods by producing progeny.

The Manusmriti (4.211) further enjoins smarta-brahmanas not to accept food offerings from the third sex, as does the Yajnavalkya-smriti (1.161) and the Apastamba (1.18.27, 1.19.14), Gautama (17.17) and Vasistha (14.2, 19) Dharmasutras.  The Yajnavalkya-smriti (1.215-216) and Vasistha Dharmasutra (14.12-13) prohibit snatakas from accepting gifts from the third sex (shandha) unless they are used for deities, guests, elders, servants or the snatakas themselves.  A verse from the Vasistha Dharmasutra (12.31) prohibits a snataka from eating in the company of his wife because otherwise “his children will lack manly vigor.”  In a chapter on atonement, the Manusmriti (11.134) states that a brahmana causing the death of a third-gender animal (shandha) should atone for it by giving away a load of straw and masa (0.61 grams) of lead.  This same atonement is cited in the Gautama Dharmasutra (22.23) whereas the Yajnavalkya-smriti prescribes giving away brass metal (3.273).  According to the eleventh-century A.D. commentator, Haradatta, a “third-gender animal” especially refers to castrated beasts such as oxen.

Vaishnava-Dharma:  According to vaishnava-dharma, most of the strict rules and regulations cited above can be disregarded because they consider only a person’s material body and not their moral or devotional qualifications.  Furthermore, injunctions that interfere with a person’s worship of God can be rejected immediately.  Vaishnava saint Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura expresses this important point in his book, Jaiva Dharma (1896), as follows:

[A Vaishnava] never adheres blindly to the rules and prohibitions of the sastras [scriptures].  He accepts the instructions of the sastras graciously, but only when they are favorable to his practice of hari-bhajana [worship of God].  When they are unfavorable, he immediately rejects them.   (Jaiva Dharma, p. 54)

To put the above-cited smarta-dharma injunctions into context, the same texts prohibit snatakas from accepting gifts or foodstuffs presented by kings, mayors, tax collectors, sudras, dark-skinned races, foreigners, non-Aryans, goldsmiths, money lenders, weapons dealers, spies, physicians, carpenters, artisans, performers, musicians, actors, basket weavers, tailors, laundrymen, cloth dyers, leather workers, hunters, dog trainers, blacksmiths, menstruating women, unchaste females, prostitutes, outcastes and numerous other types in addition to the third sex (Manusmriti 4.205-221).  These people are also deemed unfit to perform or attend sraddha ceremonies (Manusmriti 3.150-168) and are furthermore prohibited from testifying in court for minor offenses (Narada-smriti 1.159-169).  Thus it is important to note that only mundane religionists—those on the lowest platform of religious life—indiscriminately follow all of the exclusive policies mentioned in the Dharma Shastra.  Liberal-minded Hindus and Vaishnavas automatically transcend such injunctions by viewing everyone equally and inviting all members of society to worship God, receive offerings, present gifts, etc., regardless of body type or class.  This is because true Hindu or Vaishnava dharma has nothing to do with a person’s physical body or birth but rather the welfare of the soul.

The Artha Shastra

The Artha Shastra or scriptures dealing in economic development and statecraft were transmitted from Lord Brahma to the divine preceptors, Brhaspati and Sukracarya, who in turn abridged these texts for mankind.  The renowned scholar Kautilya, also known as Vishnugupta or Canakya Pandit, preserved the Artha Shastra in its present written form sometime during the fourth century B.C.  As with the Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, Kautilya’s work dominates the field in terms of Sanskrit texts representing the Artha Shastra.  Whereas Dharma Shastra texts address scriptural laws regarding brahmanas, the twice born, court procedures and atonement, the Artha Shastra is primarily concerned with economic guidelines, kingly duties, civil management, taxation and fines.  Injunctions from the Artha Shastra regarding the third sex are summarized in the sections below.    

Duties of the King:  The Artha Shastra describes men of the third sex serving as house attendants and harem supervisors (1.20.21), spies (1.12.21), secret assassins (12.5.51) and servants to the king: “When risen from bed, [the king] should be surrounded by female guards bearing bows and, in the second hall, by third-gender servants wearing robes and turbans” (1.21.1).  This latter scenario is also described in the Valmiki Ramayana in regard to Maharaja Dasaratha.  Concerning spies, R.P. Kangle notes in his book, The Kautiliya Arthasastra (2003), that the word pandaka means the same as shandhaka.  In regard to harem supervisors, the term used is “varshadhara.” Varshadhara refers to third-gender men who voluntarily withhold their semen from women, due to a lack of desire.  The Artha Shastra also discusses enemies of the king and lists fourteen types of rulers declared easy to eliminate.  Of these, the thirteenth is an impotent king of the third gender (kliba) (6.1.13-14).  Entire sections of the Artha Shastra delineate ways in which intoxication (2.25), meat-eating (2.26), prostitution (2.27) and gambling (3.20) are to be overseen and regulated by the king.  Also mentioned is the longstanding tradition of all-male and all-female drama and dance troupes, along with several injunctions regarding them (2.27.28-29; 3.3.21).

Significantly, the Artha Shastra considers it a crime to vilify men and women of the third sex (kliba).  If the person vilified is actually impotent, a fine of twelve silver panas is imposed; if the person is not impotent, the fine is twenty-four panas.  For mocking a person of the third sex in public, the fine meted out is thirty-six panas.  The mentioned fines are for persons of equal status; if the victim is a superior or the wife of another, the fines are doubled.  If he or she is an inferior or if the vilification was committed by mistake, while intoxicated, etc., the fines are divided in half (3.18.4-5).  The Artha Shastra also mentions three sources of proof used to ascertain a vilified man’s potency or lack thereof in court: 1) women; 2) foam in the urine, and 3) the sinking of stools in water (3.18.6).  Similar but less specific injunctions against vilification are mentioned in the Manusmriti (8.274) and Narada-smriti (15.19).  As with the Dharma Shastra texts, the Artha Shastra enjoins that an impotent man of the third gender should not receive any share of the family inheritance.  If he somehow manages to have progeny that is not impotent, however, that progeny can receive a share.  The family must in any case maintain their third-gender relatives with food and clothing (3.5.30-32).

Fines For Homosexual Behavior:  Whereas the Dharma Shastra refers to panas in terms of small copper coins, the Artha Shastra refers to them as silver (2.19.2).  Either way, a pana weighs one karsa or suvarna (9.76 grams)—the equivalent of sixteen masa beans or approximately 2 U.S. pennies.  As previously mentioned, relatively minor fines are meted out in the Artha Shastra for certain instances of homosexual behavior.  Regarding unmarried girls:

A young, unmarried girl deflowered by a woman shall pay a fine of twelve panas if she was a willing party and of the same varna; the violating woman shall pay double that.  If the maiden was unwilling, the woman shall pay a fine of one hundred panas—plus the girl’s dowry—for the satisfaction of her passion. (4.12.20-21)

This verse differs from the Manusmriti, which prescribes either public humiliation or corporal punishment for the same (8.370).  Both texts offer proscriptions only in regard to the violation of young, unmarried girls and not for acts between adult women.

Concerning non-vaginal sex and male homosexuality, the Artha Shastra states:

For a male approaching a woman elsewhere than in the female organ, the lowest fine for violence shall be imposed [forty-eight to ninety-six panas]; the same applies for one misbehaving with a man. (4.13.40)

This law most likely applies only to twice-born males (pums) if we recall that the Narada-smriti (15.14-15) forbids the imposition of fines on men who are uninitiated, impotent, etc.  As with the Dharma Shastra, no verses in the Artha Shastra specifically prohibit sexual behavior among the third sex (i.e., using third-gender terms).

Various Other Laws:  Crimes between heterosexual men and women are punished quite harshly in the Artha Shastra.  For adultery and rape, the text prescribes high fines, branding of the forehead, amputation of the fingers, hand, ears or nose, and death by burning in a fire of straw or cooking in a big jar (4.13.32-33).  Castration is meted out as a penalty only in regard to incest (4.13.30) or if a person injures the genitals of another (4.11.24).  Furthermore, kings are specifically prohibited from castrating any man captured during times of war (13.5.13).  Abortion caused by a blow is punished with the highest fine for violence (five hundred to one thousand panas) or with the middle fine (two hundred to five hundred panas) if induced through medicine (4.11.6).  This differs from the Manusmriti, which offers no punishment for abortion other than penance and the refusal of libations (5.90, 11.88).  Other Dharma Shastra texts, however, punish abortion variously with banishment (Narada-smriti 12.92), loss of caste (Apastambha Dharmasutra 1.21.8; Gautama Dharmasutra 21.9; Vasistha Dharmasutra 28.7), public humiliation (Apastambha Dharmasutra 1.28.21) or even drowning (Yajnavalkya-smriti 2.278).  Child abuse is also mentioned in the Artha Shastra and punished as follows:

For a male violating a maiden of the same varna who has not attained puberty, the punishment is cutting off the hand or a fine of four hundred panas.  If the girl dies, the punishment shall be death. (4.12.1)

The act of suicide is similarly penalized quite harshly in the Artha Shastra: an outcaste is made to drag the suicide’s corpse along the royal highway and relatives are forbidden from performing any funeral rites.  If they do, they are regarded as outcastes themselves (4.7.25-27).

The Ayur Shastra

The Ayur Shastra refers to scriptures dealing in ayurveda or the science of life, health and medicine.  The two most prominent texts in this category are the Sushruta Samhita, which is somewhat older and more widely known, and the Caraka Samhita, a well-respected text among Ayurvedic doctors and health specialists.  Both books describe the third sex in detail and declare it to be inborn and incurable.

The Sushruta Samhita:  The Sushruta Samhita was transmitted from the god of medicine, Sri Dhanvantari, to Sushruta—an illustrious son of the sage Visvamitra.  Sushruta put Dhanvantari’s teachings into writing sometime around 600 B.C. and a brahmana of the name Nagarjuna preserved it in its current form sometime during the fourth century B.C.

