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Hinduism and Tribal Religions pp 1–3Cite as

Aravan (Mythical Character)

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

Synonyms

Aravan; Iravan; Iravat

Introduction

Aravan is a character in the Indian epic, Mahabharata and is also known as Iravan, Iravat, and Iravant. He is worshipped by the male-to-female transgenders in India. In the Tamil version of the Mahabharata, Aravan is the son born of the union between Arjuna, one of the Pandavas and Ulupi, the Naga (snake deity) princess, while the Pandavas were sojourning in the north-eastern India on their exile. Though Aravan finds mention in the Mahabharata, the versions of his story are different in the northern and southern parts of India. The Koovagam temple in Villupuram is one of the chief temples of Aravan in India. According to Hiltebeitel, Aravan is revered as a deity in two southern Indian Hindu cults: the Kuttantavarcult (dedicated exclusively to Aravan) and the cult of Draupadi (Aravan’s stepmother and common wife of the Pandavas). Aravan is also known as Kuttantavar in South India, originating from the legend of Kuttantavar killing the demon...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English, M. E. S. College of Arts & Commerce, Zuarinagar-Goa, India

    Susan Deborah Selvaraj

Authors
  1. Susan Deborah Selvaraj
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Correspondence to Susan Deborah Selvaraj .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, TX, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Selvaraj, S.D. (2020). Aravan (Mythical Character). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_829-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_829-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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