2. Since, menstruating women will be in a heightened Rajasic condition (and the associated Ashaucha) and coming in direct physical contact, or eating food cooked by them, will result in Rajasic energy being transferred to others. This Article has been sourced from the Author with prior permission and SatyaVijayi is publishing after mentioning the source site. Add to this the fact that many women face physical weakness and mood swings during menstruation. Add to this, the notions of menstruation as being a period of rest, austerity and self-purification. Or why don’t you keep the commode near your dining table? The Rigveda or Rig Veda (Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, from ṛc "praise" and veda "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns.It is one of the four sacred canonical texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas.. With the proper understanding, practice will arise more naturally in our times. mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-rr', This is another important advice given to menstruating women. Many things can have happened to it through the many centuries between its writing and our oldest copy of it. The Ayurvedic texts indicate, how excess physical activity may lead to imbalance in the Doshas, which may have adverse effect on the health of the woman. These advices occur in texts like Yajurveda Taittiriya Samhita (Verse 2.5.1), Vashishta Dharma Sutras (5.6), and in Ayurvedic texts like Sushruta Samhita (Sharirasthana 2.24). Visit my site for more articles: I am only an admirer of Yogi Adityanath: Paripoornananda, Naxal gunned down at Chhattisgarh in encounter with STF ahead of polls, NEP 2020: Revamping Higher Education & Challenges Ahead, ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION – AN ECONOMIC BLESSING FOR THE NATION, Nadda’s ‘old wine in new bottle’ but faith reposed in turncoats Jay Panda, Purandareswari. Do Vedas prevent women from going to Temple during Menstruation? When that manifests as emotional disturbance, women are patronized as being “on the rag.”. Sweat itself does not in fact smell. There is an attempt in these texts to s… This reason is indicated in the Vedas and explicitly stated in the Ayurvedic texts. SV Exclusive !! The origin of the Vedas can be traced back as far as 1500 BCE, when a large group of nomads called the Aryans, coming from central Asia, crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains, migrating into the Indian subcontinent. This invasion hypothesis, however, is not unanimously accepted by scholars today. They never become (entirely) foul, though month by month they face temporary uncleanness.” (Vashistha Dharmasutra). We also saw about how Yoga philosophy and Ayurveda perceives menstruation. Another dish that is ideal diet during menstruation is called as ‘Yawaka’- made from barley and milk. Since, household activities include cooking food, an additional reason for the advice appears to be the fact that foods are carriers of energy and hence, menstruating women in heightened Rajasic condition, should avoid cooking as much as possible. This is further reinforced by the fact that out of 676 girls, who answered the question about why they followed some of the restrictions, 39.50% girls selected ‘culture’ as the reason and 44.53% selected ‘religion’ as the reason. So, what's to say it has not happened to the seven verses we regard as the original Rig Veda 10:129? Human mind, based on conditioning, see things as positive or negative, depending upon their convictions that are not objective. Restriction on the performance of religious and spiritual activities has been explicitly mentioned in the Angirasa Smriti (Verse 37), which asks menstruating women to “not engage in holy/sacred activities.“ Similarly, Vashishta Dharma Sutras (5.6) asks menstruating women to “not touch fire”, which is a reference to not cooking food, as well as not performing fire-ritual-worship during menstruation. There is a story of India (King of Gods) killing a knowledgeable person (in Sanskrit Brahmin) hence committing Brahma Hatya (killing a Brahmin named Viśvarūpa) which is considered as Sin. Is it a sin to have periods? Gandha, or smell, especially of the variety that has an uplifting effect on the human consciousness, is considered vital for most rituals. In fact, Samaveda is the shortest of all the four Vedas. Yet another reason is the fact that performing or attending such religious ceremonies and rituals, or entering temples during menstruation over a long period of time may have an adverse effect on the health of the menstruating woman. The Sama Veda: The Book of Song. 6. The author would also like to thank Sankrant Sanu for proofreading the entire series and giving insightful inputs, especially with respect to the section on Menstruation attitudes.]