Before we answer this question, we must keep in mind that the current laws against homosexuality in India are based on colonial laws, which are based on Abrahamic mythology. It involves a reading – some would say a deliberate misreading – of a tale where God destroys the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone because they perform acts that go against God’s commandment.

What these acts were is open to interpretation, depending on how you read the old Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek scripts. The anti-queer lobby says city dwellers indulged in homosexuality. The queer supporters interpret the story differently, that the city dwellers were not good hosts, and that they raped their guests.

Take your pick. What is curious is that shortly after this incident, the patriarch Lot, who flees Sodom and Gomorrah before they are destroyed, has sex with his daughters, and his incestuous act is not punished by God.

Such tales, of God prohibiting certain sexual acts but allowing others, are not found in Hindu mythology. While in many (not all) Abrahamic traditions, homosexuality is seen as an act against God, in Hindu traditions, homosexuality is seen as part of karma.

We are creatures of karma, and our actions contribute to our future karma. Thus homosexuality is seen as a manifestation of karma. We cannot fight it. We have to deal with it. Just as heterosexual desire needs to be regulated, so does homosexual desire. The extent of regulation varies depending on context.

Some believe sex must be only for producing children, some believe sex should only be between people in love, while some believe sex is just a form of pleasure and must not be taken too seriously.

The Vedas speak of Agni, the fire god, having two mothers! Must this be taken literally or metaphorically? Metaphorically, it refers to the fire-sticks that are drilled to create the fire for the yagna.

In the Puranas, God changes gender constantly: Every god has a female Shakti: thus Vinayaka has Vinayaki, Varaha has Varahi. Shiva becomes Ardhanareshwara, or half a woman, to make the Goddess happy.

He becomes Gopeshwar – milkmaid or cow-girl form of Shiva – to join Krishna in the raas-leela. When Kali decides to become Krishna, Shiva takes the form of Radha, as per Baul traditions. Vishnu becomes the damsel Mohini to enchant demons and sages.

In Tulsidas’ Ram-charit-manas, God says that he loves all creatures: plants, animals, males, females and queers (napunsaka), who give up malice and surrender to his grace. How does one read this? A comfort with gender and sexual fluidity? An acceptance of karma?

Medical texts, such as Shushruta Samhita, subscribe to the Tantrik belief that when a man and woman have sex, the gender and sexuality depends on the proportion of the male white seed and female red seed. If the male white seed is stronger then heterosexual men are born; when the female red seed is stronger, then heterosexual females are born.

When both seeds are equally strong, the child becomes queer (kliba, napunsaka, kinnara). Sanskrit texts on astrology, architecture and music all refer to three genders: male, female and queer. Thus the condition is seen as physiological, not pathological.

The Dharmashastras need to be located in this context. They were books that speculated on appropriate human conduct. They focussed more on “upper” castes and were relatively indifferent to “lower” castes.

Written by Brahmins in the period that saw the composition of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, they have a relatively casual attitude towards non-vaginal (ayoni) sex. This could even refer to anal/oral sex between adult consenting men and women, not just between men, or between women.

The Arthashastra of Kautilya, charges a fine, similar to fines for minor thefts. Women are fined more than men. The fine increases if one of the partners is not consenting. (IV.XIII.236)

The Manusmriti equates homosexual sex to a man having sex with a menstruating woman, or having sex during the day, and the punishment involves purification rites: bathing with clothes on, and fasting for a night, and eating specific cow milk and urine related products.

Failure to purify can result in loss of caste. The crimes of heterosexual adultery and rape, and deflowering a virgin, have much higher fines and more intense purification rituals. (XI:175)

The Dharmashastras clearly value heterosexual marriage and sex that results in production of sons. However, they do acknowledge, albeit grudgingly, the existence of other forms of non-vaginal sex, heterosexual as well as homosexual, and seek to restrain them with fines and penance, without overtly condemning them in religious or moral terms.