In a chapter entitled “The Purification of the Male and Female Reproductive Fluids” (3.2), the Sushruta Samhita lists five different types of kliba or third-gender offspring that are described as inborn: asekya, saugandhika, kumbhika, irshyaka and shandha (3.2.38-45).  The first four are said to have semen and male characteristics (sukra) whereas the last is mentioned without.  In regard to the ayurveda concept of sukra and sonita (the male and female sexual fluids and hormones, respectively), these are often interpreted simply as “semen” and “menstrual fluid” but they actually involve much more than just this.  Sukra and sonita are the sixth of seven dhatus or bodily constituents produced in succession from the nourishment of food.  The seven dhatus are: 1) rakta—blood; 2) mamsa—muscle; 3) medas—fat; 4) asthi—bone; 5) majja—marrow; 6) sukra and sonita—the male and female sexual fluids, and 7) ojas—the life energy.  Sukra masculinizes the body and establishes the primary traits of male genitals and male neurology in the embryo.  It further manifests the secondary symptoms of manhood during puberty such as muscle bulk, facial and bodily hairs, Adam’s apple, a deepened voice, sexual arousal and the production of sperm and semen (retas).  Similarly, sonita feminizes the body and develops the primary traits of female genitals and female neurology in the embryo.  It further manifests the secondary symptoms of womanhood during puberty such as breast development, enlarged hips, slighter muscles, less bodily hairs and high voice, sexual arousal and the production of ovum and menstrual fluids (artavam).  Thus, sukra and sonita involve not only the semen and vaginal fluids but also what we identify today as the male and female hormones.  This should be kept in mind whenever these words are interpreted.

The unusual conception of a child between two women, without the help of any man, is also mentioned in Chapter 3.2.  Such infants are known as kalala and described as thin, boneless and misshapen (3.2.47).  The next chapter in the Sushruta Samhita (3.3) is entitled “Pregnancy” and describes the third sex as inborn:

The birth of a male child follows the preponderance of the male seed (sukra) over the female (sonita), while the birth of a daughter follows the preponderance of the latter. A third-sex child (napumsa) is produced when both the male and female seed are equal in quality and quantity. (3.3.4)

In the second month of gestation, a round shape indicates the male sex of an embryo while an elongated shape denotes the female.  An erratic shape like a salmali bud foretells an embryo of the third sex. (3.3.14)

A pregnant woman whose sides become raised and whose abdomen is found to bulge out in the forefront will give birth to a child of the third sex. (3.3.20)

Chapter 2.12 of the Sushruta Samhita discusses various afflictions of the male organ and their causes while Chapter 3.2 describes the different healthy and unhealthy types of reproductive fluids in both men and women.  Chapter 3.8 mentions that women and third-gender men (kliba) should not undergo any type of venesection or bloodletting, while Chapter 6.38 lists twenty afflictions involving the female organ (yoni) and describes their respective symptoms and treatments.  Four of these afflictions involve third-gender types: vandhya, putraghni, shandhi and sucivaktra.  The first two are considered curable in some cases whereas the latter two are permanently sterile (6.38.5-8).

Chapter 4.24 of the Sushruta Samhita enjoins ordinary males to keep healthy habits and have intercourse with their wives only according to prescribed principles.  Copulation with sterile women is said to be detrimental to the semen and intellect whereas intercourse with animals, through non-vaginal methods, or in diseased vaginas results in excessive loss of semen, aggravation of the life-airs (vayu) and diseases such as syphilis (upadamsa).  Intercourse with the woman positioned on top is said to cause seminal concretions in the bladder (4.24.89).

In a chapter of the Sushruta Samhita entitled “Male Virility” (4.26), six different causes of male impotence are listed:  1) the mind; 2) the diet; 3) excessive intercourse; 4) disease; 5) an inborn nature (sahaja), and 6) voluntary suppression or utter apathy (4.26.3).  Of these, the fifth type is declared incurable along with any disease causing permanent damage to the genital tracts.  As for the rest, various types of aphrodisiac tonics known as vajikarana are recommended that instill great male potency.

In a chapter describing poisonous snakes and their respective bites, the Sushruta Samhita (5.4) provides an interesting example illustrating that Vedic science also acknowledges a third sex within the animal kingdom:

The eyes, tongue, mouth and head of a male serpent are large, whereas those of a female snake are small.  Snakes with both features, along with milder venom and a less irritable disposition, are of the third sex (napumsaka). (5.4.18)

The vision or the pupils of a person bitten by a male snake are turned upward, whereas downcast eyes and the appearance of veins on the forehead indicate a female snake as the attacker.  A patient bitten by a third-gender snake gazes sidelong. (5.4.25)

The Caraka Samhita:  The Caraka Samhita was originally transmitted from Lord Brahma to Prajapati Daksa, from Daksa to the Asvini Kumaras and from those celestial physicians to Indra, who in turn handed the science down to Atri Muni.  Atri Muni passed the knowledge on to his son, Atreya, and his disciple, Agnivesa, put the revered precepts into writing.  The Caraka Samhita in its present form comes to us from the illustrious physician, Caraka, who preserved the original Agnivesa text sometime around 200 B.C.  Approximately one-third of the text was lost over time but later restored by a royal physician of the name Drdhabala during the Gupta period.

In a chapter entitled “Embryological Development” (4.2), the Caraka Samhita lists eight types of sexually impotent or napumsa offspring considered inborn and incurable: dviretas, pavanendriya, samskaravahi, narashandha, narishandha, vakri, irshyabhirati and vatika-shandha (4.2.17-21).  It is important to note that only three of these types (dviretas, vakri and vatika-shandha) are identifiable at birth; the remaining five are determined later on in life when problems arise with sexual impotence.  Unlike the works of Sushruta, the Caraka Samhita does not explicitly mention homosexual behavior; nevertheless, the renowned eleventh-century A.D. Bengali physician, Cakrapani Datta, asserts in his commentaries that the word samskaravahi includes the five types of kliba associated with homosexual acts and mentioned by Sushruta.

A related chapter of the Caraka Samhita entitled “Formation of the Embryo” (4.4) states that when the fetus of a pregnant woman is situated on her left side and she experiences lactation in the left breast, activity in her left body parts, womanly dreams, desires and so on, the child will be female.  The opposite from this indicates a male child and if mixed symptoms occur, a child of the third sex (4.2.24-25).  The Caraka Samhita also mentions that the sex of the embryo becomes discernible during the second month of pregnancy.  If the embryo is round in shape, the child is male; if elongated, female, and if erratic, the child will be of the third sex (4.4.10).  Furthermore, if the consciousness of the fetus is feminine, female characteristics will develop during the third month of pregnancy and likewise in regard to male characteristics if the consciousness is masculine.  If the consciousness of the fetus is both feminine and masculine, third-gender characteristics will develop (4.4.14).

The same chapter of the Caraka Samhita goes on to state that when the mother’s doshas (the three bodily substances known as vayu, pitta and kapha) become gravely afflicted and affect her reproductive fluids, hormones or ovum, that affliction is transferred to her child at the time of conception.  When the chromosomes (bijabhaga) are afflicted the child becomes sterile and when the genes (bijabhagavayava) are afflicted the child will be either sterile or develop mixed physical traits (intersex).  Such a female offspring is called varta and a male, trnaputrika (4.4.30-31).  The Caraka Samhita also mentions that if the mother continually eats pungent and spicy hot foods during pregnancy, her child will become weak, deficient in semen, or sterile (4.8.21).  Prior to the third month of pregnancy, if the parents desire a male child but have doubts regarding the sex of the embryo, they may perform the Vedic rite known as pumsavana.  According to the Caraka Samhita, wherein this rite is fully described, the parents can actually change the sex of their embryo from female or third gender to male with the successful performance of this ritual (4.4.19).

Throughout Chapters 4.2-8, the sage Atreya explains to his disciple, Agnivesa, how innumerable factors contribute to the physical and psychic composition of the fetus.  These include the child’s previous birth, deeds, desires and state of mind as well as the parents’ own consciousness, health and personal efforts (paurusha).  To summarize in regard to the third sex, the living entity is said to take shelter of a third-gender embryo due to previous life impressions, deeds and desires.  Such an embryo is produced according to the activities of the parents, the course of nature itself, and ultimately divine ordinance or daiva.  If a third-gender embryo is afflicted within the womb it becomes sterile or unusually formed; otherwise, it develops normally and manifests as third gender only in terms of the psyche (desire and behavior).

In a chapter discussing aphrodisiacs or vajikarana, the Caraka Samhita (6.2) disparages men without progeny while glorifying those who sire many children (6.2.1.16-23).  It praises celibacy but cites the practice as a cause of certain ailments if the candidate is not qualified (1.7.10-11).  The Caraka Samhita warns against excessive indulgence in sexual intercourse and points out that a man’s potency is not necessarily discernible through physical characteristics.  It notes there are men of small stature, weak constitution or debilitated by disease that are otherwise highly potent with women and capable of begetting numerous offspring.  Such men “penetrate women frequently like sparrows.”  On the other hand, there are those who are impotent with women even though their bodies are large, strong and “discharge semen as profusely as elephants” (6.2.4.3-5).  Four types of sexually potent men are then listed: 1) those who are potent according to time and season; 2) those who become potent with practice; 3) those who become potent by taking aphrodisiacs or extraordinary measures, and 4) those who are potent like bulls by nature (6.2.4.6-10).  The Caraka Samhita states that men should not engage in intercourse before the age of sixteen or after seventy and that semen is diminished by old age, anxiety, disease, masturbation, fasting and sexual intercourse itself.  Even if a man is full of semen, the text asserts, he may be impotent with women due to various psychological reasons such as wasting, fear, lack of confidence, grief, some fault in the woman, ignorance of sexual enjoyment, lack of determination or simple disinterest.  The Caraka Samhita states that male potency is ultimately based on sexual arousal, which in turn depends not only upon a virile body but also a virile mind (6.2.4.36-45).  It then cites seven symptoms of healthy semen (6.2.4.50) and provides numerous recipes for making powerful aphrodisiacs.  In regard to these, commentator Gangadhara Raya states that the word purusa in connection with aphrodisiacs indicates they are appropriate only for first-gender males—not women, children, the elderly or men of the third sex.

Chapter 6.30 of the Caraka Samhita describes eight types of unhealthy semen, their symptoms, causes and remedies (6.30.133-152).  Four types of male impotence are also cited: 1) those due to inborn causes or a complete absence of semen; 2) those due to erectile dysfunction; 3) those due to old age, and 4) those due to some deficiency in the semen (1.19.5, 6.30.154).  The Caraka Samhita provides a detailed description of each type along with their symptoms, causes and remedies.  In regard to the first category, this type is declared incurable and further divided into three: a) the inborn types previously described under napumsa; b) men whose reproductive organs have been destroyed by disease, and c) men who have had their penis or testicles removed.  Concerning the inborn types, the Caraka Samhita states that such men do not behave like males even though fully endowed with male organs (6.30.154-190).  In regard to men who have had their penis or testicles removed, this is the only reference to male castration found in either the Caraka or Sushruta Samhita and neither text provides a reason for the procedure nor any description of it.

