The Bleeding Purity

Ek heere ki parakh johari ko hai, 
Samaaj me uski ki kimat sirf uski shudhta se hai,
Agar naye nirmaan ke liye usse har maas khoon bahana pade,
Toh kya ye uski ashudhata hai ????

Navratri vibes all around!! Time to celebrate womanhood… At least once a year maybe… phew!! This very season has reminded me of the time when I started to acknowledge what it actually means to be a “woman” in this mordant society!

Once during my early menstruation days, I wanted to grab a piece of raw mango that was being kept for preparation of achaar. Before I could even touch it, my mother stopped me, and instead took the same piece in a different bowl and handed it over to me. This action gushed curiosity, as to what would happen if I touched it. To this, my mom stated it as a custom that since I’m going through menses, if I touch the raw mangoes the achaar would not be preserved for long and it will be spoiled soon. This custom left me even more clueless! Being hurt by such treatment, I asked her what was the reason behind it, and she remained answerless and backfired me to follow these rules as they are being followed for generations.

If it was about me, why am I not clarified about these things? Whom to ask questions without hesitation? Why is this ‘taboo’ not justified??

Puzzling with furious thoughts, I was impatient to know everything I could do and everything I should stop doing according to our ‘built’ customs, while I’m on menses. If these are customs, there must be something strong that holds us back even today. I dived deep into the customs and traditions that were laid back for ages.

Even from the earlier times, a woman onset to menses was strictly prohibited from entering temples, attending religious ceremonies, cooking food for the family, and mainly was forced to step aside to avoid physical touch. She was isolated in the same four walls, given separate dishes to eat and clothes too. At times even the clothes were lit to fire. If a menstruating woman hasn’t committed anything evilish, why should she be abandoned and treated as an untouchable?? And when asked for the reasons, everyone is dumbfounded. I was eager to know the history behind, and the scientific nature of these norms.

By acknowledging the actual facts, I got to know how foolish we, the ‘so-called’ wise and modernized people, to still follow the rituals blindly. The custom was to respect and bestow her the minimum comfort for the biological process. It never aimed at laying a barricade to her wellbeing. Instead, we have merely sharpened our tongue to hurt her by restricting her at every step. 

Food is regarded as god, ‘anna he parabrahma’. So we treat food as a positive energy that we are consuming into our bodies. But due to chemical & hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, women tend to pass out negative energy. Hence to avoid the negative energy entering the food she was asked to maintain distance from cooking activities. In earlier days, women had to do stressful domestic chores. During menses, these activities would aggravate physical stress. So to procure her health, everyone in the family forced her to rest. In turn, she used to have her own space by living these days to the fullest by meditating and offering her prayers to God.

In ancient days, women were bound to use a mere piece of cloth which lacked sanitization. Hence she was confined in the same four walls. This concept was mistaken with untouchability with respect to women during her menses.

Restrictions to enter temples for bleeding women was connected to the half knowledged idea of being ‘impure’. India is a gigantic center for varied beliefs. The scientific reason that connects to practicality is that any spiritual process in a temple leads to the rise of Apana Vayu. But the downflow of blood attempts a criss-cross with these positive energies, which causes the disturbance in mental and spiritual afflictions. If a woman stays in this mixed vibrations, it will affect her physical and mental health as well.

If observed carefully, in front of Shiva temples, tamarind trees are grown. The beings that have lost their physical bodies seek the opportunity of being with the deity. So they have been provided a space around temples restricted at the tamarind trees where they can extract the maximum benefit. A woman on her menstrual cycle is more susceptible to be drawn to these negative vibes. So in order to protect her from this negative attraction, she is prohibited from entering temples. 

Decades ago, the wildlife was free to roam around. During menses, if a woman steps out, she is risking herself to fall prey as animals smell human blood even at great distances. Therefore she was confined within the 4 walls of a small room to avoid attracting these risks. This is the reason she was banned to work in the extended areas of the houses, also to traverse to wells and rivers for collecting water. 

Regardless of the dark acceptance, in some Indian cultures, period blood is deeply respected and considered to have potent powers. To quote an instance, in Manipur, a girl’s first bloodied cloth is kept by her mother, and gifted back to her once she’s married, as it’s believed to protect the girl and her family against poor health. In southern parts of India, once a girl hits the puberty age, she is treated no less than a princess; fed dainty dishes, gifted abundantly. Towards the end of these 5 days, a huge number of guests gather to celebrate the beginning of womanhood and wish her hale and hearty health.

Moving towards eastern India, folks at Odisha gather to celebrate Raja festival to regard the women’s highest of their honors. Situated in the heart of Assam, Kamakhya devi is believed to go through her cycle of menstruation. Just like the famous Kamakhya temple of Guwahati, the Kamakhya Peetham in Visakhapatnam, Kumari Amman Temple in Kanyakumari, Brahmaji Temple in Rajasthan, Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Kerala, Mata Temple in Bihar, prohibit men from entering the premises of the temple. The temple bars men from entering for four to five days to observe the privacy of women during their menstruation. It’s definitely one of the most unusual facts, yet sacred temples in India.

For generations, the concept of menses has been wrongly communicated and women are ill treated, majorly by another woman itself! What an irony! Periods are part of our life. We overcame the odds of sanitization today, and are well equipped with sterilizers, tampons, sanitary pads, menstrual cups, pain-relieving tablets, and all sorts of medical support. Restricting her to visit temples had many scientific and spiritual significance which is totally misinterpreted. Along with hormonal changes, disruption of energies in nature are also responsible for mood swings, bad temper, restlessness in women during her monthly days.

Earlier, there was no concept of a holiday for a woman. So menses was the only way where she could spend time for herself keeping everything aside. Such a wonderful way of taking care of a woman!  Can’t we follow it with the same essence, today? Let you and me be the change. With a small family in a compact apartment let us widen the range of acceptance by accepting this biological process. Let the men in the family handle the ‘her’ jobs and let her rest and have her ‘me’ time. Not just physical but also grace her with mental support. 

Change is never easy, but it’s time to talk about this and educate our young generation with true significance, rather than just following it blindly. Only then this won’t be termed as a taboo in our society.

We come across many people who are impure at heart but still hold a mask of purity. While in menstruation, only the  Blood is impure; not a woman. So let us initiate a step to normalize a woman on her menses. Let us be a human to every woman!