Not everything in Hinduism or India was governed by Brahmin texts and that is important to remember. In monastic orders like Buddhism and Jainism where celibacy is celebrated, sexual desire – be it homosexual or heterosexual – is seen as an obstacle to the spiritual path.

In Charvaka, or materialistic traditions, the intrinsic nature (svabhava) of living creatures must be respected and celebrated, rather than judged. Thus India has had a very diverse, generally liberal, range of attitudes towards all kinds of sex, including homosexuality, with warnings about addiction, attachment and obsession.

This article was originally published in DailyO. It has been republished with permission from the author.

Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian mythologist and writer known for his work on ancient Indian scriptures.

Views are personal

‘Are you saying my Krishna is polygamous?’ the man said, his tone angry and threatening. I could not believe his reaction. Why was he surprised? Why was he angry? Was this not common knowledge? Since that strange confrontation years ago, I have met dozens like him, men and women confident about the scriptures without ever reading a single one.

Yet Krishna’s many marriages have been described in the various sources of Krishna stories: Mahabharata, Harivamsa, Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, dated from 300 BCE to 1300 CE. Krishna has eight principle wives (the asha-bharyas) and 16,100 junior wives.

The eight principle wives are Rukmini of Vidarbha, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Bhadra of Kekeya, Mitravinda of Avanti, Satya of Kosala and Lakshmana of Madra. Rukmini elopes with Krishna. Satyabhama is given in marriage by Satrajit who is grateful that Krishna found the killer of his brother Prasenajit.

Jambavati is given in marriage by the bear-king, Jambavan, who is impressed by Krishna’s strength in wrestling. Kalindi is the river Yamuna who follows Krishna from the Gangetic plains to Dwarka. Bhadra and Mitravinda choose Krishna in their respective swayamvaras.

Satya’s hand in marriage is won by overpowering wild bulls, while Lakshmana’s hand is won by winning an archery contest. The 16100 junior wives are given protection by Krishna after he defeats Narakasura and discovers them in his harem. The story goes that when Narada visited Krishna in Dwarka he found 16,108 mansions and a Krishna in each mansion giving full attention to each of the senior and junior wives.

Arguments go that this is metaphorical, but then all of mythology is metaphorical, a set of symbols communicating complex psychological ideas, even the idea of Krishna itself.

Then there is Radha, who is not mentioned in early Puranas but appears in folk literature and finally later Puranas, like the Brahmavaivarta Purana, where she is presented as his true cosmic wife, even though on earth she never marries him, but stays back in Vrinda-vana, with her husband while Krishna goes to Mathura and thence to Dwarka.

And along with Radha are many milkmaids who dance around Krishna while he plays the flute in the forest of Madhu-vana at night. People have always been uncomfortable asking questions about Radha’s relationship with Krishna. In fact, in 1718, at the court of Nawab Murshid Ouli Khan there was a huge debate regarding the theology of Svakiya (Radha as married to Krishna) and Parakiya (Radha as married to someone else). The Parakiya side won!

Krishna’s polygamous nature is designed to stand in stark contrast to Ram’s monogamous nature. He is romantic rake, who breaks hearts while Ram is the faithful husband, who is always distant. Through these two contrasting forms of Vishnu, Vaishnava theology plays itself out.

But who is interested in theology and philosophy and metaphysics today? For many today, it is all about politics. We want our gods to be historical entities not psychological realities. We have convinced ourselves that the past is more important than present, matter is more important than mind.

Our gods must have all the qualities we want — they must be monogamous and vegetarian, stories from scriptures not withstanding. Anyone who tells Krishna is not what we imagine Krishna to be must be of a Western mindset, a left liberal ‘sickular’.

The imaginations of manipulative cult leaders have become the reality of their equally power-hungry domination-seeking followers. It does not help when ‘rational’ academicians use this information as ‘evidence’ to explain Indian patriarchy.

This article was originally published in Devlok, Sunday Midday. It has been republished with permission from Devdutt Pattanaik.

Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian mythologist and writer known for his work on ancient Indian scriptures.