Chapter 6.30 lists twenty disorders of the female reproductive system that are similar to those mentioned in the Sushruta Samhita.  It describes all of their symptoms, causes and remedies (6.30.1-125, 204-231) and cites three types that involve women of the third gender: putraghni, sucimukhi and shandhi.  The Caraka Samhita asserts that the putraghni is sometimes curable whereas the latter two are inborn and permanent.

In a section of the Caraka Samhita describing good conduct to ensure one’s health and well being, the physician Caraka states that a man should not make friendship with young boys, old men, the afflicted, or men of the third sex (1.8.25).  This unusual statement is not found in other texts and contradicts higher Vaishnava teachings of becoming a friend to one and all.

Third-gender snakes are also mentioned in the Caraka Samhita in a chapter discussing poisons (6.28).  Therein it is stated that such snakes are identified as appearing “terrorized” when happened upon.  Furthermore, the victim of a female snakebite is said to look downwards, have a feeble voice and trembling body.  The opposite of this indicates a male snakebite and if mixed traits are observed, a third-gender serpent delivered the wound (6.28.130-132).

The Kama Shastra

At the beginning of creation, Lord Brahma delivered the Kama Shastra or scriptures dealing in sense pleasure to Nandi—the renowned companion and carrier of Lord Siva.  Nandi later imparted that knowledge to the sage Shvetaketu, who in turn consolidated the teachings of the Kama Shastra into writing sometime during the eighth century B.C.  The renowned brahmana, Babhru, along with his many sons, summarized Shvetaketu’s vast work and this summary was later divided into several treatises during the third and first centuries B.C.  It was these treatises that were recompiled by Vatsyayana into the Kama Sutra, the essential Kama Shastra available today.  Lesser-known Kama Shastra texts include the Kamatantra, Kokasastra, Nagarasarvasva and several of the original works based on the writings of Babhru.  The following references to the third sex are found mostly within Vatsyayana’s fourth century A.D. Kama Sutra.

The Third Sex As Inborn:  While the Kama Sutra uses the term tritiya-prakriti to describe the intrinsic nature of homosexual and transgender behavior, other Kama Shastra texts provide more explicit descriptions of the third sex as inborn.  The Nagarasarvasva of Bhikshu Padmashri, for instance, a tenth century A.D. Kama Shastra text from northeastern India, discusses six major nerves in the vagina, two of which are known as putri and duhitrini (located to the right, at the very bottom).  In his commentary on Kama Sutra 2.2.31, Devadatta Shastri quotes the Nagarasarvasva as follows: “By stimulating putri, a woman stays young.  With duhitrini she bears sons, while with putri, daughters.  If both centers are activated at the same time, the child will be homosexual.”

Summary of Kama Sutra 2.8:  The chapter of the Kama Sutra entitled Purushayita or “Aggressive Behavior in Women” is a continuation of Chapter Six’s coverage of exceptional types of intercourse known as citrarata.  In the practice of purushayita, the couple reverses roles (“woman on top”) and the woman may also penetrate the man using her fingers or a dildo (2.8.1-10).  These same acts occur between women and Vatsyayana uses a lesbian couple (svairini) to demonstrate the different techniques of purushayita, including the eight types of aggressive penetration known as purushopasriptani.  This comprises the bulk of the chapter from verse 11 through 41.  Since Chapter Six (2.6.50) mentions that intercourse between men (purushopasripta) is also covered in this section, it is taken that these techniques apply equally to male couples.

Summary of Kama Sutra 2.9:  This chapter, entitled Auparishtaka or “Oral Sex,” describes men of the third sex (tritiya-prakriti) in two different ways according to whether they appear as masculine or feminine.  The feminine types have womanly mannerisms and sometimes dress up as females whereas the masculine types are manly and discreet, often serving as barbers or masseurs.  Both types are known to work as prostitutes.  Vatsyayana uses a masculine-type masseur of the third sex to demonstrate the eight techniques of auparishtaka and his client is similarly a discreet, masculine-type townsman (nagaraka).  After describing the eight techniques, Vatsyayana mentions that low-class women also perform these acts on men but stresses that it is not recommended.  He then discusses different regions in India that either accept or frown upon oral sex as a practice between men and women.  Returning briefly to the third sex, Vatsyayana mentions young male servants who perform oral sex on other men, as well as third-gender citizens who get married together out of great attachment and faith.  Then, continuing his discussion of auparishtaka as a practice between men and women, Vatsyayana discourages males from performing it on females.  He describes an additional technique known as “the crow” (simultaneous oral sex) but again discourages it, especially for brahmanas and leading members of society.  In conclusion, Vatsyayana leaves the practice of oral sex to one’s own discretion, adding that we cannot know who engages in it, or why.

Homosexual Marriage and “Parigraha”:  Some scholars question Alain Danielou’s translation of Kama Sutra 2.9.36, which interprets the word parigraha as “marriage.”  Like most Sanskrit terms, parigraha has many different meanings such as “to seize,” “to take in marriage” and “to engage in sexual intercourse.”  In her book, Love’s Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West (pp. 46-47), Ruth Vanita analyzes this term and concludes: “Parigraha, unlike vivaha (which is fully sanctioned marriage) can be used to refer to different types of marriage, including lower-status ones, and also to lasting bonds outside of traditional marriage, such as those between a man and another man’s wife or those between a courtesan and her long-term lover…the term parigraha refers to mutual intercourse, but also carries the connotation of a union or bond of mutual acceptance, such as taking someone in marriage.”  Vanita also mentions that in her review of the Kama Sutra she found parigraha used eight times for “marriage,” five times for “to seize or obtain” and six times for “copulation.”

Various Types and Lists:  In a chapter of the Kama Sutra (1.5) discussing intermediate or temporary partners, paramours in romantic dalliances are said to be of five types: 1) the young, unmarried girl; 2) the widow or divorcee; 3) the prostitute; 4) the consenting married woman, and 5) a partner of the third sex:

To these four must be added the third sex (tritiya-prakriti), the transgenders and homosexuals who have particular practices and constitute a fifth category of sexual partners. (1.5.27)

In a chapter of the Kama Sutra discussing the stimulation of erotic love (2.1), romantic desire is said to arise in four different ways: 1) by continuous practice; 2) from deep within the imagination and without previous experience; 3) by substituting an absent lover for another, and 4) under the prospect of material gain.  Regarding the second type, the Kama Sutra states that such romantic desires concern women and third-gender men who engage in practices such as auparishtaka (2.1.39-42).

In a chapter discussing appropriate behavior before and after lovemaking (2.10), the Kama Sutra lists seven types of amorous relations: 1) those born of physical attraction; 2) those produced by long cohabitation; 3) those feigned; 4) those substituted while thinking of another; 5) those formed without any attachment or feeling; 6) those that are degrading, and 7) those without any restrictions whatsoever.  In regard to the fifth type known as potarata, it is stated:

Potarata, or neutral sex, refers to occasional sexual relations due to the need for sexual satisfaction, with persons of no account, water-bearers, servant-women, men of the third sex, etc. (2.10.22)

The purport to this verse is that ordinary townsmen sometimes engage in relations with third-gender men, not out of natural attraction or feeling but for easy sexual satisfaction.  Vatsyayana states that such behavior is not recommended.

Third-Gender Men and Women in the Gynoecium:  Regarding polygamous marriages, Yashodhara mentions in his commentary on Kama Sutra 4.2.43 that a remarried widow should report to her husband all of the misconduct of her co-wives, including those “having relations with lesbians.”  Verse 4.2.56 of the Kama Sutra states that queens of a royal harem “must have servants or men of the third sex to bring the king flower garlands, ointments, and clothes as gifts.”  In a chapter discussing behavior in the gynoecium or female apartments (5.6), amorous relations between the wives are described as follows:

As a protective measure, nobody may enter the inner apartments.  There is only one husband while the wives, who are often several, therefore remain unsatisfied.  This is why, in practice, they have to obtain their satisfaction among themselves.

The nurse’s daughter along with female companions and slaves, dressed up as men, take the husband’s place using carrots, fruits, and other objects to satisfy their desires. (5.6.1-2)

In verse forty-five of the same chapter, Vatsyayana cites eight causes of misconduct among wives in the gynoecium, the seventh of which is “contact with independent women or lesbians.”

The Kama Shastra and Vaishnavism:  Some Vaishnava scholars dismiss the Kama Shastra since it emphasizes worldly enjoyment over renunciation.  Others, however, value at least some of the information it offers, not in terms of religious behavior but in regard to the practicalities of married life, human sexuality and seldom-discussed topics such as the third sex.  Indeed, many Vaishnava acaryas refer to the Kama Shastra in their writings and Lord Krsna’s gopi girlfriends, as well as some of His male servants or sahayakas, are all said to be expert in its teachings.  In his Srimad Bhagavatam commentaries, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes the Kama Shastra as “the science of sex” (4.25.38) and “the scripture in which suitable arrangements are prescribed for factually glorious sex life” (3.23.11).  He also explains that Vedic literature offers not only spiritual instructions but material ones as well and relates how Devahuti, an exemplary Vaishnava wife, took advantage of the Kama Shastra for the purpose of charming her husband and begetting good children.  Thus in some instances even Vaishnavas consult and utilize sections of the Kama Shastra.

Rites For Obtaining Same-Sex Love: Apart from the Kama Shastra, many Vedic texts provide rites and other mystical procedures for the purpose of obtaining love, increasing one’s sexual potency, making aphrodisiacs, love potions, etc. One of the earliest love rites mentioning same-sex desire is found in the Kaushitaki Brahma Upanisad as follows:

Now, regarding the intense longing of love stimulated by the gods:
If one should desire to become beloved of a man or of a woman or of men or of women, at one of these same points of time, having built up a fire, he offers in exactly the same manner, oblations of melted butter, saying:
“Your speech I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail!”
“Your vital breath I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail!”
“Your eye I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail!”
“Your ear I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail!”
“Your mind I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail!”
“Your intelligence I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail!”
Then, having inhaled the smell of the smoke and rubbed his limbs over with a smearing of the melted butter, silently he should go forth and desire to approach and touch [the person] or he may simply stand and converse with him from windward. He becomes beloved indeed.
(Kaushitaki Brahma Upanisad 2.4)

The Duty of Satisfying Women

A common theme found throughout Vedic literature involves the duty of first-gender males to satisfy women in terms of lovemaking, marriage, sexual intercourse and progeny.  When a woman approaches a man for any of these he is generally expected to comply or risk being viewed as a member of the third sex.  A prime example of this can be found in the Mahabharata story of Urvasi and Arjuna, wherein the celestial apsara was extremely offended when Arjuna refused her advances in lovemaking.  Indeed, the Artha Shastra (5.6.30) states: “A woman approaching a man of her own accord curses him when refused” and Mohini-murti Herself declares in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana: “Any male refusing to make love to a woman tortured by desire is an impotent man of the third sex.”  In the Yajnavalkya-smriti (1.81) it is furthermore stated, “A man should take care of the desires of his wife because Lord Indra has thus pronounced: ‘Any husband not addressing his wife’s passion during her female cycle will fall into hell.’”   

