RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat talks about how LGBTQ community was a part of Mahabharat
In a recent interview for the magazine Organiser and Panchjanya, Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS Chief, spoke in favor of LGBTQ community. He talked about how this was natural and also a part of Indian culture and history. He highlighted the story of Hansa and Dimbhaka from the Mahabharat and how “the two generals were in that sort of a relationship.”
The RSS Chief further went to add, “It’s not that these people have never existed in our country. People with such proclivities have always been there for as long as humans have existed. Since I am a doctor of animals, I know that such traits are found in animals too. This is biological, a mode of life.”
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Many see Mohan Bhagwat’s recent support for the community as a welcome move. He also highlighted the need for the community to be given privacy and lead their private life the way they want.
The story of Hansa and Dimbhatka- the two gay generals of Jarasandha “Yeh LGBT ki samasya hai. Jarasandha ke do senapati they Hamsa aur Dimbhaka. Woh itne mitra they ki Krishna ne afwaah failayi ki Dimbhaka mar gaya hai, tou Hamsa ne atmahatya kar li. Do senapatiyon ko aisehi maar dala.
Ab yeh kya cheez…yeh woh hi cheez hai. In dono ke waise sambandha they (When Krishna fanned the rumour that Dimbhaka has died, Hans committed suicide. That is how Krishna got rid of those two generals. Come to think of it: what does the story suggest?
The Mahabharat is one of the most famous and revered epic of Indian culture and history. The This is the same thing. The two generals were in that sort of a relationship)”.
Epic also depicts life in ancient times and the people who existed then. If one reads Mahabharat carefully, one will realize that the Epic is a careful depiction of all things ‘progressive’. From advanced weaponry to gender fluidity- the Mahabharat has it all. The Mahabharat is no longer seen as a historical text but as a culturally relevant and significant text today.
The story of Hansa and Dhimbhaka goes like this. Jarasandha was a powerful king of the Magadha Kingdom. He had attacked Mathura, Lord Krishna’s place 17 times.
In Mahabharat, a dialogue between Yudhistir and Krishna introduces the two characters- Hamsa and Dhimbhaka. In the conversation, Krishna talks about how it is challenging to defeat Jarasandha because of his two generals, Hamsa and Dimbhaka, who were as strong as Gods and had a boon that any weapon could not kill them. During the War, a king named Hansa, who was also fighting for Jarasandha, was killed by Balrama.
The news spread that it was ‘Hamsa’ who had died, and on hearing this, Dimbhaka jumped into Yamuna as he could not live without Hamsa. And when Hamsa heard this, he, too, drowned himself in the river.
Some say that the two were brothers while others have also mentioned how the two were lovers. However, the recollection of this story by RSS Chief is a reminder that LGBTQ people have always been a part of the community.
