DECODING RITUSHUDDHI CELEBRATING MENARCHE

Women give birth to the next generation. They enlighten the home. They bring fortune and bliss. Hence, women are synonymous with prosperity. She is called 'Ghar Ki Laxmi' or 'Goddess of Fortune in Home.'- Manu Smriti 9.26

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Hindu culture is an amalgamation of vibrant and festive rituals that behold essence in their unique form. The religion comprises rituals that inject spirituality and the feeling of devotion into human life. They help us stay connected to our roots while bridging the significant gap between contemporary life and unenlightened religious customs. Rituals are a window into the past culture and help us understand the essence of the pre-modernist consciousness. Of the many rituals performed in the Hindu religion, an unheard and exclusive ritual is Ritushuddhi or Ritu Kala Samskara. It marks the flourishing of a girl into a woman, both physically and spiritually, as she encounters menarche or her first period. This coming-of-age ceremony for girls is blessed by the presence of her family and friends - conferring the epitome of our very existence. The day is celebrated as a milestone in the girl's life as she sets foot in womanhood, evidently a striving journey of sacrifices.

The Initiation

Having numerous forms all over the Indian culture, like Manjal Neerattu Vizha in Tamil Nadu, Peddamanishi Pandaga' in Andhra Pradesh and 'Tuloni Biya' in Assam, this ritual is the pivot that illustrates the real essence of womanhood. On the day of her menarche, the girl and her family pay a visit to the Hindu seer to foresee her fortune. The priest fixes an auspicious date to perform the Ritushuddhi ritual. He analyses her kundali and discusses the girl's present state of mind and the peaks and valleys of her upcoming marital life. He also informs about the number of days the girl requires solitude to outright the Ritushuddhi ritual. This ritual resembles purity, prosperity and fertility. Knowledge is imparted about the phenomenon by the ancestors in a small gathering.

A Boon, A Bane?