. Hence it’s also divine and the presence of God exists in even menstruating blood. You always carry urine and stool inside your body. The principles guiding these prescriptions are again two-fold: One, austerity by its very nature demands that all sense-engaging activities like combing, application of collyrium, body anointment and massage, make-up, etc. What does the Bible say about ? What’s brewing inside Karnataka BJP. The current generation has become disconnected from Indian traditions, and as “ritual observance” is disparaged, the guiding principles behind menstrual practices–be it the religious principles of Ashaucha, austerity, self-purification, and celebration, or the health principles enunciated in the Ayurvedic texts—need to be articulated. Traditionally, no women from my family go to temple or perform pooja during menstruation. I think Vedas are not talking about this subject. He is based in Mysuru, Karnataka. It does recognize the Ashaucha that becomes associated with menstruation, but at the same time, it also recognizes the fact that this Ashaucha facilitates freeing of women from impurities of the body, mind, and actions, in a manner similar to yoga or meditation. No running, exercises, and household activities: This advice can be found in texts like Angirasa smrithi (Verse 37), Vashishta Dharma Sutras (5.6), and Sushruta Samhita (Sharirasthana 2.24). The purpose of these restrictions regarding food is to protect the health of menstruating women. One, if sexual intercourse with menstruating woman leads to conception and subsequent death of the child, then the Karmic fruits equivalent to ‘Brunahatya’- which is among the greatest Adharmic actions, will come to the father, since it was he who initiated the sexual activity (as clear from verse 40); Two, since, menstruating woman is in a heightened condition of Rajas, the interaction and energy exchange during sexual activity may have adverse effect on the male partner, thus weakening his energy, strength, and vitality. Every person wants to be left undisturbed, while he is taking a rest or sleeping. The study, which was earlier quoted in the article on “Menstruation in Ayurveda”, shows that the compliancy to various menstruation restrictions among the 30 unmarried woman, who were monitored, increased from an average of 76.10% at the beginning to 86.66% towards the end of the study period. Why did our ancestors prevent us from going to temple during menstruation? The practices need to be seen not as “oppressive restrictions” being imposed on them, but rather as therapeutic prescriptions. The Samhitas (Sanskrit saṃhitā, "collection"), are collections of metric texts ("mantras"). On the contrary, Vedas hail women:- Much has been written recently about the plight of women in India. |  Hosted and Design with. More important than strict adherence to each and every prescription is the inner awareness that menstruation is an austerity, a self-purifying process and the recognition that menstruation practices have been designed for the overall welfare of women. Why would you want to clean yourself when you sweat? He is currently Editor of IndiaFacts- a portal on Indian history and culture; He is editor of Advaita Academy dedicated to the dissemination of Advaita Vedanta. A look at major religions of the world shows that, without exception, they have placed restrictions on menstruating women. As Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (2.40) says “Even a little practice of Dharma saves one from great fear.”. The Vedas were transmitted orally during the course of numerous subsequent generations before finally being archived in written form. And a standard practice in cremation is that dead bodies are not ethical to touch. The Atharva Veda: The Book of Spell. We have already seen various menstrual practices, along with many restrictions suggested in different Hindu scriptures. The study also revealed that out of 583 girls, who answered the question why they no longer follow restrictions all the time, 24.70% of them said it was due to exposure to new modern culture, whereas 38.25% said it was because these restrictions are no longer practical in today’s time. Modernity either mocks the process, or pretends it doesn’t exist, by expecting women to “show up with a work face” regardless of what is going on with their physical or emotional state. She actually asked my mom to put the prasad in Mandir. Elaborating on this topic, Rajarshi Nandy writes: “Hindu tradition as followed in various sampradayas and matas, from Smritis to Agamas and other generic localised customs, and specially those that claim to have been derived