Bodies in Religious Spaces: Menstrual Taboos and Culinary Resistance in Chhath Traditions

THE MICRO–COSM OF CHHATH

The magnitude of Chhath Puja in Bihar and neighbouring areas is linked to a longstanding history of solar veneration, firmly established in the Rigvedic veneration of natural elements—especially Surya, rivers, and the goddess of Dawn (Usha)—thrived in the ancient regions of Magadha and Mithila, where Vedic traditions endured despite Buddhist and Islamic influences. 

The term “Chhath" originates from the Sanskrit word “Shashthi," which means “sixth"observed on the sixth day of the month of Kartika in the Hindu lunar calendar. The ancient books, such as the Rigveda, feature hymns devoted to Surya and outline comparable practices, indicating that sun worship has been integral to Hindu tradition for millennia. This continuity is closely linked to the region's natural conditions– located in the riverine plains of the Ganga, Kosi, Gandak, Sone, and Falgu, ancient societies basically relied on rivers and solar cycles for agricultural success.  

The time of Chhath, occurring just after the Kharif harvest, signifies a ritualised expression of gratitude to the dual forces of Sun and water, regarded as sources of life.  Moreover, Chhath's profoundly communal essence sets it apart from other rituals; it is distinctly egalitarian, necessitating no priestly intercession, and is performed by ordinary individuals–particularly women–within household and community contexts.  Chhath Puja has historically promoted social cohesion and regional identity by overcoming caste hierarchies, female solidarity and emphasising communal participation that even includes non–hindus as well.

Codification of Purity and Dietary Governance

Classical Sanskritic sources such as the Manusmriti, Caraka Saṃhitā and the Dharmaśāstras codified elaborate frameworks governing dietary purity. Food preparation, consumption, and sharing were tightly regulated according to caste and gender hierarchies, with transgressions risking pollution of the individual and the collective. 

Chhath finds mention in the Mahabharata and Vedas performed by Sita, Draupadi and even Karna, but its pre-modern form (15th–18th centuries) was shaped by–Tantric Folk Influences and Agrarian Connections meaning the festival absorbed local folk traditions, particularly in Mithila and Magadha, where Sun worship was prevalent and the offerings (wheat,fruits, sugarcane) reflect harvest festivals, linking purity with agrarian prosperity.

Ritual Dynamism across regions

Despite the Sanskritic ideals, the lived realities in the heartland revealed a rich dynamism. Folk practices often subverted high-caste ritual purity rules, creating hybrid forms of worship and food practices. While Sanskritic codes were prescriptive, actual practices across regions such as Bihar, Bengal, and Jharkhand displayed remarkable adaptations. Veena Das remarks that rituals among marginalized castes “tended to operate with flexible notions of pollution and sanctity, adapting classical norms into living practices of survival and assertion". This flexible incorporation of agrarian cycles and folk traditions was particularly visible in harvest rituals, which, unlike rigid temple-based rites, were communal, open-air, and often led by women.

In Bengal and Bihar, rice became not merely a staple but a sacred offering, with seasonal festivals, entwining agrarian cycles with purity practices. Food taboos intensified during ritual periods, reinforcing temporary austerity across caste and gender lines.

Menstrual restrictions remained severe though. During key festivals, menstruating women were often excluded from food preparation and ritual spaces, reflecting broader anxieties about bodily purity. As Uma Chakravarti highlights, these taboos were not merely religious injunctions but political acts that controlled women's labor and autonomy.

Ritual Austerity, Gendered Labor, and Ecological Discipline

Chhath is often described as “a festival where the slightest breach of purity codes could nullify the ritual’s efficacy." It stresses the saltless and handmade nature of offerings, emblematic of ritual austerity. It demands an intense purification of body and environment. Participants, predominantly women– undertake severe fasts, abstaining not only from food but even from water (nirjala vrat). The Ganga, Gandak, Son and other rivers are central to Chhath rituals, with bathing and offerings believed to cleanse sins. Foods prepared for offerings, such as thekua and fruits, are meticulously made without salt, onion, or garlic– ingredients associated with impurity. Chhath is unique in its matriarchal structure–women not only lead the rituals but also enforce strict purity codes that govern their bodies, food, and social interactions. Older and religiously experienced women supervise food preparation, ensuring no lapses in ritual hygiene.

