The most revolutionary part of the Supreme Court verdict in the Sabarimala case was not the lifting of ban on entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50. More radical was the court's decision to toss out a rule that had equated menstruating women with lepers, beggars, drunkards and lunatics.
The entry of women into Sabarimala, however historic the ruling, has consequences only for one temple. But the 'decriminalisation' of menstruation will dramatically change the way thousands of temples in the state will be administered in future. It looked as if the Supreme Court had piggy-backed on the Sabarimala issue to lunge and strike hard at an entrenched belief that made menstruation synonymous with impurity. More than eight decades later, the court has widened the sweep of the Temple Entry Proclamation.
Outcasts
Section 3 of Kerala Places of Public Worship (Authorization of Entry) Act, 1965, drawing inspiration from various progressive movements like the Temple Entry Proclamation, states that no Hindu, of whichever class or caste, should be prohibited from entering a place of worship. However, the rules (Rule 3) framed under the Act listed out seven types of people who can be prevented from entering a temple.
(A) Non-Hindus. (B)Women at such time during which they are not by custom and usage allowed to enter a place of public worship. (C) Persons under pollution arising out of birth or death in their families. (D) Drunken or disorderly persons (E) Persons suffering from any loathsome or contagious disease. (F) Persons of unsound mind. (G) Professional beggars.
Rule 3(B) has now been struck down as unconstitutional. Henceforth, no legal hurdle stands in the way of a menstruating woman wishing to enter a Hindu place of worship. The casting out of rule 3(|B), the Hindu orthodoxy feels, will strike at the very foundation of Hindu faith. “It is not about impure blood,” they insist. “It is about the violation of compact temple rules laid down in times immemorial by highly evolved minds,” they said.
Clockwise anti-clockwise conundrum
Kshethra Ekopana Samithi chairman and author M P Appu, explaining the esoteric science, said: “The energy that emanates from the deity moves in a clockwise direction. But the energy that passes out of a woman in periods moves in an anti-clockwise direction. So the entry of a woman in periods will disturb the equilibrium of the temple. The divine energy of a temple will diminish as a result,” Appu said.
To emphasise that the restriction is not women-specific, he said the reverse flow would be worse if a man who lost a close relative enters a temple before the prescribed period of mourning. “In the case of menstruating women, our ancient texts say they should keep away from the temple for five days. The negative vibrations will persist for up to two days after the bleeding stops. But men in mourning have been asked to stay away for 15 days. In their case, the vibrations last longer,” Appu said.
The anti-clockwise flow, he reasoned, is triggered by some form of destruction. Death, for instance. This was why he said artist Asanthan's body was not allowed near Ernakulathappan temple in Kochi. As for menstruation, he argued that it involved the rupture of the uterus lining. “This is why rituals for the dead are done towards the left, mirroring the anti-clockwise energy movement. The percussion instruments used for such rites, too, play in a reverse manner. The rhythm will unsettle your mind,” he said.
Thanthra Samuchayam vs Constitution
While the thanthris use ancient scriptures like 'Thanthra Samuchayam' to argue their case, the apex court had held up the country's most revered moral guide: the Constitution. Here is what Justice D Y Chandrachud said: “The social exclusion of women, based on menstrual status, is but a form of untouchability which is an anathema to constitutional values.” The court said values of constitutional morality were non-derogable, meaning it cannot be suspended even during times of emergency.
Justice Chandrachud had more to say. “Women have a constitutional entitlement that their biological processes must be free from social and religious practices, which enforce segregation and exclusion. These practices result in humiliation and a violation of dignity. Article 17 prohibits the practice of “untouchability”, which is based on notions of purity and impurity, in any form.”
Tantrik expert and former president of Yoga Kshema Sabha Thanthry Akkeramon Kalidasa Bhattathiri said the practice was not primitive as the Supreme Court had defined it. “This is a belief system based on scientific principles,” he said. Bhattathiri called it “achara bhadratha”, which can be loosely translated as theoretical compactness. “The entry of menstruating women will only help diminish the tantrik purity of temples,” he said. Bhattathiri said the ancient texts or 'sastras' that prescribed compact rules for temples can be found in Thanthra Vidya Peedham, Aluva.
Middleman's confusion
Thanthra Vidya Peedham working president Mullappilly Krishnan Namboodiri said the ban on menstruating women was not a custom but law. “Customs can be changed, not laws,” he said. “Wearing black lungi to Sabarimala, even the 41-day penance, are customs. They can be changed with the passage of time. Not a law like the ban on menstruating women,” Krishnan Namboodiri said.
Kalidasa Bhattathiri also fears that uncertainty would soon creep into religious rituals from now on. “When the priests now conduct pujas they know at the back of their mind that certain divine principles have been undermined. They will start losing faith in the pujas they themselves conduct. In the long run, temples will lose their divinity,” he said.
Catch-22 for Devaswom women
However, the short term impact will be on the women employees of devaswom boards. Take for instance the Travancore Devaswom Board. It has over 1,000 women working in 'kazhagam' and 'thali' wings in various temples. It also has 75 women in the administrative side. Till now these women were not allowed entry into temples during their periods. While the administrative staff had special leave, the daily 'kazhagam' and 'thali' workers had a special allowance of Rs 300 for the five days they were not supposed to enter temples. ('Kazhakam' workers make the garlands for the deity and 'thali' workers clean the puja utensils.)
Now with the Supreme Court throwing out Rule 3(B), these women workers are caught in a dilemma. Their faith does not allow them to enter a temple during their menstrual cycle but under the changed circumstances they will not be entitled to their special privileges.
The removal of rule 3(B) also looks like a big slap on the face of these women employees. It were the Deevaswom women employees who were posted at Pamba during the 'mandalam' and 'makaravilakku' season to block girls and women between the ages of 10 and 50 from walking up the hill shrine.
The employees are not willing to take the verdict lying down. The Travancore Devaswom Employees' Front, Travancore Devaswom Board's biggest union, has decided to file a review petition against the SC verdict. “This is a matter of belief. Our women employees cannot be forced to work during their periods. It is their strong faith in Hindu religious customs that had made them accept a post in the board,” said G Baiju, president of the front.