Menstrual taboos and ancient wisdom











Understanding the power of Menstrual cycles


Menstruation and the moon


Godess Kamakya of Assam during Menstruation
Godess Kamakya of Assam during Menstruation



Significance of each phase in the cycle







Alternative explanation for Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)






The significance of rituals






“Menstrual blood is impure, bad blood”










Gifting the stories to the next generation




– Sinu Joseph







  1. Thank you so much . For the work you do, for the search you started. The two thoughts which play hide and seek in your mind, and the huge responsibility you have towards the girls, the community you work with. Deeply realising that condemning the rituals, which one could say ‘ are not of this time ‘ anymore, is not an option. At the same time seeing how negative it works on these pure beings you meet. Thats courage !!! I ve many times been in a likewise situation, and only by doing what you did, I learned so much. To start ‘digging’ why a specific ritual came into existence, what it meant in that time, leads one back to the inner essence. In that time still full alive. When now we could connect again with that inner wisdom, something could change, inwardly first. Imagen the essential Vedic wisdom of Pravrtti and Nivrtti.Once i read in an introduction on the Gita ;the twofold Vedic spiritual message , of action and contemplation
    in the words ; pravrtti and nivrtti,
    mundane ,action , distracts
    contemplation ,nivrtti ,unites ,centers again
    when that is in healthy balance ,it is like breathing ,and one manages to live and to give. With a bit of humor, but satya humor…..Imagen what a gift, to be naturally given this essence of Life:soul breathing , breathing out, action in the world, breathing in, action in the soul. Many more thoughts are there… It would have changed my perception, when I could have connected with deeper thoughts around menstruation while being a young girl.

  2. I appreciate you writing something which every (Indian) girl has wondered. I also appreciate you telling up front that these are your own findings and not proven.
    I am not sure about hindu spirituality but, one thing I know for sure that “Blood of Christ” is no symbolism of menstrual blood. During periods, a women is tired and may not be ready for sex. Being known as the weaker gender, she had no say to deny her daily chores or, say no to her husbands needs. Hence, the separation. That is what I think.
    The Bible’s Old Testament speaks about women’s isolation and its reasoning in Leviticus. The New testament, with the coming of Christ breaks this rule of isolation in Luke Chapter 8 (and other places mentioned in various sections of the New testament). Reading the section of Leviticus of the Old Testament might help you understand other areas as to why the rules and the New Testament of The Bible will help you understand why those rules need not be followed anymore. Good luck and kuddos on answering innocent minds.

  3. Please read the book “Her Blood is Gold” which talks about cultures around menstruation throughout the world. It is a must read for everyone and the least it serves to do is help look at women with respect.

  4. Religious Customs and practices have been made with some belief s no doubt. However customs and practices which are made should also undergo suitable change according to the times…eg its exam time and you are keeping a girl secluding her in a house she looses minimum of 5 days of exam and to make it up in this genre of stress is really something again will cause a stress….coping mechanism also to deal with situations is important.

  5. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful insight. It helped me a lot to understand my feminity better. And I first menstruated on tha last day of last month of lunar calendar. So what you are talking about really makes sense and I could relate so well and hope this will help me to manage my PMS better. Thanks once again.

  6. While all the rituals all around the world obviously had some suitable reason, it was based on the environment and situation of that time. Those communities formed rules based on their reality. We need to adjust these rules to suit our lifestyle. Lets keep the super power myth away and talk about reality of today’s life. I totally understand the logic behind these rules in ancient times, but they do not apply today. If a woman is not working in kitchen (to stay away from heat – energy etc..) then should she also stay away from other magnetic and electric fields (think – Smartphones/tablets/ riding vehicles/ watching big screen TVs) Is it practical?? To stop her from cooking or praying is simply stupid in today’s world. If she needs rest, she will take it, if she wants to cook then that is her choice. Today with all these rituals we are only taking that choice away from her. It should be her choice weather she wants to go to temple or not. It would rather make sense for them to go to work and that way reduce the high energy level in 2nd and 3rd week. As for the cranky 4th week, we need to teach our boys to be mellow and understanding. Its not that difficult by the way, its easy to sense those days, we men can certainly keep an eye on our better half’s difficult days and help her through if needed. Religious stories not justified by scientific evidence (doesn’t matter how good the intention is) will be the death bed of this society. The drive and influence a large audience in to a collective adherence but then they become the truth which cannot be changed ever. Such rules eventually become greater than their original purpose.

  7. The seclusion of a woman during menstrual cycle helps her in a way. Practically she gets some much needed rest. She gets a break from all the regular house-hold chores and the tedious day-to-day jobs. Of course it is a personal choice and in these days of nuclear families, it is almost impossible to run the house and take care of kids while being untouchable. Most families have given up this practice though I believe it is still followed in rural parts of the country.

  8. Ms Sinu Joseph
    In ancient times when women didn’t have the convenience of using panties n pads. The blood flowed down everywhere they walked or sat. This was also a reason the women were made to sit in a secluded seperate place/hut where they would sit in one place and wipe the blood that flowed out. I had read this in a book yelling stories from Mahabharata.

