Hindu Deities & Festivals Celebrating Menstruation.
A long thread, read till end.
A long thread, read till end.
The role played by menstruation in spiritual and religious practice, especially of a Tantrika variety, clearly depicts its association with worship and sacredness. Festivals associated with the menstruation of the Hindu Goddesses show how it is celebrated.
It is only in these festivals that the full implication of the notion of menstruation as a sacred celebration will become evident.
A number of deities are associated directly or indirectly with menstruation in the Hindu tradition:
A number of deities are associated directly or indirectly with menstruation in the Hindu tradition:
Parvati, Lajja Gowri, Brahmacharini Durga, Bhuvaneshwari, Kamakhya, Harchandi, and Bhoomi Devi to name a few. These deities, though independent in name and form, are considered to be different aspects or manifestations of the primordial Shakti (power) or Adya (the First.
Thus, menstruation is associated with the sacred feminine, and is celebrated through the worship of these deities and the festivities associated with such worship.
Lajja Gowri, for example, is specifically associated with sexuality, fertility and childbirth. She is iconographically depicted in a sitting position with the legs open and an exposed vulva. Thus, through fertility and childbirth, she is also indirect linked to menstruation.
A more direct connection can be found in Shakti as Durga. Goddess Durga manifests herself in nine forms and these nine forms are offered special worship during the famous Hindu festival of Navaratri or the festival of nine nights.
The nine forms of Durga are: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayini, Kaalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidhatri. Among the nine, the first five forms are specially associated with different phases in a woman's life.
Shailaputri corresponds to childhood, Brahmacharini corresponds to puberty, Chandragantha indicates marriage, Kushmanda and Skandamata correspond to pregnancy and childbirth, respectively.
Thus, Brahmacharini Durga presides over puberty and menarche and this form of the deity is worshipped during the second night of Navaratri.
A more intimate correlation with menstruation is found in Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, who is considered as the presiding deity of menstruation.
A more intimate correlation with menstruation is found in Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, who is considered as the presiding deity of menstruation.
Dharmasindhu, a medieval Dharmashastric text written by Kashinatha Upadhyaya, for example, observes that if the menarche commences in certain months, during certain lunar days, or under certain stars, then it is inauspicious.
That is, the onset of menstruation during such durations is considered as an indication of some future obstacles, troubles, or disabilities that the girl may face in the future. Months which are considered inauspicious for having menarche includes:
Chaitra, Jyeshta, Aashada, Bhadrapada, Kaarthika, and Pushya. Similarly, Dharmasindhu considers Pratipada, Chaturthi, Amavasya, and six other lunar days as inauspicious. Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday are considered inauspicious. Menarche under ten stars is considered inauspicious
To offset these effects, and to ensure that the indicated future trouble is removed, Dharmasindhu suggests that a particular ritual called 'Bhuvaneshwari Shanti' be performed after marriage but before Garbhadhana Samskara (the rite for conceiving a child).
The deity of this ritual is Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, who is worshipped, and whose blessings are sought.
There is also the famous Goddess Kamakhya and her Ambubachi festival celebrated in Assam.
There is also the famous Goddess Kamakhya and her Ambubachi festival celebrated in Assam.
Goddess Kamakhya is believed to undergo menstruation for three days every year and the temple is closed for the period to give her rest. The festival is celebrated during the monsoon, in the Assamese month of Ahaar, which falls in June.
During this period, Goddess Kamakhya, who exists as a naturally formed Yoni in stone, is covered with a red cloth. On the fourth day, after the Yoni is bathed and ritually worshipped, the temple doors are opened and devotees are given special Prasada -
a piece of the red cloth, which was used to cover the Yoni, and which has become moist due the Mother's bleeding (in the form of natural springs). The special Prasada is considered highly auspicious and purifying in nature and thousands of devotees come every year to pray.
The four-day festival is accompanied by huge celebrations in the form of a four-day Mela (fair) called Ameti, wherein Tantric Sadhus and Babas from across India visit, and where rural crafts are exhibited.
The Ambubachi festival serves as a practical illustration of how Hinduism harmoniously integrates different nuances associated with various aspects of menstruation - Ashaucha, austerity, rest, and celebration into one integral festival that is beneficial to everyone.
Another example that illustrates the notion of menstruation as a celebration is the festival of Raja in Odisha, which is also celebrated during June. The Menstruating Goddess (Bhu-devi/ Earth Goddess) who is worshipped here is variously known as Harchandi, Thakurant, Draupadi.
The festival is celebrated by both men and women. But women consider themselves Amsha (parts) of the Goddess. Therefore,the entire celebration happens around women.
Kartikeya C Patel, in his paper, ' Women, Earth, and the Goddess: A Shakta-Hindu Interpretation of Embodied Religion', quotes an Odiya woman, who participated in a field study on this festival in Odisha conducted by Frederique Apffel Marglin and Purna Chandra Misra, as saying:
Harchandi is at her menses; three days are gone and tomorrow is Thakurant Gadua. After taking bath as the girls will do, so also she will do. Red colour will be thrown on her so it will appear as if she is bleeding.
Pouring this red on her they will treat her as if she were menstruating... yes, that cloth on which the red is thrown will be put in a bucket of water so the water will be red. The priest will show it to the pilgrims and say ' this is the blood of Thakurani'.
