See also Renate Syed's selected bibliography on the topic of “India's
Third Gender”:
https://www.renate-syed.de/artikel/renate-syed-hijras-india-s-third-gender-and-2500-years-of-discrimination-and-exclusion
With best regards,
Roland Steiner
Am 27.10.2025 um 16:33 schrieb Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY:
Just a brief comment: The translation of 'varṣadhara' as an umbrella
term for 'eunuch' clearly originates with Indian lexicographers, who
equate it with 'klīvo' = 'varṣadharaḥ' = 'ṣaṇḍhaḥ' (e.g. Halāyudha
[ed. Aufrecht] 2.275a). However, in modern target languages of
translation from Sanskrit, 'eunuch' is generally not defined in any
detail.
Kṣīrasvāmin defines varṣadhara as 'unable to procreate'
(prajanāsāmarthya, 10.164 [ed. Liebich]). There are a number of causes
that can lead to this. It is not necessarily always associated with
impotence. Perhaps, however, terms such as klība, vādhri, ṣaṇḍ(h)a,
paṇḍaka, etc., were actually indeed associated with various forms of
male infertility. For the Buddhist characterisation of ṣaṇḍas and
paṇḍakas, Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāṣya provides insight (cf. 4.43
and 4.55).
Either way, Atharvaveda (Ś) 6.138.1–3 ≈≈ (P) 1.68.1–5 [ed. Kim] is
remarkable because it explains how to make a man incapable of
reproducing, by smashing his testicles with two stones (Ś 6.138.2cd/P
1.68.3cd). This renders him a klība or vadhri (Ś 6.138.2cd/P
1.68.3cd), a 'juiceless' (a-rasa) individual (Ś 6.138.3c/P1.68.4c).
This 'juicelessness' is conceptually similar to varṣa-dhara, as it
merely signifies an inability to ejaculate fertile semen without
necessarily implying a restriction in erectile function.
An interesting description of eunuch activity in Aurangzeb's harem
that seems to fit precisely with this image of infertile yet potent
'eunuchs' is provided by F. Bernier in 'Travels in the Mogul Empire,
A.D. 1656–1668' (ed. E. Constable). Westminster 1891, pp. 131–133).
The fact that this was an Indo-Islamic harem is no counterargument in
this context, as the Indian harem system dates back to pre-Christian
times and was firmly anchored in the cultural history of the Indian
nobility. The production of offspring that did not come from the ruler
himself had to be prevented at all costs.
Kind regards, WS
Am Mo., 27. Okt. 2025 um 10:26 Uhr schrieb Shirley, Dr. Bruno Marshall
via INDOLOGY <[email protected]>:
Dear Heiner,
I am skeptical about all translations of "eunuch." The term itself
comes from the Byzantine court, in which men were intentionally
castrated to serve as guards for the women's quarters; because of
the clear parallel to Chinese 宦官, the term has been applied to
them, fairly accurately. But Shaun Tougher, who has very literally
written the book on Byzantine eunuchs, cautions us about
over-application to other contexts, which can very often conflate
different kinds of (or understandings of) sexual and gender
difference. As Shane Gannon shows, in his excellent "Exclusion as
Language and the Language of Exclusion," colonial-period
translators in India applied the label "eunuch" to a rather wide
range of terms both contemporary and historical, very few of which
ever indicated "men intentionally castrated to guard the women's
quarters." Gannon's examples do not specifically include
/varṣadhara/, but I think he does convincingly show that these
terms did not indicate a single social/gendered/sexual identity,
and that to conflate them risks distortion.
