The name Ardhanarishvara means "The Lord whose half is a woman". Many deities in Hinduism and Indian mythology are represented as both male and female at different times and in different incarnations or may manifest with characteristics of both genders at once, such as Ardhanarishvara, created by the merging of the god Shiva and his consort Parvati whose half right body is male while the left half is female. Shiva and Parvati in the form of Ardhanarisvara Such analyses have caused disagreements about the true meaning of the ancient stories. In addition to stories of gender and sexual variance that are generally accepted by mainstream Hinduism, modern scholars and queer activists have highlighted LGBT themes in lesser-known texts, or inferred them from stories that traditionally are considered to have no homoerotic subtext. Sometimes the gods condemn these interactions but at other times they occur with their blessing. Hindu mythology contains numerous incidents where sexual interactions serve a non-sexual, sacred purpose in some cases, these are same-sex interactions. Non-divine beings also undergo sex-changes through the actions of the gods, as the result of curses or blessings, or as the natural outcome of reincarnation. Gods change sex or manifest as an avatar of the opposite sex in order to facilitate sexual congress.
Hindu mythology has many examples of deities changing gender, manifesting as different genders at different times, or combining to form androgynous or hermaphroditic beings. Traditional Hindu literary sources do not speak of homosexuality directly, but changes of sex, homoerotic encounters, and intersex or third gender characters are often found both in traditional religious narratives such as the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas as well as in regional folklore. LGBT themes in Hindu mythology involve Hindu deities or heroes whose attributes or behavior can be interpreted as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or as having elements of gender variance and non-heterosexual sexuality.