References From the Dharma Shastra:  Dharma Shastra texts such as the Narada-smriti clearly forbid the marriage of third-gender men to women:

These four—irshyaka, sevyaka, vataretas, and mukhebhaga—are to be completely rejected as unqualified for marriage, even for a woman who has been raped. (12.15)

The four types mentioned above include homosexual men, particularly the sevyaka and mukhebhaga types who have sexual relations with men and are completely unable to satisfy women in terms of romance and intercourse.  The Narada-smriti further mentions that a girl may give up on a suitor if he has any of seven flaws, the third of which is being an impotent man of the third sex (kliba) (12.37).  It states that it is not considered a punishable crime when a man has intercourse with a woman whose husband belongs to the third gender (12.61) and lists five “catastrophes” in which women are permitted to take another husband: 1) if the husband disappears, 2) if he dies, 3) if he renounces the world, 4) if he belongs to the third sex, and 5) if he becomes an outcaste (12.97).  Bhavasvamin’s eighth-century A.D. commentary on Narada-smriti 12.14 further states that parents should be punished if they marry off a third-gender man to a woman without revealing his “flaw.”

The Baudhayana Dharmasutra passes harsh judgment on any husband who does not have intercourse with his wife during her fertile period, equating such a transgression to the sin of having non-vaginal sex or, if three years pass, an abortion.  Similarly, a woman who suppresses her fertile period out of dislike for her husband is equated to an abortionist (4.1.17-21).  The same text also mentions that if a woman’s husband turns out to be of the third gender (kliba), she may either leave him to marry someone else or obtain his permission to beget a child through another man (2.3.17, 27). 

References From the Artha Shastra:  The Artha Shastra (3.2.48) also confirms that a wife may abandon her husband if he is an impotent man of the third gender (kliba).  Indeed, a marriage may be revoked and the dowry returned if either the husband or the wife proves to be sexually “defective” in any way.  For giving away an impotent maiden in marriage, the Artha Shastra prescribes a fine of ninety-six panas; if a groom marries without mentioning his impotency, the fine is double that (3.15.12-15).

References From the Kama Shastra:  In a section of the Kama Sutra discussing how a man should relax his newly married wife, it is stated:

According to the sons of Babhru, if during the first three nights the girl sees the boy lying like a corpse, without talking to her, she may imagine that he is a homosexual of the third nature. (3.2.3)

Yashodhara comments on this verse in the Jayamangala as follows: “Seeing him silent and motionless, making no attempt, like a village idiot, the girl says to herself, ‘How stupid I am.  He is either homosexual or impotent.’  She considers his lack of initiative an insult.”  The purport to this verse is that although intercourse is forbidden during the first three nights of marriage, amorous games of other sorts are required or the girl will worry that her new husband is homosexual.  Vatsyayana reiterates at the end of the chapter that women disdain men with a lack of initiative and become wounded or hostile when they do not receive any signs of love (3.2.35).  This brings to mind the story of Bahucara-devi, who cursed her husband for marrying her without any feelings of manly passion or attraction.  Apparently, even in Vedic times, third-gender men would sometimes marry women for deceptive or ill-advised purposes and this was known even among young girls.  In a later section of the Kama Sutra it is stated that women with impotent or third-gender husbands (kliba) look elsewhere for love and are therefore listed among the twenty types of wives suitable for adulterous relationships (5.1.54).

Courtesans and the Third Sex

Courtesans or ganikas have traditionally maintained close ties with the third sex, not only as temple prostitutes but also within general society.  When Krsna arrived in Dvaraka, the Bhagavata Purana (1.11.19-20) mentions that He was greeted by city prostitutes along with “expert dramatists, artists, dancers and singers”—persons typically associated with the third sex.  The Kama Sutra (6.1.22-26) similarly explains that a courtesan’s usual companions consist of male prostitutes, hairdressers, entertainers, perfumers, garland-makers, and so on—professionals also commonly associated with the third sex.  Such men assist the courtesan in selecting worthy suitors and the Kama Sutra states: “If possible, the courtesan should first arrange for her suitor to make love with a male prostitute” (6.1.24).  This curious bisexual arrangement is employed by the courtesan for the purpose of testing her suitor’s sexual prowess before accepting him as a lover herself.

In Vedic culture, courtesans and third-gender men are traditionally associated with public entertainment and knowledge of the fine arts.  They are furthermore viewed as auspicious signs of social prosperity and cultural refinement.  Regarding courtesans, the Kama Sutra states:

Prostitutes who are beautiful, intelligent, and well educated have an honored place in society and are known as courtesans [ganika].  Kings respect them and respectable people sing their praises; honored for their art, they live in the sight of all. (1.3.17-18)

In his commentary on Kama Sutra 1.3.11, Devadatta Shastri describes the Vedic custom of accommodating courtesans in society as follows: “In Indian society, courtesans have always been respected, not only for their beauty, their way of life, and their attraction, but also for their knowledge, their usefulness, and their social role…In ancient times, princes and princesses were sent to courtesans to learn the arts and good manners.  Not only were the courtesans respected, but their presence brought good luck.  They were known as the ‘faces of fortune’ (mangalamukhi).”

Part Six of the Kama Sutra covers the topic of courtesans in great detail.  In the sixth chapter of that section a list of nine types of prostitutes, from the lowest in rank to the highest, appears as follows: 1) water carriers; 2) servants; 3) corrupt women; 4) lesbians; 5) dancers; 6) the wives of merchants; 7) divorcees and widows; 8) women living by their charms, and 9) high-class courtesans (6.6.50).  Prosperous courtesans were valued members of Vedic society and contributed greatly to the worship of temple gods and other public causes.  The Kama Sutra affirms this as follows:

Having temples and reservoirs built, setting up altars on raised platforms to Agni, the fire god, giving brahmanas herds of cows and covered vessels, arranging pujas and offerings to the gods, bearing the expenses involved with the money they earn, this is the concern of high-ranking courtesans who reap large profits. (6.5.28)

An entire chapter of the Artha Shastra (2.27) is devoted to the topic of courtesans and how a king should regulate their trade.  Prices are set according to the woman’s beauty and various laws protect or punish courtesans in regard to business-related transgressions.  The superintendent of courtesans or ganika-dhyaksa is enjoined to oversee all prostitution within the state and provide maintenance to the male instructors (veshyacaryas) who train young courtesans in the art of dancing, singing, lovemaking, music, and so on.  Such instructors also train the courtesans’ sons, known as ganikaputra, to become chiefs among the actors, dancers and male prostitutes (2.27.28-29).

Sikhandi and the Question of Gender Identification

The story of Sikhandi in the Mahabharata raises several interesting questions in regard to gender identification.  When Maharaja Drupada propitiated Siva for a son, the god told him: “You will have a child that is both female and male.  Desist, O King, it will not be otherwise.”  Sikhandi was accordingly born a girl, raised as a boy and finally transformed into a man by the boon of a yaksa or nature spirit.  In his previous birth, Sikhandi was a girl named Amba who vowed to kill the hero, Bhisma, after he had ruined her life.  During the battle of Kuruksetra, Bhisma refused to fight against Sikhandi because he recognized him only as Amba or female—a refusal that ultimately lead to his defeat and the fulfillment of Amba’s vow.

The question raised by the above story is this: How do we ultimately recognize a person’s gender?  Is it merely by physical anatomy alone or should a person’s subtle body and psyche—the neurological brain, mind, inner identity, and so on—also be taken into account?  And what about liberated personalities?  Are the six Goswamis of Vrndavana, for instance, truly male or are they more accurately viewed as female manjaris in the guise of men?  Similarly, is Lord Vishnu as Mohini truly female or is She simply a male Deity in disguise?  The answer to all of these questions is multi-faceted and according to perspective.

Another interesting aspect of Sikhandi’s story is the gender testing he undergoes after transforming into a man.  Sikhandi was married to a woman while female and his wife discovered the secret shortly after their wedding.  Enraged, the bride’s father, Maharaja Hiranyavarna, demanded that Sikhandi be tested to prove his maleness.  Sikhandi agreed but only after receiving his male form from the yaksa.  Hiranyavarna consequently sent a number of beautiful young courtesans to test his new son-in-law and they all reported back to him, confirming that Sikhandi was indeed “a powerful person of the male sex.”  This brings to mind the pastime of Arjuna as Brihannala, who was similarly tested by beautiful courtesans to confirm his identity as a member of the third sex.  In both cases, the gender testing involved not only a physical examination of the men’s anatomy but also an analysis of their response to beautiful young women.

Third-Gender Births As Purifying

A few verses from the Vedic canon refer to men taking birth among the third sex as a means of purification.  In such cases, first-gender males who abuse women, or brahmanas who engage in prohibited sex acts, are reborn among the third sex after suffering punishment in hell.  One example has already been cited from the Mahabharata (13.145.52) and a similar verse appears in the Narada Purana (15.93-95).  The latter text states that twice-born males who deposit their semen in base wombs or places other than the vagina fall into hell and are forced to subsist on semen for seven divine years, after which they are reborn as “non-males” or neuters.

When these verses are taken in context we find that the subjects are addressed as first-gender males (pums or purusha) and not as men of the third sex (napumsa, kliba, etc.).  Indeed, such men are reborn as the third sex in their next lifetime.   Furthermore, the verses appear in sections devoted to brahminical standards of conduct.  For example, injunctions admonishing intercourse in a base or sudra womb clearly do not apply to sudra men.  Similarly, ayoni or non-vaginal sex is a general prohibition for twice-born men and not those of the lower classes.  The Bhagavata Purana illustrates this point in a comparable verse:

When, deluded by lust, a twice-born man commits the sin of causing his wife of the same varna to drink his semen, in his next life he is thrown into a river of semen, which he is forced to drink.
(Bhagavata Purana 5.26.26)   

Again, only twice-born men are condemned in this verse and the wife must furthermore belong to the same varna or class.  Men who are not twice born, or instances involving lower-class wives, are clearly excluded.  Verses admonishing twice-born householders who engage in oral sex appear throughout the Dharma Shastra; for example, in a chapter describing proper behavior for snatakas, the Vasistha Dharmasutra states:

If a [snataka] performs the sex act in the mouth of the woman he has married, during that month his ancestors will feed on his semen.  Sexual intercourse performed without transgressing (the vagina) is in conformity with the Law.
(Vasistha Dharmasutra 12.23)

Clearly, these verses and others like them are intended for married, twice-born males following higher standards of religious life.  That they should automatically be extended to uninitiated men of the lower classes or unmarried homosexuals belonging to the third sex is highly doubtful.

