BahucharÄ ā goddess of fertility, transgender-rites
BahucharÄ MÄtÄ of Bahucharaji is one of the 51 Shakti PÄ«į¹has and the primary divine patron of Hijra (transgender / intersex) communities across India. The goddess herself was a girl who chose self-mutilation over sexual violence and thereafter grants blessings of fertility, childbirth, and protection from ill-intentioned men. Hijras from all India converge annually for her Chaitra Sud PÅ«rį¹imÄ festival. Temple sits on a hillock; the deity is a svayam-bhÅ« rock. The goddess's vÄhana is a cock. Animal sacrifice was traditional; replaced by pumpkin or a yantra-ritual.
Daily aarati at dawn and dusk; abhisheka with water/milk/turmeric; kumkum offering; red hibiscus; oil lamp. For Tantric or non-Brahmin shrines: goat-sacrifice (traditional; increasingly symbolic pumpkin-breaking).
Hinduism's goddess-traditions are vast and diverse ā 51 Shakti PÄ«į¹has, 10 MahÄvidyÄs, 9 Navadurga, 8 Ashta Matrika, hundreds of regional forms. Each is a distinct face of the one supreme MahÄ-DevÄ«.
