RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat reveals how LGBTQ is connected to Mahabharata, says ‘yeh LGBT ki samasya hai…’

The rights and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in India have remained one of the most debatable topics in the country for several years. Now, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has recounted one instance of the LGBTQ issue from the Hindu epic of Mahabharata.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, while speaking about the LGBTQ+ community, said that they too have a right to privacy and that Indian traditions and history also acknowledge the existence and rights of the community, as per a magazine interview.

Bhagwat made these statements during an interview with RSS-affiliated magazines Organiser and Panchjanya, backing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The RSS chief said that have a right to private life and even quoted one instance from Mahabharata.

The RSS chief talked about the existence of same-sex relationships even in mythology, giving the example of two generals in the Mahabharata who was seemingly in a relationship and had waged a war against Lord Krishna.

Mohan Bhagwat told the magazine, “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? This is the same thing. The two generals were in that sort of a relationship.”

As per the Mahabharata, Hamsa and Dimbhaka were two generals of King Jarasandha, who had vowed to avenge the death of Kans at the hands of Lord Krishna. Both the generals had to be deceived to death, as Lord Krishna spread the rumour that Hamsa died in battle, after which Dimbhaka decided to jump into a river since he could not live without Hamsa.

After learning what had happened to Dimbhaka, Hamsa also decided to take his own life, refusing to carry on without his partner.

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