In addition to the above considerations it is important to differentiate between viyoni and ayoni sex.  Viyoni sex generally refers to forbidden types of vaginal intercourse whereas ayoni involves non-vaginal methods.  The latter term includes male homosexuality but not the former, and while the Narada Purana employs both terms the Mahabharata uses only viyoni.  Thus it is crucial to analyze the exact wording and context of every verse, particularly those deemed controversial or contentious.

Another interesting point to consider is this: Exactly what type of third-gender person is the offender reborn as?  Since words such as napumsa and kliba are umbrella terms for many different types of impotent men, it is not clear if the next birth includes all of these types or only specific ones.  In the case of Mahabharata 13.145.52, the context involves severe physical handicaps such as blindness, chronic illness, etc. and therefore most likely refers to people born with absent or deformed genitalia.  This argument is strengthened if we consider how sex crimes such as adultery and rape are punished with castration in the Dharma Shastra.  Similarly, in the story of goddess Bahucara, men who rape women or deceive them in marriage are cursed to become castrated crossdressers.

Some scholars opine that the third-gender birth mentioned in these verses must necessarily be homosexual—a stance typically adopted by anti-gay scholars and one of the few instances in which they agree to translate third-gender terms in this way.  Yet another viewpoint holds that the offender takes birth as a homosexual, transgender or intersex person according to the severity of their sin, with a homosexual birth being somewhat purifying, a transgender birth more purifying and an intersex birth the most purifying of all.  In any case, third-gender births are clearly portrayed as purifying in Vedic literature, especially in regard to men who violate women or twice-born males who deviate from the higher standards expected of them.

It is important to note that people take birth for a multitude of different reasons and therefore not all third-gender births are necessarily the result of bad karma or previous sins.  The laws of reincarnation are extremely complex and kama or desire also plays a crucial role.  We can hypothesize that intersex conditions and complete transgender identity are the result of bad karma since people do not desire to be born with deficient or inappropriate sex anatomy.  In homosexuality and mild transgender behavior, however, a person’s sex anatomy and orientation are desired and thus more likely a result of kama.  It is also possible that people who ridicule or mistreat members of the third sex will be required to take such a birth themselves in order to experience the same.  Whatever the specific cause or origin, all births take place by the will of God either for the purpose of purifying sin or fulfilling desire.

Unscrupulous persons sometimes take advantage of these so-called bad karma verses in order to castigate people who are blind, crippled, impotent, etc. and to dismiss them as sinful, lowborn or guilty of previous transgressions.  This is never the position of true spiritualists, however, who see only themselves as sinful and feel the suffering of others as if it were their own.  Such saintly personalities deal with people based on their present qualifications, not on presumed sins from previous lifetimes.  They see God’s mercy everywhere and know fully well that material disadvantages are often spiritual blessings in disguise.

The Jyotir and Nimitta Shastra

In both ancient and modern Hinduism, astrology plays an important role in every aspect of life from birth to death.  Religious ceremonies, child conception, birth rites, marital arrangements, business ventures, political conquests, journeys, health concerns, funerals, etc. are all meticulously planned according to the Jyotir Shastra or scriptures describing the science of the celestial luminaries.  It is therefore significant that people of the third sex appear throughout Vedic astrology, particularly in regard to the napumsaka planets Mercury and Saturn.  Third-gender topics such as childlessness, aversion to marriage, impotence, same-sex attraction and gender variegatedness are all clearly included within the Vedic conception of the natural cosmos.  Directly related to the Jyotir Shastra is the Nimitta Shastra or scriptures describing the science of omen reading.

General Indications:  In the Jyotir Shastra, the following astrological components are associated with the third sex: 1) the planets Mercury, Saturn and Ketu; 2) the fifth, seventh and first houses; 3) the signs Gemini, Virgo, Capricorn and Aquarius; 4) the third division or drekkana of any sign (21-30 degrees); 5) the sign divisions or amsas ruled by Mercury and Saturn; 6) the stars Mrgashira, Mula and Satabhisa, and 7) the non-luminous planets Gulika (or Mandi) and Dhuma.

The strongest indicators of third-gender influence in a person’s astrological chart will concern the three houses mentioned above.  The fifth house governs progeny, the seventh one’s marital partner and the first or ascendant a person’s bodily constitution.  When strong or numerous third-gender planets lord over, occupy or aspect the fifth house, the native will be impotent and childless.  An afflicted eighth house can also indicate impotency, especially in terms of damaging the native’s sex organs.  When strong or numerous third-gender planets lord over, occupy or aspect the seventh house, the native will be neutral in regard to marriage and without a partner.  Furthermore, if strong or numerous male planets lord over, occupy or aspect the seventh house in a man’s chart, attraction toward male partners is indicated and vice versa in a woman’s.  When strong or numerous third-gender planets lord over, occupy or aspect the first house, the native is likely to be third gender by constitution.  Additionally, if strong or numerous male planets lord over, occupy or aspect the first house in a woman’s chart, a cross-gender nature is indicated and vice versa in a man’s.

Third-gender indications can also be derived through inference, which is helpful in cases where they are not specifically mentioned.  For example, if a prediction states that the native will have good dealings with people associated with Mercury or Saturn, this can be understood to include people of the third sex since they fall under the jurisdiction of those planets.  These are some of the basic points to consider when determining third-gender influences in a person’s Vedic astrological chart.

Napumsaka Planets and the Third Sex:  Mercury is the planet most strongly associated with the third sex in Vedic astrology.  It indicates third-gender people who are intelligent and multi-talented in the arts and sciences including everything from dancing, poetry, music, painting, fashion, decorating, writing, religious observances, mathematics, alchemy, medicine, and so on.  Such people are also recognized as loyal servants and efficient secretaries.  They may be sexually active or celibate and are inclined to the worship of Lord Vishnu.  Their bodily features are attractive and their spirits youthful and gay.  They are gregarious, energetic and reaping the result of previous good karma.  Saturn, on the other hand, governs third-gender people who are less fortunate in life, disrespected, poor, unattractive and engaged in difficult or menial work.  They are often solitary, melancholy and reaping the result of previous bad karma.  Natives of Saturn may be of low character or, if favorably aspected, hard workers and devoted ascetics.  They are inclined to lower types of intercourse or are otherwise sexually impotent and celibate.  Those aspiring for material advancement and progeny are drawn to the worship of Lord Brahma.  Ketu’s association with the third sex is emphasized mostly in the Jaimini system of Vedic astrology and affects people in two different ways.  When favorably aspected, natives of Ketu are devoted to asceticism, occult practices and the worship of God but when unfavorably aspected they are licentious, criminal or atheistic.

It is significant that the Jyotir Shastra assigns the third-gender planet Mercury to the worship of Lord Vishnu.  This is because Vishnu is transcendental to all gender considerations.  Saturn is generally attributed to the worship of Lord Brahma although some later texts associate it with Sri Ayyappa, a Hindu deity popular with the third sex and typically associated with asceticism.  The Sun and the Moon, as purely male and female planets, represent the worship of Lord Siva and goddess Durga, respectively.

The Jyotir Shastra was transmitted orally in ancient times but written down by great preceptors such as Vyasadeva, Bhrgu, Vasistha, Jaimini and Garga at the end of the Vedic age.  Many of the original texts have since fallen into obscurity and only portions remain today.  The essence of their knowledge, however, was consolidated and preserved in later classics such as the Brihat Jataka, Brihat Samhita, Saravali and so on.  All of these works acknowledge the third sex and references from some of the more important texts are cited below.

Bhrgu Sutram:  The Bhrgu Sutram is an ancient Jyotir Shastra text attributed to the sage Bhrgu, a son of Brahma.  Only a small portion of the original text is available today, a section discussing the effects of each planet within the twelve astrological houses or bhavas.  In regard to the third sex, the Bhrgu Sutram states that when Mars is posited in the seventh house and aspected by Saturn, the native will “touch with his mouth” the private parts of other men; if Mars is posited in any house and associated with Mercury, the native will be impotent unless aspected by a benefic planet (3.54-65).  The Bhrgu Sutram further mentions that when Saturn is posited in the seventh house and associated with Mars, the native will likewise “kiss” the sexual organs of other men using his mouth (7.35).

When Mercury is in the fifth house, the Bhrgu Sutram states that it will be difficult for the native to conceive children since Mercury is a third-gender planet and thus sexually neutral; if Mercury is weak or associated with malefic planets, the native will have no children whatsoever and require adoption (4.38-40).  The same is true in regard to Saturn in the fifth house (7.22).  Ketu posited in the fifth or ninth house similarly indicates childlessness according to Bhrgu Sutram verses 8.11 and 8.24.

Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra:  The Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra is dated to the end of the Dvapara Yuga (approximately 3000 B.C.) and attributed to the sage Parasara Muni, a disciple of Saunaka Rsi and father of Srila Vyasadeva.  Specific references to the third sex in the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra are as follows: When Dhuma occupies the fifth house, the native will be of the third sex (napumsaka) (25.3); the same is true if Gulika occupies the second house (25.66).  When the lord of the fourth house occupies the eighth, the native will be “equal” to a person of the third sex (24.44).  If Venus occupies the seventh house and is in a sign or navamsa (one ninth of a sign) ruled by Saturn or aspected by that planet in any way, the native will “kiss” the private parts of other men (18.13).

In regard to women, the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra states that when a woman’s ascendant (first house or lagna) and Moon are in male signs, she will be masculine in form and bearing (80.6).  If one of these is in a male sign and the other in a female, the woman will have both male and female characteristics (80.7).  When her ascendant or Moon is in a sign belonging to Mercury and she is born in a trimsamsa (one thirtieth of a sign) of Saturn, the woman will be third-gender by nature (80.10).  If the ascendant or Moon is in Leo and posited in a trimsamsa of Mercury, the woman will have masculine features (80.13).  Should Mercury and Saturn occupy a woman’s seventh house, her husband will be an impotent man of the third sex (80.18).  When a woman’s ascendant is Taurus or Libra, her rising navamsa Capricorn or Aquarius, and the planets Venus and Saturn aspect each other or occupy one another’s navamsa, “the woman will be of great passion and satisfy herself through other females acting as men” (80.50-51).