The women in the Federique Apffel-Margin study strongly believed that the 'Stridharma' of the women and the Goddess must be respected, and that they should be allowed to rest during menstruation, so that the process of menstruation,
which affects women at multiple levels, and which in the case of the Goddess, affects the cyclical continuity of life in nature and maintains balance, remains undisturbed and unaffected. They also believed that any disturbance to this process will have unpleasant effects.
Regarding how the festival of Raja connects Dharma, and menstruation, Patel writes: Hence, religious happiness is directly linked to the happiness and worship of the feminine. Giving happiness to women, the earth, and the Goddess.
During the menstruation festival, the earth must not be dug or plowed [sic] and one must not walk on the earth barefoot as that would hurt or disturb her. In the same vein, women should be given rest during their menstruation and should not be disturbed.
But giving rest to mother earth or to women during the menstruation period is only one way to make them happy. Another way to make them happy, and thereby make religious (dharmic) life happy, consists in worshipping the female body with offerings.
The men at Harchandi offer sacrificial animals to the Goddess to make her happy....Similarly, women are kept happy by being given clothes, ornaments and leisure time.
Thus, the festival of Raja, beautifully weaves various elements of rest, merriment, worship and menstruation
Thus, the festival of Raja, beautifully weaves various elements of rest, merriment, worship and menstruation
Women are treated as manifestations of the Goddess, and menstruation is recognised as a positive 'natural' process that is very vital for women as well as for nature. The seclusion (away from men), resting, and other menstrual practices are meant to ease the menstrual process.
Moreover, since the menstrual cycle is associated with fertility and bringing new life into this world, the activity is treated as a sacred celebration and men are obliged to give happiness to the womenfolk.
Chengannur Mahadeva Kshetram in the Southern State of Kerala is yet another place where the Goddess menstruates and her menstruation is celebrated. Every few months, the Murti of Goddess Parvati (Bhagavati), which is present at the temple is believed to menstruate,
and during that period, for three days, her Murti is shifted to a separate room and is given rest. Whether the Goddess is menstruating or not is determined by the wife of the Supreme priest who regularly inspects the Udayada (the inner skirt) of the Goddess for blood
If any stains of menstrual blood are found, then the temple announces the celebration of the festival Thriputharattu'. For the first three days, the Murti of the Goddess is secluded from the Murti of her husband, Lord Shiva, and is allowed to rest.
She undergoes all menstrual practices that women undergo, and temple women sleep outside her room during the night to give her company. On the fourth day, the Goddess is taken on a female elephant to the Pamba River for a ritual bath.
She is then dressed in grand clothes and jewelry, and several ceremonies and elaborate rituals are performed. Thousands of people from across Kerala visit the temple to participate in this festival.
The Keddasa festival celebrated in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka is another festival which demonstrates the association of menstruation with notions of rest and sacred celebration. It is celebrated for three days by the Tulu speaking population of the district.
The ancient festival is celebrated in honour of the annual initiation of the fertility season (agriculture) of Mother Earth. Tulu people believe that Mother Earth undergoes menstruation like women for three days and thereafter becomes ready to give birth to crops and fruits.
The festival is celebrated on the last three days of the Tulu digging, month known as 'Puyintel', which roughly falls in January. Farmers give complete rest to the mother earth on all three days. Hence, activities such as trenching and cutting trees are stopped.
They worship the land and distribute Navadhanya (a mixture of nine grains) among kith and kin. On the fourth day, they begin sowing activities by first sprinkling turmeric and oil on the ground.
Although these celebrations of menstruation festivals on a grand scale are limited to a few pockets in the country, the notion of menstruation as a celebration itself is widespread across India. Quoting Bhattacharyya, Janet Chawla in her paper,
'The Mythic Origins of the Menstrual Taboo in the Rig Veda' writes: According to historian NN Bhattacharyya, different areas of India have had notions of the menstruating goddess. In Punjab, it was believed that Mother Earth ('Dharti Ma') 'slept' for a week each month.
In some parts of the Deccan after the 'navaratra', goddess temples are closed from the tenth to the full moon day while she rests and refreshes herself. In [the] Malabar region, Mother Earth was believed to rest during the hot weather until she got the first shower of rain.
Chawla further writes: Bhattarcharyya notes that the auspiciousness of menstruation, representing potential fertility, is symbolised by blood or the colour of blood and is regarded as sacred.... Deities and sacred objects are daubed with red colouring as a part of ritual worship.
Within Indian culture, red signifies auspiciousness and potential growth-these ancient religious ideas and symbols are definitely
linked to the blood of menstruation.
linked to the blood of menstruation.
Therefore, it is quite clear that the Hindu tradition recognises menstruation as a sacred and positive process which must be respected, worshipped, and celebrated. Though women become associated with temporary Ashaucha, this does not degrade them or make them inferior.
Instead, the whole process is considered as highly sacred and purifying in nature, which sets women free from Karmic bondage. Women are thus encouraged to perceive menstruation as a privilege available exclusively for them; something that, in fact, facilitates their well being
End of Thread.
Content from: Menstruation across cultures by Nithin Sridhar
Content from: Menstruation across cultures by Nithin Sridhar
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