Menstruation: Ancient Indian Approach

The women population in world shows tremendous contrast and variety. On one hand there are rich, urban women who probably have every luxury and comfort at their disposal while on the other hand are innumerable poor, illiterate women for whom coming out of their homes is also a very big luxury. As a result of this contrast, their sanitation, nutritional status, life styles, food habits, outlook, thinking and medical care available to them also differ enormously. The only similarity in this diversified plethora of women is that they all have the same feminine anatomy and physiology. Menarche, menstrual cycle and menopause are undoubtedly very important milestones in their lives and they have manifold effects on their health and personalities.

In olden days menstruating woman used to receive lot of attention in Indian households.  Women used to remain in seclusion during menses and there were lot of restrictions on their movements and activities. E.g.

Menstruating woman was not supposed to enter the kitchen or do any domestic activities.
She was not allowed to participate in any religious or spiritual activities or visit temple, cemetery or marriage ceremonies.     
She was not allowed to make hectic journeys or pilgrimages.  
She was also not supposed to have intercourse with anybody during menses.
She was neither supposed to take spicy, pungent food or non-veg nor do nor type of fasting, but was expected to take mild, simple food during menses.
She was not supposed to apply any make-up or cosmetics during menses but was expected to dress up in a simple style.
Nobody was allowed to touch her and she was asked to keep aloof from other others.
She was only allowed to do simple tasks and Yoga exercises.   

Today such approach would sound impracticable, irrational and orthodox. However, one also needs to try and understand those subtle changes which menstruation triggers in a woman and their effects on woman's physical, mental and spiritual state and then one can analyze, why so many restrictions were recommended for the woman.  
 

Beauty is directly related to menstruation

The menstrual blood has been called 'Raja' in Ayurvedic literature. The word 'Raja' also figures in another context of Trigunas. Sattva, Raja and Tama are supposed to form the basis of the entire universe. According to Vedic philosophy, all living and non-living things are supposed to be formed out of various combinations of these Trigunas. Each of these three terms has its own characteristics and effects.  E.g.         

Sattva guna brings clarity, lightness, stability, cleanliness & enlightenment
Raja guna brings instability, fluctuations & changes
Tama guna brings lethargy, laziness, uncleanliness & destruction

All the three characters have influence not just on the physical and physiological levels of an individual but also on intelligence, memory, mind, mental activities like thinking and even on soul of the person. So when a person is more under influence of Sattva, there is more clarity, lightness, stability and cleanliness in his body, physiology, mental activities and actions. As against this, the influence of Raja causes instability, fluctuations & changes in his body, physiology, mental activities and actions while influence of Tama leads to lethargy, laziness, uncleanliness and destruction in his body, physiology, mental activities and actions. During the menstrual cycle, Raja guna is supposed to increase in body, physiology, mental activities and actions of the woman, that's why the menstrual blood has been called Raja in Ayurveda. This is a very subtle meaning that is hidden in this terminology. No other science in the world has probably studied and defined the menstrual changes so pertinently and minutely.  
.  
If we analyze the physiological changes observed in woman's body during menses, they strongly reflect this fact. The main changes and problems experienced by women during menses are as follows:

Rise in body temperature
Stimulations in breasts
Horripilation on body
More sweating
Pains in lower abdomen, lumber region & thighs
Hotness in vagina
Mental instability & mood swings
Irritation & nervousness
Sleep disturbances
Depression
Rise in blood pressure

Majority of these changes indicate the strong increase of Raja guna on physical as well as mental level of the woman. Now if one wants to keep these changes at bay and avoid their aggravation, then the woman will have to follow proper life style and dietary regimen and make sure that Raja guna does not increase any more in the body and mind. Raja energy is increased by following things ~

Hectic activities
Overwork
Stressful activities
Pungent, spicy food
Non-veg food like meat   
Alcohol
Smoking
Staying awake at night
Constipation
Strenuous travels
Sexual intercourse
Mental tensions & stresses
Conflicts
Negative Emotions like anger, jealousy

All these things are bound to increase Raja guna and make the woman's condition even worse. It was because of this reason that menstruating women were asked to remain in isolation and avoid any heavy activities in the past Indian societies.

The goal of any religious and spiritual activity is to increase Sattva guna and eliminate Raja & Tama gunas. Since there is tremendous increase of Raja guna in woman's body during menses, the menstrual period was not thought to be the ideal time for her to pursue any type of religious and spiritual activities. That's why woman are not allowed to take part in any religious and spiritual activities during their menses in Hindu community.

Regrettably however, all these traditional restrictions have been deemed as irrational and foolish by modern society without really understanding the logic and purpose behind them. Many educated girls and women follow quite improper and harmful life style and dietary regimen during menses and as a result suffer from many menses-related problems and hormonal disturbances. Good menstruation is extremely necessary for good health and good conception. Many women however do not seem to know this. Perhaps it may not be possible today to follow the ancient life style as it is, but at least a woman should follow a healthy life style and diet regimen and should avoid strenuous activities, stress, alcohol, smoking, conflicts, negative emotions etc.  

From:
Dr. Abhijit Mhalank, MD (Ayu), DYA
42/677 Lokmanya Nagar, Pune 411030
Email – ammhalank@yahoo.com       



About the Author:

Dr. Abhijit Mhalank is an experienced Ayurvedic physician and has specialized in Ayurvedic pathology. His several articles and books have already got published in various languages. He has also developed a CD ‘Encyclopaedia Ayurvedica’ which is a pharmacopoeia of Ayurvedic medicines in software form and contains data of thousands of Ayurvedic preparations. Apart from English, Dr Mhalank also knows German, Sanskrit and two other Indian languages and has given numerous lectures and consultations in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. He is regular participant in radio and television programmes.