of Gujarat and the Yellamma Festivals of Karnataka, among others. Deities displaying gender variance include Mohini, the female avatar of the god Vishnu and Vaikuntha Kamalaja, the androgynous form of Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi. LGBT interpretations are also drawn in the legends of birth of the deities Ayyappa (a god born from the union of Shiva and Mohini), Bhagiratha (an Indian king born of two female parents) and Kartikeya (where the fire-god Agni "swallows" the semen of Shiva after disturbing his coitus with his consort Parvati). Some homosexual Hindus also worship the gods Mitra and Varuna, who are associated with two lunar phases and same-sex relations in ancient Brahmana texts. Gender variance is also observed in heroes in Hindu scriptures. The Hindu epic Mahabharata narrates that the hero Arjuna takes a vow to live as a member of the third sex for a year as the result of a curse he is compelled to honor. He thus transforms into Brihannala, a member of the third gender, for a year and becomes a dance teacher to a princess. Another important character, Shikhandi, is born female, but raised as a man and even married to a woman. She becomes male due to the grace of a Yaksha. Shikhandi eventually becomes the reason for the death of the warrior Bhishma, who refuses to fight a "woman." Another character, Bhishma appeases Yudhishtira's curiosity about relative enjoyment of partners during sex by relating the story of King Bhangasvana, who has had a hundred sons is turned into a woman while on a hunt. She returns to her kingdom, relates the story, turns the kingdom over to her children and retires to the forest to be the spouse of a hermit, by whom she has a hundred more sons. Ila, a king from Hindu narratives, is also known for their gender changes. Some versions of the Krittivasa Ramayana, the most popular Bengali text on the pastimes of Ramachandra (an incarnation of Vishnu), relate a story of two queens who conceived a child together. When the king of the Sun Dynasty, Maharaja Dilipa, died, the demigods become concerned that he did not have a son to continue his line. Shiva, therefore, appeared before the king's two widowed queens and commanded them, "You two make love together and by my blessings, you will bear a beautiful son." The two wives, with great affection for each other, executed