  9. I belong to an educated and a rather religious family. I attained menarche bang in the middle of my half-yearly exams, but mother did not mind. She let me go to school. I remember my mom telling me not to go to temples or religious occasions, and also not to exercise (she called it ‘stupid’ things – as in dancing/ jumping around). However, over time I have found that exercising (even during menstruation) really helps with cramps. And eventually, I did find a lot of studies that have found the same thing.
    But, one instance that particularly stands out in my mind is that, my dad and I were once watching some swami ji’s pravachan on TV and he was telling us that true bhakti from the heart is more important than whatever constructs of purity we have built for ourselves and he was urging us to recite the Hanuman chalisa, irrespective of whether one has taken bath or not and irrespective of whether one is menstruating. He also said that God never ‘no’ said to Draupadi because she was ‘impure’ or whatever when she prayed to him for help – and this part was unfamiliar to me and I turn to my dad and he says, yes, Draupadi was menstruating when her infamous ‘Vastraharan’ happened.

  10. Nice article
    I just told my daughter any thing coming out of our body has bacteria which may even spread so we even for bathing we use haldi water.Good to know the facts.

  11. Excellent writing and very informative. Has a balance of science and nature and that is most lovely part of this research.

  12. On the contrary I feel, being close to someone you like to spend your time with, relieves the pain, aches or nuances associated with premenstrual or during the menstrual cycle….The research provided, especially about seaming with moon cycle is interesting. However, many females’ cycles are not in sync with moon cycle.. I fee, more than accepting any theory regarding this subject as a religious, scientific, astrological, or personal choice.. etc there is a need to adapt with changing times..because we are not ancient anymore! thus, many of such explanations/theories needs to be visited from 21st century point of view..

  13. Interesting article … one reason that women were asked to be secluded and not touch anything was that it was a well planned relaxation time for them considering their continuous hard work in the house for everyone but themselves…

  14. Beautiful article! Also learnt quite a bit from the comments….
    Our ancestors were certainly more thoughtful and conscious of body cycles than we are today. We are lost in the outward world of gadgets and gizmos.

  15. Interesting article…..liked it a lot. One must do thorough research on what such rituals are meant for …and also need to think is it relevant even today…..

  16. Its a very informative writing. Must to circulated around and specially among females. Most of them are very confused about this religious taboos. Today we are living in the modern world with lots of facilities which were not present in the primitive time. Personally I find no reason to believe in the primitive thought and we must perform our duties as casually as ever even during those days.

  17. Hi Mythri,

    I read your article on Menstrual Taboos yesterday and found it very logical. To my surprise I came across this blog by Anisha (18 year old from Mumbai) and I am quite shocked that such stories are being publicized by CNN! I have written an e-mail sharing your website link and also the link to the article on taboos and asked her to bring down the blog and the report.
    I would request that your team contacts CNN (London) and helps bring this post down and your work is spread across the world. The blog by ANisha is not just spreading wrong myths but also demeaning our country.



  18. Hello, firstly I must say I have tremendous respect for what you are doing (based on reading this one blog post). I really like what you say about not contradicting their religious beliefs as that could land them into trouble with their families (Given most adults are not willing to change their beliefs).

    That said, trying to find some reason to justify the current practices is a slippery slope. One must work the other way round, and see that none of these reasons hold, there are no magical powers, no radiating energies or anything like that. That sort of stuff is for when we did not know better. Now we do.

    Those ancient rituals, beliefs and customs were made up by people just like you and me, perhaps for a just cause, but they have outlived their utility. Time to kill those nonsensical customs.

    I just don’t know what’s the best thing to be told to rural girls who are feeling impure due to the customs – perhaps what you are telling them is correct. But to present this as justification to current practices is misleading and wishful thinking.

    Apologies, and with full respect,

  19. Refreshing change!! Finally a blog that tries to reason out things rather than blindly ignoring any ancient practice as “Superstition” without trying to understand the essence of the practice. People like you are the real feminists whom the world should follow but alas!! your words get lost in the din of other self-declared feminists who dish out non-sense.

  20. loved your article and the explanations. I truly believe our ancient customs and traditions were not created out of superstitions but pure logic and science. My mother told me that women are not allowed to enter the kitchen or do household chores so that they could rest during menstruation days. In ancient times, families used to be big with more appetite due to more physical labor and every single task was done manually adding a lot of cooking and household work. Moreover there were no sanitary napkins. Women used clothes to make pads which were obviously not leak proof hence not that much hygienic esp for being in kitchen around food. Maintaining cleanliness was the best way for our ancestors to avoid any diseases. Pooja was not allowed for the same reason so that the women get total rest in absence of any household responsibilities.

  21. Broadly speaking I have noticed that all the old customs have scientific reasons,some of them we have been able to find and some are still not very clear. So the best thing is ,not to discard anything straight away and follow, not blindly,but adapting them to the present situations.

  22. About not entering the temples, I once heard a south indian friend’s explanation and it sounded convincing. He said that according to some holy books women were supposed to rest during menstruation and thus they were free from doing pujas or any rituals etc. They could just stay in their rooms and relax. I believe that this also suggests why they were stopped from entering kitchens, cooking and thus seclusion.

  23. Surely your article has given certain amount of information to dig more and of course share to our young generation. thanks for the lovely collation of work, and i really appreciate your sincere wanting to find and sharing. Thanks!

  24. I would like to share my thoughts. My mom was born in a village. From what she told us about the practises of her times, I came to these conclusions.
    There were no bathrooms/toilets in homes those days. Women have to go to rivers/ponds/public water bodies for all their needs. The menstrual blood may contaminate the water bodies, so women were made to remain home. They have to walk long distance too to bring water, use the heavy manual gadgets. That may make the flow heavy. So women were banned from working too. Temples were huge ones and the same reason that women dont need to walk such distances and go around large temples during that time.

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