Aruna the Transgender

Aruna the Charioteer of the Sun God is Male or female or a transgender ?

Although he is externally masculine, In Ramayan and Puranas, it is said that she is the mother of Vali and Sugriv who are fathered by Indra and Surya.

In our Puranas, Aruna is described as the charioteer of Surya. He is the son of Kashyapa and Vinata and the elder brother of Garuda. While Garuda carries Vishnu, Aruna drives the chariot of the Sun God.

Aruna was born Premature and Intersex. Sage Kashyapa has given mother Vinata two eggs. In her eagerness, Vinata break open one egg and Aruna was delivered prematurely. His external genitalia was not fully formed. In today’s medical jargon, he would be called Intersex ( Hermaphrodite.) Having learnt a bitter lesson, she waited patiently for the next egg and  a powerful Garuda was born from the other egg. Garuda is also known as Vainateya– the son of Vinata.

Female Pseudo hermaphrodite-

Aruna grew up as an intersex. One day he wore a saree, and entered the Indra sabha. Indra was so enamoured with his beauty that he sired a son  from *him/her*. The powerful Vali of Ramayana was born. Surya has also sired one son from Aruna/Aruni who is known as Sugriv.

In Ramayana, Vali and Sugriv were equal rivals and Lord Ram sides with the son of Surya to kill Vali, the son of Indra.
In Mahabharat, it is reversed. Kunti begets two sons from both Surya and Indra: Karna and Arjuna. This time the lord helps Arjuna, the son of Indra to kill karna, the son of Surya. The debit raised in Ramayana was closed in Mahabharat.

Next time, you visit the Puri temple, look up at the top of Aruna Stambha and  please think about the life of the first intersex described in our Puranas.

Aruna Stambha (Sun Pillar) is a sixteen-sided 34 feet tall monolithic stone pillar in front of Sihmadwara of Jagannath Temple. The idol on top is Aruna, the Charioteer of Sun.