[INDOLOGY] Gender change in pre-modern Sanskrit literature

[Robert Leach]

Dear Marco,

Androgyny probably doesn't count as gender change per se but there is the
depiction of Prajāpati in a few places in Vedic literature, not as fully
androgynous (in the manner of Ardhanārīśvara), but as a male god with
breasts (*stána-*) that lactate. There is also the case of Indra assuming
the form of a woman, this is probably already covered in some of the
secondary literature you mention.

Best wishes,

Robert

On Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 8:47 PM Marco Franceschini via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear friends and colleagues,
>
> one of my students is writing her undergraduate thesis on the theme of
> gender change in pre-modern Sanskrit literature.
> So far, we have identified the following cases:
> - Ila/Sudyumna-Ilā (*Rāmāyaṇa*, *Bhāgavatapurāṇa*, *Viṣṇupurāṇa*,
> *Vāyupurāṇa*)
> - Bhaṅgāsvana (*Mahābhārata*)
> - Śikhaṇḍin (*Mahābhārata*)
> - Mūladeva (*Vetālapañcaviṃśati*)
> - Rūpāvatī (*Divyāvadāna*)
> - Arjuna (*Mahābhārata*)
>
> As for studies on the subject, we have been able to identify only these
> three:
> - M. Bloomfield, *On the Art of Entering Another's Body: A Hindu Fiction
> Motif*
> - N. Brown, *Change of Sex as a Hindu Story Motif*
> - R. Goldman, *Transsexualism, Gender, and Anxiety in Traditional India*
>
> I would be grateful for any additional suggestions you might wish to
> provide.
>
> Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
> Best wishes,
>
> Marco
> ---
> Marco Franceschini
> ———————————---
> Associate Professor
> University of Bologna
> Department of History and Cultures
> Personal web page <https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/marco.franceschini3/en>
> Academia web page <http://unibo.academia.edu/MarcoFranceschini>
> —
>
>
>
>
>
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