https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i2.030
Beyond Binaries Queer Narratives of Shikhandi and Ardhanarishvara
DR. S. SANDHIYA
Assistant Professor
PG & Research Department of English
Ethiraj College for Women
Chennai-600008, Tamil Nadu
Abstract: In Indian mythological traditions, gender is neither static nor uniformly defined; rather, it emerges as fluid, relational, and often divinely transformative. Figures such as Shikhandi and Ardhanarishvara occupy liminal spaces that unsettle binary constructions of gender and challenge the normative scripts embedded within patriarchal cultural memory. This paper examines how their narratives depict as sites of queering, offering critical discussions of fluid identity, intersectionality, and the reclamation of marginalized subjectivities.
Shikhandi, born as a woman and later assume a male identity to fulfil a karma and narrative purpose in The Mahabharata, destabilizes the coherence of conventional gender roles and provides a mythic precedent to understand transgender and non-binary identities within an Indian mythological framework. Ardhanarishvara, the composite embodiment of Shiva and Parvati, articulates a theological vision in which gender coexistence, hybridity, and complementarity are rendered sacred. Together, these figures reveal how ancient narratives encode gender fluidity as both spiritual symbolism and socio-cultural existence.
This paper examines classical texts, temple iconography, regional folklore, and contemporary reinterpretations—including the works of Devdutt Pattanaik—to show how mythological figures are reimagined in modern literature, digital media, and popular culture. Using queer theory and intersectional feminism, it argues that mythology functions as a dynamic archive that not only acknowledges but also valorises fluid identities. The study concludes by re-reading Indian mythology as an evolving narrative tradition that enables resistance, multiplicity, and the empowerment of gender-diverse identities, highlighting Shikhandi and Ardhanarishvara as enduring frameworks for understanding identities beyond the gender binary.
Keywords: Queer Mythology, Gender Fluidity, Shikhandi, Ardhanarishvara, Intersectional Feminism, Gender Identity, Indian Mythology
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