Arjun as Brihannala, a eunuch

Is this part of the epic an attempt to elevate and give the deserved recognition and the social standing to the third gender? Arjun lived the life of a eunuch for one year on account of Urvashi's curse which proved helpful in his agyaatvaas. Arjun, the eunuch, defeated the army which had great male yoddhas and maharathis. I find it very interesting and liberating.

Your comments and opinions..

I think eunuchs did not have such a bad status in society as they have today. They were very strong and could fight.

Besides, I do believe Arjun was metrosexual. Please note the meaning, someone who enjoys performing activities highly associated with women or homosexual men. He has been associated with women several times and I don't think all of it is in the light of lust or sexual desire. I feel he enjoyed being with women, indulging in activities which they did.

There are many later theories that talk about how he is queer, but I don't completely buy that. However it is debatable because sexuality is fluid and in many cases repressed.

Very interesting what has been said in the above two posts.

Also, I would like to add Arjuna is only man ( other than Krishna) who enjoyed music and dance and was not always talking about war.

Question to you guys : if we remove the divine aspect, how do you explain the eunuch curse?

Did he just dress up as a woman for a year?

Originally posted by: AnkitaPurka66

Very interesting what has been said in the above two posts.

Also, I would like to add Arjuna is only man ( other than Krishna) who enjoyed music and dance and was not always talking about war.

Question to you guys : if we remove the divine aspect, how do you explain the eunuch curse?

Did he just dress up as a woman for a year?

That's the doubt out of which the queer theory arises. I think he did dress up as a woman but if we remove this curse, i would consider he chose to be a woman out of his OWN FREE WILL. Infact, each one chose up a profession they were best at.

Yudhishthir- clearly the minister of Virat.

Bheem- naturally he was interested in cooking and food hence the cook.

Nakul and Sahadev - I think they were good with animals and hence the job. Not sure it's mentioned.

Now what about Arjun? He could easily have been the helper to the Senapati, or teacher of the weaponry or something, no? He did not.

He clearly chose to be with women, teach them dance and music, which indicates he was fond of them. Secondly, he wanted to dress up as a woman if we remove the curse.

Hence I believe, he did have metrosexual characteristics.

I thought Arjun dressed up as woman so he can have access to Draupadi and protect her, as Bheem was too bulky to pass for a woman

Originally posted by: AnkitaPurka66

Very interesting what has been said in the above two posts.

Also, I would like to add Arjuna is only man ( other than Krishna) who enjoyed music and dance and was not always talking about war.

Question to you guys : if we remove the divine aspect, how do you explain the eunuch curse?

Did he just dress up as a woman for a year?

Behaving as a woman wouldn't be very difficult for a man I guess.

But what I doubt if that were the kings so stupid that they kept their resources for the female chambers without proper checks?

Imagine Ju stringing his Gandiva and with same skill as stringing and playing the Veena and him dancing with all Feminine grace evoking all good rasas☺️

Originally posted by: FlauntPessimism

Behaving as a woman wouldn't be very difficult for a man I guess.

But what I doubt if that were the kings so stupid that they kept their resources for the female chambers without proper checks?

I believe Arjun qualified as a transgender individual for that year- that is, a man who believes he is a woman, not someone who is born with both male and female characteristics. I guess Virat understood that and hence he was allowed in female chambers.

All the above opinions are enlightening. My two cents:

Sexuality is fluid. Also a complete being is someone who is well aware and in constant touch with both the masculine and feminine aspect of his being. This is how Lord Shiva is often portrayed in the form of ardhnareeshvara. Also note, how Lord Krishna stands, in the tribhanga position which is a feminine gesture. That way, Arjun is shown as the best amongst all the men and so, one 9f the reasons why the Lord himself chose to act as his saarthi because he is more open and broader in his perspective. This qualifies him not only as the best warrior but also as the best of humans.

Arjun as a eunuch, metrosexual, transsexual, transvestite,etc., are all different and equally relevant interpretations. The most important thing that all this signify is that sexuality is not uni-polar and that wisdom lies in embracing both the yin and yang as the two divine parts of one whole.

Originally posted by: FlauntPessimism

Behaving as a woman wouldn't be very difficult for a man I guess.

But what I doubt if that were the kings so stupid that they kept their resources for the female chambers without proper checks?

In that case, he was really turned into a eunuch (taking the textual context as literally) or he lived as a transvestite (reading the text metaphorically) which shows that the society was very open back then.

In any case, MB is highlighting the completeness of Arjun as a human.