VIZIANAGARAM — Breaking entrenched social prejudices and canonical gender roles, the Sri Vijaya Sagara Durga Malleswari Temple on the banks of the Pedda Cheruvu tank has emerged as a symbol of radical inclusivity.
The shrine is entirely managed, maintained, and helmed by transgender women who double as its primary custodians and ordained priests.
Dressed in traditional silk attire, members of the local transgender community perform complex daily Vedic rituals, scriptural recitations, and sanctum sanctorum protocols that were historically preserved for cisgender male clergymen.
The baseline infrastructure for this spiritual transition began in 2008 when a collective of 20 transgender individuals pool-funded resources to construct the temple structure.
Seeking canonical legitimacy to counter systemic societal exclusion, the group underwent rigorous, formal scriptural training under classical Vedic scholars.
This institutional education equipped them with the precision required for daily liturgical duties, establishing a self-sustained spiritual micro-economy where nearly 90 percent of personal earnings are redirected into shrine maintenance, community infrastructure, and large-scale public feeding programmes.