from the Vaidika traditions are unequivocal in stating that a woman, while menstruating, should not be present during the performance of religious rituals and/or enter temples where deities have been consecrated into the vigrahas. This interference will result in imbalance of the Prakriti Doshas, which in-turn will affect the health of the menstruating woman over a long duration. Now, coming to common sense: The saliva in your mouth contains many important substances, including electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes. Thus, menstruating women have been advised not to take part in any religious activity, including visiting temples, so as to fulfil the dual purpose of: facilitating maintenance of the spiritual atmosphere at the temples and during the religious ceremonies, without any disturbance to its energy and spiritual environment; and protecting the menstruating woman from any adverse effects on her health due to interference with her physiological functioning of Doshas. The Urban Dictionary gives some examples of the usage of the term “on the rag”: “Damn, b**ch! Shruti works are considered to have been heard and transmitted by earthly sages, as contrasted to Smriti, or that which is remembered by ordinary human 4) Shandhi—she is averse to men and has no menstruation or breasts. Since, the digestive fire is very weak and Doshas are more susceptible to become vitiated during menstruation, only such food must be consumed, which do not harm the digestive fire and which do not cause an imbalance to the Doshas. Prescriptions like not cooking, not using normal utensils, not touching people, especially the husband, sleeping on ground, etc., also involve forms of segregation. When I go to temple, I prefer to wear dhoti and remove shirt. I didn’t feel like going inside a temple on the way. target_type: 'mix' Is there any scientific, scriptural backing to support picturing the menstrual cycle as taboo? }); Satyavijayi is your political news website. In contrast, the Hindu traditions view menstruation as a period of ritual impurity and the associated ritual restriction is part of honoring this feminine process as a tapas, like the austerity of yogis, a sacred cleansing uniquely available to women. According to our Dharma, everything in this universe is divine. This reason is indicated in the Vedas and explicitly stated in the Ayurvedic texts. Some of their speculations and philosophy were compiled into the Upanishads. are given up during the period of austerity; Two, these activities, including bathing, may result in imbalance of Doshas, and repeated practice during long term will adversely affect the health of the woman as well as the children she may conceive. Nithin Sridhar has a degree in Civil Engineering, and having worked in the construction field, he passionately writes about various issues from development, politics, and social issues, to religion, spirituality, and ecology. Contrary to this, Hindu tradition promotes a positive notion and asks women to perceive menstruation as a period of rest, austerity and self-purification, and as a privilege available only to women. _taboola.push({ Further, if these Doshas persist, due to repeated physical activities during menstruation over a long period of time, then it may also negatively impact the children conceived by such women. His first book “Musings On Hinduism” provided an overview of various aspects of Hindu philosophy and society. Are these restrictions is practical in today’s fast moving society? It is certainly true that on the scale of most economic and social indicators, women are lagging behind men. [http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jdms/papers/Vol14-issue2/Version-2/R014228287.pdf], [The author wants to thank Nagaraja Gundappa and Dr. Sammod Acharya for their help in fetching textual evidences. I don’t need any scientific explanation to follow my beliefs and traditions. A collection of 1,028 hymns and 10,600 verses in all, organized into ten different Mandalas (or the books; Sanskrit), it is the principal and oldest of the four Vedas. The Rigveda is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. I think Vedas are not talking about this subject. Yes, Puranas (fact plus fiction) and Bhagavatam talk about menstruation. Dilip Jani and Dr. ARV Murthy, ‘Prevalence of Menstrual Related Taboos in Special Context with Ayurvedic Rajaswala Paricharya in Young Girls’, Rasamruta, 6:4, February 2014 [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260267973_Prevalence_of_Menstrual_Related_Taboos_in_Special_Context_with_Ayurvedic_Rajaswala_Paricharya_in_Young_Girls], 3. Ironically, Hindus are ignorantly attacking their own sacred feminine traditions and aping misogynistic pop-culture as “progressive.” This is the ultimate triumph of patriarchy. This article tells you about some of the shocking things about sex from Vedas. ... “When a woman has a discharge, and the discharge in her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. It considers pain, depression, etc. Menstruation is a normal, natural phenomenon or process of change in the physiological system in the female body. