According to Bhagavatha Purana, Indra had once disrespected

Brihaspathi who was the Guru of all the devas. As a result of this sin, the
asuras (demons) easily conquered the heavens and Indra lost his
kingdom and glory. When he took refuge in Brahma, the latter insisted
Indra to consider serving a young lad who is a braham-gyani as his guru
until Brihaspathi is pleased. However, the lad had maternal affection for
the demon clan as his mother was also a demon.

The boy use to give yagna-havis (offering during havan which is

consumed by the devas) to the demons too. Seeing this, Indra killed the
young boy in a fit of rage. As the boy was in the position of a guru, Indra
had invited upon himself the heinous of all sins, brahma-hatya-pathaka
(killing a guru). The sin took the shape of a ferocious female demon that
followed and haunted Indra wherever he ran. Finally, Indra hid himself
within a flower.

Indra remained inside the closed flower for one lakh years and
performed penance to please Lord Vishnu. With Vishnus grace, Indra
was freed from the trouble of the demons but he was not cleansed from
the sin of brahma-hatya. To get rid of this sin and earn his kingdom back
he requested the presiding deities of water, trees, earth and women to
take a quarter of the sin. In turn he promised that he would grant boons
to all of them. This was agreed upon.

1. The presiding deity of all the trees accepted a quarter portion of

the sin. The tree sap which oozes out of the tree bark is the form of
brahma-hatya and is considered as impure. For bearing this sin,
Indra granted a boon to all the trees that they can regenerate and
re-grow as long as they are not uprooted.
2. Varuna took a quarter of the sin too. The froth or foam that gets
developed on water is considered as impure as it represents the
brahma-hatya. When a Hindu performs achamana, if the water has
foam on it, it is dropped down. Indra granted purity to water as a
boon for accepting the sin. It is said that it is because of this boon

that water has got so much of importance in Hindu rituals. It

purifies everything.
3. Bhoo devi took another quarter of the sin. As a result earth lost its
state of complete fertility and barren lands denoted brahma-hatya.
The boon given to earth was the ability to refill its cavities over a
period of time.
4. Women living in that aeon have accepted the last quarter. As a
result they and their progeny had to experience the menstrual
cycle once in a month which denotes brahma-hatya. As a boon,
women were granted more pleasure in sex than men. According to
Hinduism, God cannot be seen or realized without a Guru.
Menstrual cycle denotes the sin of killing a guru. So women are
forbidden to see God or indulge in divine acts during that period for
its sign of impurity.
....................................................................................................................
Do you know that the reason why women do not prostrate themselves
by laying flat on the floor like the men, but kneel and bow instead, is
because the scriptures state that it is offensive to lay the womb on the
floor because it is the cradle of humanity, in each and every woman.
So our wombs are considered so sacred that the Gods Themselves find
it offensive if you lay your womb on the floor to worship them. Then how
can Gods really discriminate?
From a Buddhist point of view menstruation is a natural physical
excretion that women have to go through on a monthly basis, nothing
more or less. However in practice this is not followed. It is because of
the influence Hinduism has had on Buddhism. Many temples do not
allow women to circumambulate around the Stupas. There is clear
evidence of this rule in Thailand. During menstruation women are
thought to lose Qi (commonly spelled as chi).
The chi that women are suppose to lose while menstruating is believed
to be part of everything that exists, as in life force or spiritual energy.
Theres a Buddhist belief that ghosts eat blood. A menstruating woman
is then thought to attract ghosts, and is therefore a threat to herself and
others. An example cited by the Buddha Dharma Education Association

says, that while fermenting rice, menstruating women are not allowed
near the area or the rice will be spoilt.

The Jewish code of law, Halakha, details strict rules governing every
aspect of the daily lives of Jews. It prohibits any physical contact
between males and females during the days of menstruation and for a
week thereafter. The entire period of time, from the beginning of the
menses to the end of seven clean days, when the women immerses
herself in the ritual bath, is called the Niddah period. Sadly, the chapter
in Hebrew Bible that discusses Menstruation is titled - Unclean
discharges, Sexual behavior and Grave Crimes.

Have you heard of the goddess who menstruates? Only 8 km from

Guwahati railway station is located the most famous temple of Assam,
the Kamakhya temple, dedicated to Goddess Sati, an incarnation of
Durga, according to ancient Indian scriptures. One of the 51 peethas or
holy spots, Kamakhya temple is also known as YoniPeetha. Every
year, Kamakhya temple observes a unique festival called Ambubachi
when, it is believed, the goddess menstruates. The festival draws a large
number of pilgrims to temple.

The temple of Kamakhya has a very interesting story of its origin. The
story of the Shakti peeths goes like this; once Sati fought with her
husband Shiva to attend her father's great yagna. At the grand yagna,
Sati's father Daksha insulted her husband. Sati was angered and in her
shame, she jumped into the fire and killed herself. When Shiva came to
know that his beloved wife had committed suicide, he went insane with
rage.

He placed Sati's dead body on his shoulders and did the tandav or
dance of destruction. To calm him down, Lord Vishnu cut the dead body
with his chakra. The 108 places where Sati's body parts fell are called

Shakti peeths. Kamakhya temple is special because Sati's womb and

vagina fell here.

The God of love, Kamadeva had lost his virility due to a curse. He
sought out the Shakti's womb and genitals and was freed from the curse.
This is where 'love' gained his potency and thus, the deity 'Kamakhya'
devi was installed and worshipped here. Some people also believe that
the Kamakhya temple is a place where Shiva and devi Sati had their
romantic encounters. As the Sanskrit word for lovemaking is 'kama', the
place was named Kamakhya.
Kamakhya devi is famous as the bleeding goddess. The mythical womb
and vagina of Shakti are supposedly installed in the 'Garvagriha' or
sanctum of the temple. In the month of Ashaad (June), the goddess
bleeds or menstruates. At this time, the Brahmaputra river near
Kamakhya turns red. The temple then remains closed for 3 days and
holy water is distributed among the devotees of Kamakhya devi.

There is no scientific proof that the blood actually turns the river red.
Some people say that the priests pour vermilion into the waters. But
symbolically, menstruation is the symbol of a woman's creativity and
power to give birth. So, the deity and temple of Kamakhya celebrates
this 'shakti' or power within every woman. What do you think about these
religious ways in which a woman is observed during her menstrual
cycle? Hasnt someone overreacted in history? Do share your views in
the comments below