We could read /varṣadhara/ as "one who holds or retains semen,"
implying impotence (congenital or manufactured). Apte's
dictionary, which Dr. Paturi has helpfully copied below for
context, gives us only the /Arthaśāstra /as a witness for
/varṣadhara /as "eunuch." Working very quickly off of the GRETIL
version, we have:
1.20.21: "Octogenarian men or quinquagenarian women, who look
like mothers and fathers, and *senior /varṣadhara /retainers*
(/abhyāgārika/s), should find out [who] in the inner chamber
is pure/upright or impure/dishonest (/śauca///aśauca/), and
should make them firm in loyalty to the master" (/aśītikāḥ
puruṣāḥ pañcāśatkāḥ striyo vā mātā.pitṛ.vyañjanāḥ
sthavira.varṣadhara.abhyāgārikāś ca^avarodhānāṃ śauca.āśaucaṃ
vidyuḥ, sthāpayeyuś ca svāmi.hite/).
1.21.1: "Rising after sleeping, [the king] should be
surrounded by groups of female archers; in the second
courtyard, by armoured and beturbaned */varṣadhara
/retainers*..." (/śayanād utthitaḥ strī.gaṇair dhanvibhiḥ
parigṛhyate, dvitīyasyāṃ kakṣyāyāṃ kañcuka.uṣṇīṣibhir
varṣa.dhara.abhyāgārikaiḥ, tṛtīyasyāṃ kubja.vāmana.kirātaiḥ,
caturthyāṃ mantribhiḥ sambandhibhir dauvārikaiś ca
prāsa.pāṇibhiḥ/).
So the /varṣadhara /is very clearly involved someone involved in
the women's quarters, and even with the king's personal
protection. But I can't see an explicit suggestion here that they
were intentionally castrated for this task. That they were trusted
with the king's protection alongside female archers suggests a
commonality there; neither women nor /varṣadhara/s could claim the
throne, and so would be less likely to assassinate for personal
gain? That they were trusted alongside very old men suggests that
neither group were considered a sexual threat, and so perhaps the
/varṣadhara /was "made" to be as impotent. Against this, Sweet and
Zwilling assert that castration "was regarded with disapproval and
at times legally forbidden in Indian tradition prior to Muslim
rule," but offer us no citations or further references.
There are likely other references elsewhere, with more helpful
explanations of both the term and the identity. But in their
absence I am not confident that we could identify a clear visual
representation of a /varṣadhara /specifically, without conflating
them with the other terms often translated "eunuch" (i.e.
/paṇḍaka/s, /klība/s...). There are some descriptions of these
latter terms in e.g. medical texts, I believe, but I am not
familiar with references to them as guardians of royal women's
quarters (I would be delighted to be corrected, out of my own
interests!), and they are more often presented as congenital (and
unfortunate) conditions.
On a personal note, I would be very interested in learning more
about the early relief you are studying.
With best wishes,
Bruno
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* INDOLOGY <[email protected]> on behalf
of Nagaraj Paturi via INDOLOGY <[email protected]>
*Sent:* 26 October 2025 12:54:05
*To:* Rolf Heinrich Koch
*Cc:* indology
*Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] varṣadhara - eunuch
https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?page=1398
वर्षः varṣam, वर्षम् varṣam [वृष् भावे घञ् कर्तरि अच् वा]
1 Raining, rain, a shower of rain; तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं
निगृह्णाभ्युत्सृजामि च Bg.9.19; विद्युत्स्तनितवर्षेषु Ms.4.103;
Me.37. -2 Sprinkling, effusion, throwing down, a shower of
anything; सुरभि सुरविमुक्तं पुष्पवर्षं पपात R.12.102; so शरवर्षः,
शिलावर्षः, लाजवर्षः &c. -3 Seminal effusion. -4 A year (usually
only /n./); इयन्ति वर्षाणि तया सहोग्रमभ्यस्यतीव
व्रतमासिधारम् R.13.67; न ववर्ष वर्षाणि द्वादश दशशताक्षः Dk.;
वर्षभोग्येण शापेन Me.1. -5 A division of the world, a continent;
(nine such divisions are usually enumerated:-- 1 कुरु; 2 हिरण्मय;
3 रम्यक; 4 इलावृत; 5 हरि; 6 केतुमाला; 7 भद्राश्व; 8 किंनर; and 9
भारत); यस्मिन् नव वर्षाणि Bhāg.5.16.6. एतदूढगुरुभारभारतं वर्षमद्य
मम वर्तते वशे Śi.14.5. -6 India (= भारतवर्ष). -7 A cloud (only
/m./ according to Hemachandra). -8 A day; अप्राप्तयौवनं बालं
पञ्चवर्षसहस्रकम् Rām.7.73.5. (com. वर्षशब्दोऽत्र दिनपरः). -9 A
place of residence; वर्षमस्य गिरेर्मध्ये रामेण श्रीमता कृतम् Mb.3.