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); window._taboola = window._taboola || []; This also describes how our religious epics understood and practised sex in ancient times. Visit my site for more articles: http://udaypai.in/, Request all readers to buy Shri. Hence, while chandan (sandal) remains one of the favourite ingredients for ritualistic worship across India, women during periods are strongly discouraged from entering into shrines.”. On the contrary, Vedas hail women:-. As you know, Vedic scriptures respect women. There is no evidence of isolation of women in Vedic period in domestic or social affairs, but they were affectionately dependent on their male … Why? Having said that, if I were a woman, I wouldn’t go to temple or attend puja during periods. We had a big argument y'day at hour house over pooja during Menstrual period. The collection of books mentioned in the beginning of this article is not a consistent body of knowledge—modern Indology says—but a mere accumulation of texts from different sources, written over a long period of time, starting about 1000 or 1500 B.C., after the hypothetical Aryan invasion into the Indian Subcontinent. Today, with the coming of sanitary pads, this blood management has certainly become easy (though not necessarily the best and eco-friendly option), and women can easily go out in public. Copyright IndiaFacts Research Centre - 2015, Prevalence of Menstrual Related Taboos in Special Context with Ayurvedic Rajaswala Paricharya in Young Girls, Rajaswala Paricharya: Effect on Menstrual Cycle and Its, IndiaFacts Webinar: Hinduphobia on Wikipedia, Know Who the Real Fascists Are: The Harsh Mander Video, The Bhattacharjee Chronicles – I: How to Take Over a Country and Reformat its Civilisation, Not Oppressed: A Statement of Shudra Pride. The Hindu tradition, one of the last surviving planetary traditions that honor the sacred feminine, can help women recover the sacred aspect of the menstrual process. So, normally a traditionally thinking woman won’t feel comfortable during period. But, since, menstruating women have heightened level of Rajas at all the three levels, they become ineligible to perform or participate in any religious activities. It consists of 1549 verses. – The science Of Sanatan Dharma” for more such imformative articles on Sanatan Dharma. Avoiding temples and rituals during menstruation is a discretion based on pure common sense. Or at least I never came across a passage which is saying woman’s body is impure or that she cannot do poojas during menstruation. Vedic Sanskrit corpus. For performing any ritual, an individual should be physically clean, as well as mentally pure and calm and more importantly, should have Sattvik disposition at physical, vital, and mental levels. Does it create any negative energy or vibes? Dr. Jasmine Gujarathi,Dr. Prohibiting women from entering temples and castigating them as impure is squarely against the teachings of the Vedas. It is note worthy to point out here that the the average menstrual cycle of women is exactly the same as a sidereal month of Moon. Sama Veda is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit Text. Rig Veda, one of the oldest texts of the Indo-Aryan Civilization still extant, is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic hymns. It is actually celebrated and also considered embodiment of auspiciousness/sanctity. as symptoms of abnormal menstruation and has designed a mode of life to be adopted by menstruating women, which will help them to have normal menstruation by overcoming these symptoms. See,this is not very big mistake.The problem is not with Agniveer.The problem is with the non-sense written by you.You just want to destroy the Vedic religion.You say that Vedas are not divine which has no proof.Earlier you tried to mis-translate.But I tried to say to you the real meaning.I think at least 8 mantras were corrected by me i.e. A belief am used to take rest not scriptural or scientific, it just! To ask a those who are already in “ Pain ” to work energetic state in this is! Discharge is looked upon as something very powerful and divine ( Matrikabheda Tantra ) based! For three days, at least by its very definition is a discretion based on pure common sense of... 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