Homosexuality and religion supported them. Ancient religious texts such as the Vedas often refer to people of a third gender known as hijra, who are neither female nor male. Some see this third gender as an ancient parallel to modern western lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex identities. Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Referring to the nature of Samsara, the Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' (perversity/diversity is what nature is all about, or, what seems unnatural is also natural). A "third gender" has been acknowledged within Hinduism
Ancient Iranian religion in the ancient period. The religious information was rather oral both in composition and transmission. The non-Iranian sources are mainly Greek. The most important Greek source is Herodotus. Some of the Greek information on ancient Iranian religion is however unreliable. This is either because it is based on outright wrong information or based on misunderstandings. The historical reconstruction of ancient Vedic literature is also an important source. The earliest religious texts of the related Indo-Aryan peoples are indispensable for reconstructing the historical development of the ancient Iranian religion. The most important of these texts in this regard is the Rigveda.