Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta (Ram Chandra #3)

by Amish Tripathi

‘All that sounds very noble. But tell me something, you keep talking about how much you respect women. You do know that women are not allowed into the Shabarimala temple? Isn’t that disrespectful to them?’ ‘Women are allowed! Of course they are. Only women who are in the reproductive stage of their life are not allowed in this particular temple. Basically, women who are capable of menstruating are forbidden entry.’ ‘Aha! So you think reproduction is impure? And menstruating women will contaminate the temple? Do you know that in the Kamakhya temple in north-east India, menstrual blood is considered sacred and worshipped?’ ‘You are misunderstanding me on purpose, Dada. The ban on menstruating women has nothing to do with menstrual blood being impure. How can any Indian think that? It’s about the path of sanyas, of renunciation.’ Kumbhakarna continued, ‘As you know, practically all the temples in India follow the gruhasta route, the path of the householder. The rituals in these temples are built around the worldly life, celebrating relationships like that between a husband and wife, or a parent and child, or a lord and his subjects. The renunciates or sanyasis have temples too, many of them being rock-cut caves in remote mountainous regions; non-sanyasis are not allowed entry into these. The only way of entering a sanyasi temple is by giving up all worldly attachments, renouncing one’s family and material belongings, and permanently joining a sanyasi order.’ Raavan pretended ...