In addition to Hinduism having a large number of devas, the number of entities is made larger by that fact that each deva has a certain number of avatars, beings that represent different aspects of a deva. A deva is able to take on the form of an avatar at will, which grants the deva different powers and a different personality. In some cases, the deva will perform a gender switch as part of the avatar switch.
Vishnu is probably the most well known of all the Hindu devas. He is easily recongizable in paintings from his blue skin. He is also one of a trinity of gods considered to be the most supreme, which includes Brahma, the creator, and Shiva, the destroyer. Vishnu has many avatars, including a fish, a boar, and the epic heroes, Rama and Krishna. But in one of his avatars, he takes on the form of a woman.
As this avatar, Vishnu takes on the name Mohini (pictured above in a temple carving). Mohini is an enchantress and a femme fatale. She attempts to seduce the creator god Brahma, who turns her away. Legend says that she seduced and charmed several demons in order to enter a cave and achieve an artifact known as the Amarita, or the pot of immortality. She is also a well known demon slayer, having killed many after seducing them.
The most stunning myth regarding Mohini involves the god Shiva. One day, while Vishnu is visiting Shiva, Shiva implores Vishnu to become Mohini, so he can see for herself her great beauty. At first, Vishnu is reluctant, but after much cajolling, relents and transforms into Mohini. At first sight, Shiva instantly becomes aroused, and then has sexual relations with Mohini. The most shocking aspect is that in the middle of having sex, Mohini becomes Vishnu, but the two gods continue to have sexual relations. The result is the birth of a son, Shasta, by Mohini, a portait of whom is shown below. It bears mentioning that Shiva and Vishnu did not take an active part in the child's upbringing, but rather had him adopted by a Hindu king.
Later, in his Avatar form as Krishna, Vishnu again takes on the form of Mohini, this time to wed a demon ruler named Aravan, who is going to be sacrificed to the Hindu goddess of death, Kali. Aravan has three wishes he can receive, and one of them is to be married before he dies. Mohini then marries him, and the next day when Aravan dies, she wails and weeps at his funeral, like a true wife, before returning to the form of Krishna. Today, this story is retold through the actions of Aravanis, transgendered men who become the brides of Aravan and mourn his death.
It is interesting to note that Mohini is one of the most popular Avatars of Vishnu. So much so that on certain feast days in India, worshippers will take it upon themselves to dress up the male form of Vishnu in female clothing, to worship him as Mohini.
Another member of the Hindu trinity of head devas is Shiva, the destroyer. He is possibly next to Vishnu the most popular Hindu deva, and has worshippers all over the globe. One of Shiva's avatars is named Ardhanari, and is portrayed as being a half man, half woman split down the middle, as seen in the temple carving above. The purpose of this Hindu avatar of Shiva is to show that the female and male aspects of God can never be divided, but are always together.
A deva named Surya was considered to be the ancient Hindu god of the sun, shown above. A story goes that one day, Surya in his avatar guise as Aruna, god of dawn, was spying upon the Earth. While doing so, he noticed that a festival was occurring, one which contained a large number of beautiful women. However, only women could enter this festival. In order to do so, Aruna became a beautiful woman, who descended to Earth and went to the festival. During the course of it, Aruna had lesbian relations with two women, and each woman became pregnant with a child as a result of the union
It is important to note that tales of men becoming women are not limited to the devas. One of Hinduism and India's most prominent heroes, Arjuna (a statue of whom is shown above), was transformed into a member of a third sex that was neither male nor female. The legend goes that for a time, Arjuna was sent from his kingdom into exile. During his travels, he came across a wood nymph Urvashi, who upon seeing the handsome warrior king wanted to make love to him. But Arjuna refused. In an act of revenge, Urvashi turned him into a member of the third gender, known as a kliba, that was neither male nor female. Arjuna despaired at first, but Vishnu descended to Earth and told Arjuna that this would serve him well as a disguise until his last year of exile was finished. Taking the name of Brinnhala, Arjuna went to a far away kingdom and for the last year of his exile taught the princess of that kingdom and her maids to dance. Upon completion of the year, he became a man again.
These stories of transgenderism are accepted and beloved tales of Hindu worshippers. In some ways, it could be argued that Hinduism is far ahead of the western world's Christinaity, Islam, and Judaism. Hindus accept the idea of God as man and woman, mother and father. In some cases, they even view God as genderless. It is to Hinduism's credit that these legends did not die as a result of the British colonial Era and years of occupation by the Western world. There is something to learn in this, not only a lesson of acceptance, but also a lesson of faith.
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