During a menstrual cycle, traditional practices restrict a woman from going to a temple. It is a long-established Hindu cultural edict, still in vogue, and followed by many. It is a practice respected even by individuals with a rational scientific outlook.

Let us dissect the beliefs behind this traditional customary action.

To begin with, it is important to realize that there isn’t any diktat from the Upanishad or Gita on this topic. Scriptures clearly proclaim that the divine is always within us and we are always part of the divine. There are no in or out days. There is no restriction to chant and contemplate on the supreme divinity.

Now, let us come to the belief or traditional practice of restraint.

During the menstrual cycle, they say a woman is in a state of rajaswala. The term rajas or rajo in the phrase rajaswala means blood or the period of blood flow. The traditional practices considered the rajaswala phase an important one. They mandated specific lifestyle measures. They designed these measures or paricharya as a foundation for continued healthy life.

rajaswala paricharya is a physical and mental wellbeing discipline. This is to help a woman cope with physiological and psychological changes.

The paricharya focused on:

• Diet restrictions – Avoid pungent foods and keep the body temperature balanced.
• Sleep – Follow a consistent sleep cycle. Avoid daytime sleep and use a support mattress that keeps the body temperature cool.
• Moods – Try to stay cheerful, avoid negative and toxic energies. Control emotions and avoid extremes of pain or pleasure, limit social interaction.
• Topical applications – Avoid applying topical creams and oils. Avoid exposing oneself to any external reaction with the body. This was to prevent any infections during the menstrual cycle. Later practices extended this to excessive wear of ornaments and avoid metallic reactions.
• Physical exertion – Abstain from hectic physical activity or arousal. Focus on hygiene.

Traditional seers viewed the body to be a product of physical and mental nourishment. Food energy or ahara rasa powers the basic elements or dhatus of the body. These basic elements sustain and nurture secondary elements or upadhatus (upa -near). When the dhatus and upadhatus work in tandem, they nourish and lead to healthy blood formation and circulation. Waste or mala also gets flushed out regularly.

This cyclical view of ahara rasa, dhatu and upadhatu became the foundation for a woman’s well-being. It extended to the period of conception leading to pregnancy (garbhini). The attention to nourishment continued into menopause or menstrual cycle cessation, rajo-nivritti (stopping). Traditional seers understood that the physical and mental state (manasika bhava), is an ever-evolving phase. Proper nourishment directly links to a proper manasika bhava.

Through this anatomical understanding, the traditional seers focused on proper nourishment and physical discipline. They put special emphasis on the nourishment of a rajaswala woman. On completion of the four days of the menstrual cycle, also called as rutusnata, the paricharya measures were relaxed.

To conclude, traditional practices called for restrictions for going to a temple on rajaswala paricharya and for no other reason. This does not restrict one’s practice of spiritual contemplation or worship in their own personal way.

Krishna, the preceptor of the Gita says:

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति ।
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥ ३० ॥

yo māṃ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṃ ca mayi paśyati |
tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati || 6.30 ||

It is the faith and perception of a person that matters. For a person who sees me in all beings and sees all beings in me, I am never out of that individual’s vision and that individual is never out of mine.