Nearly a dozen verses from the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra refer to astrological indications of childlessness (anapatyayogas), which may or may not involve people of the third sex.  For example, when Mercury or Saturn governs the fifth house, which is also occupied or aspected by both Saturn and Gulika, the native will find it necessary to adopt children (16.9).  In regard to worshipable deities, the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra assigns the third-gender planet Mercury to the worship of Lord Vishnu and Saturn to Brahma (3.18).

Garga Hora:  The Garga Hora is an astrological text attributed to Garga Muni, the head priest of the Yadu Dynasty and contemporary of Lord Krsna.  As with the Bhrgu Sutram, only a small portion of the Garga Hora is available today—a section dealing with the indications of multiple planets in the twelve astrological houses.

The Garga Hora provides four alignments indicating people of the third sex: 1) the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury and Saturn posited in the fifth house (527); 2) the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Jupiter posited in the sixth house (614); the Sun and Mercury in the seventh house (676), and the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter in the same (765).  All of these indications are negative in context since Mercury, in the presence of Saturn or other malefic planets in multiple combinations, is said to produce harmful effects.  Two additional verses mention that a person will be impotent when the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter are posited in the fifth house (465) and that a native will be “similar to the third sex” when the Moon and Mercury are in the eighth (801).  The Garga Hora further notes that a native will be “devoid of manliness” when the Sun, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are all posited in the second house (202) or if the Moon, Mars and Mercury are in the fifth (471).  Eight verses cite indications of childlessness, such as having the Sun, Mercury and Saturn in the fifth house (467), and nine verses cite alignments indicating lack of sex desire, such as having the Moon and Saturn posited in the sixth house (564).  Over a dozen verses cite planetary indications of having no wife, a barren wife, or a barren daughter, such as having Mars, Mercury and Venus in the fifth house (483).  Thus the Garga Hora cites numerous indications of the third sex, impotence and childlessness found in Vedic astrology.  Unlike the ancient works of Parasara and Bhrgu, Garga’s text contains no specific statements regarding homosexual behavior.

Jaimini Sutram:  Sage Jaimini, a disciple of Srila Vyasadeva, compiled the Jaimini or Upadesha Sutram approximately five thousand years ago.  His unique method of calculating horoscopes represents an alternative system in Vedic astrology although most of the qualities attributed to the planets and signs remain the same.  Mercury and Saturn, for instance, remain third-gender planets under the Jaimini system and govern the same signs.  Rahu and Ketu, however, play a somewhat larger role.  Ketu is viewed as a moksha karaka (liberation indicator) and treated like Mercury in the sense that it is considered benefic unless associated with harmful planets (4.4.24-25).  In regard to worshipable deities, the Jaimini Sutram states that when Mercury and Saturn are with Ketu in the twelfth house from the karakamsa lagna (the sign occupied by the birth ascendant’s ruling planet), the native will be a worshiper of Lord Vishnu (1.2.76).

The first reference to the third gender in the Jaimini Sutram states that when Ketu is posited in or second from the karakamsa lagna and aspected by Mercury and Saturn, the native will be impotent and unable to procreate (1.2.34).  Indicators of childlessness under the Jaimini system are determined when the planets Mercury, Saturn or Venus are associated with the seventh house from the janma, navamsa, karakamsa, or upapada lagnas (1.4.24).  In a chapter dealing with the birth of children, the Jaimini Sutram states that when neither the father’s or mother’s karaka (indicator) conjoins or aspects the Sun or ascendant, the child born will be either illegitimate or of the third sex; the same is true if the Sun or ascendant is six signs away from the parents’ karakas (4.1.23, 25).  In his notes on these two verses, author Sanjay Rath (Upadesa Sutras, 2002) comments that if Mercury is associated with the above-mentioned indications, the child will be of the third sex rather than illegitimate.   In a related chapter it is stated that when the adhana lagna (the ascendant in a chart drawn up at the time of conception) is in a navamsa of Mercury or Saturn, the child will also be of the third sex (4.3.12).  In his notes on this verse, Rath comments that the planet Mercury indicates a third-gender girl whereas Saturn, a third-gender boy.

In a chapter devoted to women, the Jaimini Sutram states that when Mercury is in a trikona (fifth or ninth house) from the woman’s navamsa lagna she will never beget any children (4.3.79).  Should Saturn be posited in the navamsa lagna, the woman, although female, will behave like a man (4.3.84); similarly, when Saturn is posited in a trikona from the navamsa lagna she will behave like a man and be sexually passionate (4.3.85).

Brihat Jataka:  The Brihat Jataka is one of the most respected classics on Vedic astrology.  Compiled in the first century B.C. by Varaha Mihira, a brahmana of Avanti in central India, this text is based on the earlier works of sages such as Bhrgu and Parasara.  The Brihat Jataka assigns the planets Mercury and Saturn to the third sex and declares their primary deities or adi-devatas to be Keshava (Vishnu) and Kaha (Brahma), respectively (2.5-6).  In a chapter describing various types of pregnancies and births, the Brihat Jataka mentions people of the third sex as follows:

When the Sun, the Moon, Venus and Mars occupy their own navamsas and Jupiter is in the ascendant, fifth or ninth house (trikona), conception will take place.  When this combination is present among the impotent, however, it is as useless as moonlight to a blind man. (4.3)

When the Sun and Moon aspect each other; when Mercury and Saturn aspect each other; when Mars in a male sign aspects the Sun in a female sign; when the Moon and ascendant are in male signs and aspected by Mars in a female sign; when the Moon is in a male sign, Mercury in a female sign and both are aspected by Mars; and when Venus, the ascendant and the Moon are all posited in male amsas—in all six of these cases, offspring of the third sex (kliba) will be born. (4.13)

The Brihat Jataka further mentions that a person will belong to the third sex when the navamsa ascendant is posited in Virgo; if the birth ascendant also falls in Virgo, the native will be a leader or chief among such people (21.7).

In a chapter discussing Moon signs, the Brihat Jataka (17.3) states that a native with the Moon in Gemini will be skilled in the science of sex, fond of women, music and dancing, and sport with men of the third gender (kliba).  When the Moon is posited in Virgo, the native will have few or no children (17.6).  With the Moon in Capricorn or Aquarius, the native will be attracted to lower types of intercourse and illicit relations (17.10-11).  In a chapter discussing the indications of other planetary signs, the Brihat Jataka states that a native with the Sun in Taurus will sell scented products and clothing, be clever in drumming or music and dislike women (18.1).  With the Sun in Virgo, a man will possess a feminine physique and be skilled in the arts and sciences (18.2).  Having Mercury in Leo indicates childlessness (18.10) as does having Saturn in Gemini, Virgo, Cancer or Leo (18.17-18).  Varaha Mihira further states that the above-mentioned indications also apply to a person’s ascendant (18.20).  In the succeeding chapter, the Brihat Jataka declares that having the Moon posited in a navamsa of Sagittarius or Pisces and aspected by Venus is an indication of impotence (19.7).  Similarly, when the Moon is in a navamsa of Leo and aspected by Venus, the native will be childless, and when Venus and the Moon are conjunct in any sign with Saturn and Mars in the seventh house from them, the native will have neither wife nor child (23.5).

In a chapter concerning women, the Brihat Jataka states that a woman will be masculine in temperament and form when her ascendant and Moon fall in male signs.  If these two are aspected by malefic planets, the woman will be sinful and without good character (24.2).  When a woman’s ascendant or Moon falls in Gemini or Virgo and occupies a trimsamsa of Saturn, she will be of the third sex (kliba) (24.4).  When her ascendant or Moon falls in Leo and occupies a trimsamsa of Mars or Mercury, the woman will be masculine in temperament.  When her ascendant or Moon falls in Capricorn or Aquarius and occupies a trimsamsa of Venus, the woman will be childless (24.5).  When Saturn and Venus occupy each other’s navamsas and aspect mutually, or when the ascendant falls in Taurus or Libra with the navamsa rising in Aquarius, the woman will get sexual satisfaction from other females dressed in male attire (24.7).  When Mercury and Saturn occupy the woman’s seventh house, her husband will belong to the third sex (kliba) (24.8).

Brihat Samhita:  The Brihat Samhita is considered by many to be the foremost treatise on the Nimitta Shastra.  Compiled in the first century B.C. by the same author of the Brihat Jataka, this work is a vast collection of omens taken from various Vedic resources and astrological texts.  The Brihat Samhita declares the planet Mercury to be the foremost ruler of the third sex along with people expert in music, writing, comedy, perfumes, painting, grammar, mathematics, medicine, sculpting, juggling, poetry, magic, message delivery, dancing, religious ceremonies, and so on (16.18-19).  It also associates Saturn with the third sex although more in terms of impotence and lack of virility.  Ketu is rarely mentioned in the Brihat Samhita and not specifically associated with any gender. In a section regarding the proper construction of Siva deities, verse 58.43 mentions that “the left half of the deity may be made of half the body of Parvati,” a clear reference to the divine form of Sri Ardhanarisvara.

In a chapter discussing planetary conjunctions, the Brihat Samhita states that when Venus overpowers Jupiter, people of the third sex “will suffer great miseries” (17.21-22).  The purport of this alignment is that since Venus represents materialistic priests and Jupiter signifies those who are magnanimous and equal-visioned, people of the third sex will naturally suffer when the former types overshadow the latter.  The Brihat Samhita also mentions that it is a bad omen when a third-gender person is seen in the western direction (86.46).

In a chapter describing planetary years, the Brihat Samhita (19.12) states that people of the third sex will prosper during any year when Mercury is lord, along with the other types of talented persons previously mentioned.  A planetary year is determined by whichever weekday falls on the new-moon day of Chaitra (March-April), with Wednesday being the day governed by Mercury.

In a chapter concerned with reading omens through a person’s bodily limbs (angavidya), the Brihat Samhita states that if the querent touches his head or forehead, the question will involve a person of the third sex or else end unsuccessfully (51.10).  If the question involves pregnancy and the same bodily parts are touched, a third-sex child will be born (51.36).  Two other verses from the Brhat Samhita foretell the birth of a third-gender child: “If the woman’s blood exceeds, the child will be female; if the man’s semen exceeds, the child will be male.  If both are equal, the child will be of the third gender.  It is therefore necessary to take aphrodisiacs for the increase of the man’s semen” (76.1). “If the fetus is on the right side [of the woman’s abdomen], the child will be male; if it is on the left, female.  If a fetus is on both sides there will be twins or, if situated in the middle, a child of the third sex” (78.24).  The Brihat Samhita also mentions that if a man’s hand nails resemble the husk of paddy, he will be of the third gender (68.41).