130.12. -Comp. -अंशः, -अंशकः, -अङ्गः a month.
-अम्बु/n./ rain-water. -अयुतम् ten thousand years.
-अर्चिस्/m./ the planet Mars. -अवसानम् the autumn or Śarat season.
-आघोषः a frog. -आमदः a peacock. -उपलः 1 hail stone -2 a kind of
sweetmeat ball; घनैरमीषां परिवेषकैर्जनैरवर्षि
वर्षोपलगोलकावली N.16.100. -करः a cloud. (-री) a cricket. -कालः the
rainy season. -केतुः a red-flowering Punar-navā. -कोशः, -षः 1 a
month. -2 an astrologer. -गणः (pl.) a long series of years; बहून्
वर्षगणान् घोरान् Ms.12.54. -गिरिः, -पर्वतः 'a Varṣa mountain', /i.
e./ one of the mountain-ranges supposed to separate the different
divisions of the world from one another; (they are seven:--
हिमवान् हेमकूटश्च निषधो मेरुरेव च । चैत्रः कर्णी च शृङ्गी च
सप्तैते वर्षपर्वताः). -घ्न/a./ protecting from rain.
-ज/a./ (वर्षेज also) 1 produced in the rainy season. -2 one year
old. -त्रम् an umbrella; छायां ते दिनकरभाः प्रबाधमानं वर्षत्रं भरत
करोतु मूर्ध्नि शीताम् Rām.2.107.18. -धरः 1 a cloud. -2 a eunuch,
an attendant on the women's apartments; (वर्षधर्ष in the same
sense). See वर्षवर. -3 the ruler of a Varṣa;
वर्षधराभिवादिताभिवन्दितचरणः Bhāg.5.3.16; also वर्षप-पति.-4 a
mountain bounding a Varṣa. -पदम् a calender. -पाकिन्/m./ the
hog-plum. -पूगः a series or collection of years. -प्रतिबन्धः a
drought. -प्रवेगः a heavy shower of rain; वर्षप्रवेगा विपुलाः
पतन्ति Rām.4.28.45. -प्रियः the Chātaka bird. -रात्रः the rainy
season; वर्षरात्रे स्थितो रामः Rām.4.30.1.-वरः a eunuch, an
attendant on the women's apartments; वर्षवराभ्यागारिकैः Kau.
A.1.21; ये स्वल्पसत्त्वाः प्रथममात्मीयाः स्त्रीस्वभाविनः । जात्या
न दुष्टाः कार्येषु ते वै वर्षवराः स्मृताः ॥ Ak.; M.4.4/5;
Rām.2.65.7; Mb.9.62.5. -वृद्धिः/f./ birth-day. -शतम् a century,
one hundred years. -सहस्रम् a thousand years.
On Sun, Oct 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM Rolf Heinrich Koch via INDOLOGY
<[email protected]> wrote:
Dear listmembers,
in the context of the female apartments antaḥpura we come
across the word varṣadhara.
1. Where the meaning "eunuch" is evident?
2. For the interpretation of an early relief I look for any
details of the eunuch's appearance.
Anyone can help?
Heiner
-- Dr. R. H. Koch - Germany/Sri Lanka
www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com/
<http://www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com/>
www.ummaggajataka.wordpress.com
<http://www.ummaggajataka.wordpress.com>
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Nagaraj Paturi
Hyderabad, Telangana-500044
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