Pandaka is a term much disputed in Buddhist history for its specific meaning, but generally, is used to identify sexually non-conforming individuals. The term can denote someone of either male or female sex, but was also used popularly and medically to describe the third sex, which was often an excluded category. Pandakas were not permitted ordination in the monastery, and were generally considered pariahs with oversexual appetites. Some sources depict pandakas as mirroring the divine, with stories of sex-changing individuals and dieties that reflect a theme of enlightened flexibility. Others categorize and condemn types of pandakas.

buddhism