Thousands of transgender people gathered at a temple in Koovagam, Tamil Nadu, for a ritual that locals believe embraces womanhood.

Priests at the venue marry all the trans women to a man for the day. The next day of the festival is considered the death of Lord Aravan and the trans women embrace widowhood with lamenting and grief.

According to local reports, the ritual traces back to Hindu mythology where Aravan sacrificed himself during a war but before he could do this he had to married. Lord Krishna took on the form of a female and married Aravan.

This footage was filmed on May 2.

Location: Koovagam village, Kallakurichi district

Thousands of transgender people gathered at the Koothandavar temple at Koovagam village in Kallakurichi district to get married to the temple deity Lord Aravan. The ritual is an annual affair where members of the community flock from across the country to pay their religious rites and embrace their womanhood.

Priests at the temple tie the holy knot to all the transwomen coming there and pronounce them married to a man for that day. The next day is considered to be the death of Lord Aravan and the transwomen embrace widowhood with lamenting and grief.

The ritual traces back to a story told in the epic mythology Mahabharatha, in which Aravan the son of Pandava warrior Arjuna participated in the Kurukshetra war with his father and the other Pandavas. At the end of the war, a human sacrifice to Goddess Kali was believed to bring victory to the Pandavas and so Aravan gave himself up for the sacrifice. In order to be entitled to right of cremation and funerary offerings, Aravan needed to be married before the sacrifice.

As women wanted to marry him as widowhood became obvious, Lord Krishna took on a female avatar, called Mohini, and married Aravan