Concerning unusual births among humans and animals, the Brihat Samhita states:

If women should give birth to children of unnatural form, or if cows, sheep, horses, deer or birds should do the same, or if leaves, sprouts or creepers should be of unnatural appearance, there will be prosperity in the land. (46.95)

In regard to animals and birds as omens, the Brihat Samhita (86.8-9) describes the distinctive traits of both male and female creatures and mentions that some belong to neither sex.  It states that animal omens increase in strength and effect according to whether the creature is third-gender, female or male, respectively (86.18).  Conversely, third-gender elephants are mentioned as inauspicious omens. She-elephants with male features, or he-elephants found to be non-rutting, without virility or possessed of defective or extra organs, are all said to produce misery and should be driven away to foreign lands (67.9-10).  The Brihat Samhita further mentions that if an omen is observed involving a third-gender animal, along with certain other occurrences, the native will meet up with a person of the third sex (96.9).

Saravali:  The Saravali is a summary study of the Brihat Jataka, written by King Kalyana Varma in the sixth century A.D.  As with other astrological texts it assigns Mercury and Saturn to the worship of Vishnu and Brahma, respectively, as well as to the third or neutral gender (4.13-14).  In a chapter discussing the conception of children, the Saravali mentions six astrological indicators of the third sex: 1) the Sun and the Moon are in male signs and aspect each other; 2) Mercury and Saturn are in male signs and aspect each other; 3) the Sun is in a female sign and aspected by Mars; 4) the ascendant is in a male sign and occupied by the Moon; 5) Mercury is in a male sign and aspected by Mars while the Moon is in a female sign, and 6) the Moon and Mercury occupy a male ascendant and navamsa while aspected by Venus and Saturn (8.18-20).  Other indications of the third sex mentioned in the Saravali include: having Saturn, the Sun and Mercury posited in the same house (16.12); the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn in the same house (18.15); the Sun in Leo aspected by Saturn (22.41); Venus in Capricorn (28.20), and Jupiter in an enemy sign of Gemini, Virgo, Taurus or Libra (45.19-21).

Further references to the third gender from the Saravali are as follows: When Saturn is in Taurus or Libra and aspected by Mercury, the native will be equal to the third sex (29.35).  When the Sun, Moon and Mercury are together in the ninth house, the native will appear like a person of the third sex (32.53).  When Saturn is in Virgo, the native will resemble a person of the third sex (shandha) (29.11).  When the Sun is in Capricorn or Aquarius and aspected by Mercury, the native will have the nature of a third-gender person (shandha) (22.60).  When the Moon is in a navamsa of Cancer and aspected by Venus, the native will be inimical to women and resemble a man of the third sex (napumsa) (24.11).  With Venus in the sixth house, a native will greatly dislike his wife and, according to the Harivamsa, be averse to sexual acts even in the presence of beautiful females (30.67).  When Saturn, the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter are in the same house, the native will have the mannerisms of the third sex (17.18).  When the Sun, Moon, Venus and Saturn are in the same house, the native will have the mannerisms of a female and be very weak or timid (17.10).  When the Moon is in Leo and aspected by Mercury, the native will have the characteristics and grace of a female (23.31-36).  When a man’s ascendant is in Virgo, he will have a female’s disposition (48.22-25).  When a man’s ascendant is in the sixth navamsa of Aries, he will be soft in disposition, timid and of the third sex (shandha) (51.7).  When a man’s ascendant is in the first navamsa of Pisces, he will be soft in disposition and akin to a female in mind and behavior (51.101).  When Saturn is in Gemini or Virgo and aspected by the Moon, the native will do women’s jobs; when aspected by Mercury, he will be a master of dance, art and song, and if aspected by Venus, the native will be expert in beautifying women (29.37-42).  When Saturn is in Leo and aspected by Mercury, the native will do women’s jobs (29.49-54).  When the Sun is in Virgo, the native will have the physical traits of a female (22.42).  When the ascendant is in Cancer, a man will possess a physique similar to that of a female (48.14-17).  With the ascendant posited in the third navamsa of Cancer, the native will have a soft body akin to that of a female (51.31).  According to Saravali translator, R. Santhanam, having the Moon in the sixth navamsa of Cancer indicates the native will be devoid of progeny, resemble a female in appearance and have no moustache on the face.

In a chapter describing Moon signs, the Saravali states that if a native has the Moon in Gemini he will befriend people of the third sex (23.16); so also when the Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus and Mercury are posited in the same house (18.2).  A person will have dreams of the third sex if his temperament is predominantly bilious and fiery (pitta) (38.18-19).   When a person is in his Mercury period and Saturn subperiod, he will strongly seek out sexual gratification “like a third-gender man or a bull” but be deprived of children (42.35).  When Mercury is in Leo and aspected by Mars, the native will be impotent (26.49-54).  When Mercury is in Virgo, the native will have little virility (26.12); so also when Jupiter is posited in the sixth house (30.55).  With Mercury posited in Capricorn or Aquarius, the native will be impotent (26.19, 22).  Similarly, a native will have no children if Mercury is posited in Pisces (26.23).

Regarding the charts of women, the Saravali states that when a woman’s Moon and ascendant occupy male signs, she will be male in appearance and disposition (46.4).  When Cancer is occupied by either the Moon or ascendant in a trimsamsa of Mercury, a woman will have the nature of a male (46.6-10).  Should the ascendant occupy Taurus or Libra in a navamsa of Saturn while Venus and Saturn aspect each other or exchange navamsas, a woman will unite with another female taking the role of a male (46.14).  When the woman’s ascendant is in a male sign and occupied by Mercury, Venus and the Moon, which are weak with a moderately strong Saturn, she will be similar to a male in appearance and acts (46.29).  When the Moon rules a woman’s seventh house or its navamsa, her husband will be sexually tormented and soft in disposition (46.21-24).  Should Mercury or Saturn occupy a woman’s seventh house, her husband will be of the third sex (46.15-17).  When Gemini or Virgo is occupied by either the Moon or ascendant in a trimsamsa of Saturn, the woman will be impotent (46.6-10).  According to R. Santhanam’s commentaries on the Saravali, if a woman has Venus in the ninth house she will be important in society, strong-willed and resemble a male (30.70).

Sarvartha Cintamani:  The Sarvartha Cintamani is one of the most important astrological texts of South India and was compiled in the thirteenth century A.D. by a brahmana named Venkatesa Daivagnya.  It assigns Mercury and Saturn to the third or neutral gender and associates them with the worship of Vishnu and Brahma, respectively (87, 89).

In a section discussing the birth of children, the Sarvartha Cintamani lists nine astrological indications of the third sex: 1) the ascendant is Gemini or Virgo, occupied by the lord of the sixth house and joined or aspected by Mercury; 2) the ascendant is Gemini or Virgo and occupied by both Mars and Saturn; 3) the Sun and Moon occupy male and female signs respectively and aspect each other; 4) Mercury and Saturn occupy female and male signs respectively and aspect each other; 5) Mars is in a male sign while the Sun in a female sign and at least one of these planets aspects the other; 6) the ascendant is in a male sign and occupied by the Moon while aspected by Mars in a female sign; 7) the Moon is in a female sign while Mercury is in a male sign and both are aspected by Mars; 8) the ascendant is in a female sign while the Moon is in a male sign and both occupy male navamsas aspected by Mars, and 9) the lord of the ascendant is posited in the same house as Mercury with no benefic aspects.  The Sarvartha Cintamani states that in the first indication both the native and spouse will be impotent; otherwise, all of the remaining eight denote impotency for the native alone (199-203).

In his commentaries on this section, B. Suryanarain Rao (1856-1937) translates napumsa as “eunuch” and defines it as “one who has not the virility of a purusha or male.”  He further describes such people as those with ill-developed sex organs, nervous disorders or weak sexual appetites; those who are impotent due to excess or abuse; those with “peculiar magnetic currents that keep them away from the opposite sex,” and those who are sexually strong but lose their potency with women after initial contact.  Rao states that all of these types occur naturally to varying degrees and equates napumsa to kliba, which he similarly defines as “impotent men or women.”  Rao furthermore ponders: “Whether impotency is a curse or a blessing is a delicate question that each man has to answer for himself.”  Nevertheless, he acknowledges that people in general view impotence as a curse.

Further references to the third sex in the Sarvartha Cintamani are as follows: When the third house, its lord, and Mars are all posited in signs or amsas ruled by Mercury and Saturn, the native will have siblings of the third sex (428).  When the lord of the fifth is Mercury or Saturn and posited in a sign or navamsa of either, the native’s first-born child will be of the third gender (636).  When the lord of the sixth house and Mercury join in the ascendant, the native will suffer from diseases of the sexual organs (654).  When the lord of the sixth house and Saturn join in the ascendant with no beneficial aspects, the native’s sexual organs will be amputated (655).  When Venus and the lord of the seventh house are posited in the sixth, the wife of the native will be of the third sex (shandha) (656).  Regarding worshipable deities, the Sarvartha Cintamani states that a person will have devotion for goddess Sarasvati when Mercury joins or aspects the fifth house.  Should Saturn do the same, the native will worship Lord Siva (996-997).                                           

Jataka Parijata:  The Jataka Parijata is another important astrological text of South India, written in the fourteenth century A.D. by Vidyanatha Diksita.  Diksita is considered by many scholars to be the son of Venkatesa Daivagnya, the author of the Sarvartha Cintamani.  As with other texts, the Jataka Parijata assigns Mercury and Saturn to the third sex (2.27) along with the worship of Lord Vishnu and Brahma, respectively (2.20).

In a chapter discussing various types of births, the Jataka Parijata provides several indications of successful conception but states: “These planetary conjunctions fail for those devoid of virility (vibijanam), just as the Moon’s beams fail the blind” (3.13).  It further adds that when Mars and Saturn are in the seventh sign from the Sun, a man’s generative organs will be afflicted with disease and become sterile.  The same is true for a woman when these two planets are in the seventh sign from her Moon (3.14).  The text declares that when a woman conceives on the seventh night of her cycle (the first four being the time of menstruation), the child born will be a barren female (3.18).  The Jataka Parijata then lists six planetary alignments said to produce third-gender offspring or kliba: 1) the Sun and the Moon are in opposition (purnima); 2) Mercury and Saturn are in opposition; 3) the Sun is in a female sign aspected by Mars; 4) the Moon and ascendant are in male signs and both aspected by Mars; 5) the Moon is in a female sign, Mercury in a male sign, and both are aspected by Mars, and 6) the Moon, ascendant and Venus all occupy male navamsas (3.23).  These indications refer to the adhana chart, which is calculated according to the time of conception.  Verse 3.31 reiterates that when the Moon and Sun oppose each other at the time of conception, they tend to produce a third-gender child; so also in the case of the Moon and Saturn.  The first indication refers to a full moon or purnima and is a time forbidden to brahmanas for sexual intercourse.  Chapter Three also describes how Mercury indicates the birth of twins and multiples; if these are not produced, then third-gender children result and in such cases a prominent Mercury indicates the birth of a third-gender girl whereas Saturn, a third-gender boy (3.30).  The Jataka Parijata similarly states that when the ascendant and sixth house lord are posited in Gemini or Virgo while Mercury occupies the sixth house, the child born will be a third-gender girl.  Likewise, if the ascendant and sixth house lord are posited in Gemini or Virgo while Saturn occupies the sixth house, the child born will be a third-gender boy (3.33).

