Bahuchara Mata
Bahuchara Mata is the goddess of the Hijra communities in India and is worshiped by them. In the societies of South Asia, members of a third sex who are neither male nor female are usually regarded as hijra.
Legends
In one of the many folk tales associated with Bahuchara Mata , the goddess was once a princess who castrated her husband because he preferred to go into the forest and behave "like a woman" over the marriage bed. In another story, the man who tried to molest Bahuchara Mata is cursed with impotence ; he was only forgiven after he gave up his manhood, dressed as a woman, and worshiped his goddess.
presentation
The riding animal ( vahana ) Bahuchara Matas is a rooster , which is supposed to symbolize innocence , because the followers of the goddess believe in non-violence and consider the killing of any animal to be a sin ; nevertheless animal sacrifices are still made to the goddess . Bahuchara Mata is depicted as a woman with a sword in her upper right hand, holy scriptures in the upper left, and the hand gesture " abhay hasta mudra " (raining blessings) in the lower right and a trident in the lower left .
Adoration
The main temple Bahuchara Matas is located in the small town of Becharaji in the north of the Indian state of Gujarat .