When Mercury, Rahu and the sixth house lord are all posited in the ascendant, the fourteenth-century Jataka Parijata declares that such a native will cut off his sex organs of his own accord (6.75).  A similar verse states that when the lord of the sixth house, Mercury and Rahu conjoin in one house and connect in some way to the lord of the ascendant, the person will be of the third sex (shandha) (13.71).  A person born in the year of Sukla will be effete (9.11) and a person born in the tithi of Riktha will become barren (9.74).  When the Moon is in Libra and aspected by Mars, the Sun or Saturn, the native will be impotent (8.50) and when the lord of the seventh house occupies the sixth with Venus, the native will be impotent with his wife (13.72).  When Venus and the Sun are together in the seventh or first house, the native will have a barren wife; if the Moon is in a male sign, his wife will have a masculine form, and should the Moon be joined with or aspected by both male and female planets, his wife will have both masculine and feminine qualities (14.6).  When the seventh house is occupied by the Sun, a native’s wife will be barren (14.11) and should Ketu occupy the same, the wife will be barren but virtuous (14.13).  When the lord of the seventh or fifth house is strong, aspected by a benefic planet and conjoined with or aspected by the lord of the sixth, the native’s wife will acquire a son through her paramour.  The husband himself, although possessing many wives, will be childless (14.16).

Regarding women, the Jataka Parijata states that when the Moon and ascendant are in masculine signs, a woman will be masculine in form and bearing (16.7).  When her ascendant is in Gemini or Virgo and posited in a trimsamsa of Saturn, the woman will be a widow, have children that are stillborn, or possess a third-gender form (kliba) (16.14).  When the Moon or ascendant is in Leo and posited in a trimsamsa of Mars or Mercury, the woman will be masculine in disposition and behavior (16.16).  When the ascendant is strong in Capricorn or Aquarius and posited in a trimsamsa of Venus, the woman will be licentious but barren (16.18).  When Mercury occupies a woman’s seventh house, her husband will be of the third sex (kliba) and if Saturn is associated with Mercury in the same, the woman will be barren or loathed by her husband (16.48).

Further sections of the Jataka Parijata state that when Mercury occupies the fourth house, a native will enjoy the company of his spouse in theatres or similar places of public entertainment; should Saturn, Rahu or Ketu occupy the same, the places of enjoyment will be the favorite haunts of Sri Hariharaputra or, in other words, forested mountaintops (14.40).  When Mercury is the strongest of four or five planets forming a kendra or trikona, the native will become a jivaka—a mendicant that is talkative and a voracious eater; if Saturn is the strongest, the native will attain the stage known as vivasa—a naked ascetic dwelling in the hills and forests (14.16).  Regarding worshipable deities, the Jataka Parijata states that when a person’s fifth house is occupied or aspected by Mercury, his object of adoration will be Lord Vishnu.  If the same occurs with Saturn or Ketu, the person will worship various other deities (13.23).

Prasna Marga:  This well-known astrological text was composed in the seventeenth century A.D. by an unnamed brahmana from the southwestern state of Kerala.  The Prasna Marga states that if an astrologer first sees an ascetic or third-gender person when beginning his craft, the omen is bad (3.17).  Similarly, if any of the five third-gender consonants known as anunasika are first uttered at a query, the omen is extremely harmful (2.107). The Prasna Marga also mentions a curious type of third-gender devata or demigod invoked by another god or brahmana to afflict the native.  Such a third-gender devata is indicated in a querent’s chart when Jupiter is posited in the sign of Gemini or Virgo (15.214).  In regard to worshipable deities, the Prasna Marga associates the third-gender planet Mercury with the worship of Lord Vishnu and Saturn with Lord Sastha or Ayyappa (24.12).

Concerning marriage, the Prasna Marga declares Mrgashira, Mula and Satabhisa to be third-gender stars and states that when a man’s birth star is feminine and a woman’s third-gender, or when a man’s star is third-gender and a woman’s masculine, the combination is unfavorable for marriage.  Similarly, if the birth stars of both man and woman are third-gender, the marriage is not favored (21.31).  The Prasna Marga stresses the following consideration in regard to all marital arrangements:  “If the couple loves each other they can enter into wedlock, even if there is no agreement in other ways.  This is very important in the matter of marriage” (21.54).  When third-gender planets occupy the seventh house and two planets occupy the eleventh, the native will remarry (20.37).  Similarly, when the sanatana-sukra (the longitude of Venus multiplied by five) falls in a third-gender navamsa or third-gender planets aspect this navamsa, the native will have to marry three times before any child is born (18.146).  Several verses in the Prasna Marga mention indications of no marriage that may or may not involve the third sex.  For instance, when Saturn is aspected by a malefic planet and posited in the seventh house, a woman will die a virgin with no one ever agreeing to marry her (20.55).

Regarding childbirth, the Prasna Marga states that when the chart of query (arudha) has the fifth house in a female sign and its lord in a third-gender sign, the child born will be of the third sex (19.52).  When malefic or third-gender planets join or aspect a man’s bija-sphuta or a woman’s ksetra-sphuta (astrological positions indicating male and female potency, respectively), the strength of these is reduced (19.11).  Nearly a dozen verses from the Prasna Marga cite indications of childlessness; for example, when Gulika occupies the fifth house, the native will be deprived of all offspring (14.68).

Modern Prejudice In Hindu Astrology:  In his book, Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Western Astrologer, James T. Braha writes the following in regard to Mars occupying the seventh house: “Ancient Hindu scriptures declare that the person will be ‘immoral and indulge in sexual perversions such as kissing the private parts of another.’”  The problem with this quote and others like it is that the “ancient Hindu scriptures” themselves only mention men “kissing” the private parts of other men.  The added expressions “immoral” and “sexual perversions” are the work of modern Hindi and English translators.  Unfortunately, such biased renditions lead readers to assume that the great preceptors of Vedic astrology were similarly prejudiced against third-gender people when, in fact, their statements are neutral and contain no such derisive comments.

A thorough study of the Jyotir Shastra reveals that later texts become increasingly inimical toward the third sex and are more likely to omit references about them.  While the ancient classics of Bhrgu, Parasara, Varaha Mihira, etc. generously include third-gender men and women in their works and discuss them in mostly neutral terms, modern Hindi and English texts typically omit these references entirely, misinterpret them, cloak them under vague words or inject mean-spirited and derogatory comments.  Modern translators also limit the third sex to physically deformed neuters and castrated eunuchs despite all Vedic evidence to the contrary.

Regarding the use of derogatory terms, let us refer to the astrological indication cited at the beginning of this section.  Mars or Saturn in the seventh house is a common indicator for male homosexuality in Vedic astrology and mentioned in most of the major texts.  The native is described “kissing” or “touching with his mouth” the genitals of other men and the Sanskrit itself is simple and nonjudgmental.  Modern texts, however, either omit these indications altogether or attach derogatory adjectives to them such as “unnatural,” “sinful,” “perverted,” and so on.  Books such as Mantresvara’s Phala Dipika and William R. Levacy’s Beneath A Vedic Sky omit these references entirely whereas G. S. Kapoor, in his Bhrgu Sutram translation, attaches the phrase “sexual perversions” in regard to these acts.  Worse still, R. Santhanam’s translation of the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra describes the same-sex “kissing” as follows: “the native will have ugly relations with another male, for subduing his mad lust.”  Similarly, in a section of the Saravali describing lovemaking between women, Santhanam selects for his title: “Beastly Lust of a Female.”  Such derogatory renditions portray more the Victorian attitudes of their twentieth-century authors than those of the Vedic acaryas themselves.  Modern translations of the Jyotir Shastra must therefore be carefully scrutinized for accuracy and fairness in regard to descriptions of the third sex.

Third-Gender People As Omens of Good Luck:  There are different opinions regarding whether people of the third sex are omens of good or bad luck.  Such opinions reflect a person’s attitude about gender minorities as well as their level of cultural refinement and spiritual advancement.  In general, people that view members of the third sex as symbols of bad luck tend to emphasize their association with Saturn whereas those who see them as good luck stress their connection to benefic Mercury.

In Vedic astrology, people negatively influenced by Saturn are described as lowborn and unfortunate, particularly in regard to the hardships they experience in terms of being unmarriageable, childless and socially disparaged.  Thus, in a material sense, ascetics and the impotent are associated with ill fortune and considered bad luck.  The Prasna Marga, for example, states that if an astrologer first sees an ascetic monk or impotent man along his path, it is a bad sign (3.17).  The Sushruta Samhita and Caraka Samhita also mention the same in regard to physicians.  Mundane religionists typically exaggerate these negative indications and use them as an excuse to shun ascetics and third-gender people at all costs.  They declare such persons outcastes, refuse them offerings, avoid touching their shadows and even spit at them as they walk by.  Such prejudiced, shallow-minded people are especially prominent in the present age of Kali Yuga.

Liberal-minded Hindus and Vaishnavas, on the other hand, hold a much more positive and spiritually focused view of the third sex.  They associate such people with the planet Mercury and see them in terms of their many talents, artistic abilities, cultural refinement, gentle behavior, efficient management, dual-gender nature and connection to revered hermaphrodite deities.  They readily engage third-gender people in the service of God and society, invite them into their homes for blessings, and award them with fine donations, opulent foodstuffs, etc.  Renowned Vaishnavas such as Jagannatha Misra and Maharaja Virata, out of their natural magnanimity and kindness, exemplify this more spiritually advanced point of view.

Yet another opinion is as follows: Since ascetics and people of the third sex are powerful and potentially harmful portents according to the Nimitta Shastra, it is better to invite them in and please them with offerings rather than risk their wrath.  This counteracts any possible bad luck and transforms it into good fortune.  From such a viewpoint, the third sex can be seen as good or bad omens according to how they are received.  If people of the third sex are welcomed and treated kindly they bestow favorable blessings and good luck but if they are neglected or treated with contempt they pronounce curses and invite misfortune.  In this way, Hindus and Vaishnavas hold various opinions about the third sex according to their own character and level of spiritual realization.