Yet, seen through a feminist lens (Gupta, 2001), Chhath represents an extraordinary assertion of women's spiritual authority. Despite the ritual policing of their bodies–menstruating women being ritually excluded from participation–the central role of women in organizing, sustaining, and leading the festival underscores a profound, if paradoxical, form of agency.

Chhath Puja through a Gendered Lens: The Ritualization of Purity and Pollution

“The main objective of Chhatha puja is to gain divine blessing for procreation of son(s) and their prosperity. Naturally, the worshippers are commonly married women. There is a conventional belief that if this puja is undertaken, the worshipper may get rid of any type of skin disease…. Other objectives are welfare of husband and son(s), happiness, and material wealth” (cf. Singh, Rana 1989)

While often understood as a devotional homage to the Surya and his consort Usha, a critical examination reveals that the festival places a disproportionate ritual burden upon women, particularly in terms of fasting, food preparation, bodily control, and purification.

Men, on the other hand, are conspicuously absent from the high points of the ritual–They do not prepare the food offerings. They do not fast (except in some rare voluntary cases). They are not the principal offerors (vratin). Their participation, if any, is often limited to physical support (e.g., carrying baskets, arranging transport). When a small but rising number of men join the fast or assist in cooking,  traditionalists mock them as devaluing their work and claim that  women “know it better”. This confirms the structural gendering of participation – women as performers, men as spectators.

This disproportionate burden is not incidental but emerges from historical structures of gendered caste discipline, in which women became the custodians of familial and communal ritual purity, a dynamic that colonial ethnographers occasionally noted, but rarely understood in its complexity (Dalton, 1872; Crooke, 1896).

These tables show the concerns with the women owning up the participation in rituals with filial responsibility of performing Chhath way more than their male counterparts.

Culinary Purity and the Politics of Food in Chhath

Ayurveda represented an early biopolitical regime where food was both medicine and marker of social discipline. Thus, from the earliest times, food was a medium through which purity, health, and social order were simultaneously negotiated. 

Chhath Puja, is characterised by a rigorous adherence to physical and dietary discipline, dictated by a profound understanding of ceremonial purity (shuddhata) and the prevention of defilement (ashuddhata).  The food produced and consumed during this period complies with stringent regulations that reflect overarching Hindu concepts of sanctity and ethical order.  Devotees, particularly women who act as ritual organisers and domestic caretakers, adhere to a satvik diet that excludes onion, garlic, meat, and alcohol, and frequently observe a complete fast from grains or even water (nirjala vrat).  Chhath is characterised not only by abstinence but also by the sanctified nature of preparation: all offerings, including thekua, kharna kheer, fruits, and sugarcane, must be prepared in an impeccably clean environment, prepared using mud or earthenware stoves washed separately (new utensils), and hand-drawn water, typically in freshly cleaned courtyards or adjacent to temporary altars, emphasizing detachment from contaminated materials. The kitchen during this time becomes a site of sacralization; outsiders are often barred from entering, and even family members must approach with caution to avoid polluting the space.

Absolute personal purity meaning the woman must bathe before cooking and maintain ritual seclusion during preparation. The notion of non-contamination applies to both the person and the environment; the vratin may refrain from physical contact with others, sleep on the floor, and don unstitched or freshly laundered garments.  These rites invoke the Brahmanical concept of the body as a conduit of divine resonance; nevertheless, in Chhath, they are mostly executed by non-Brahmin women, indicating a subversion or democratisation of ritual authority.  In numerous instances, upper-caste concepts of pollution are adopted and reinterpreted by lower or backward-caste cultures to assert spiritual authority.  The prasād prepared at Chhath is considered so sacred that contact with an impure hand is thought to compromise its purity, highlighting the role of food in maintaining cosmological and social order.

This culinary discipline not only signifies piety but also represents a sort of embodied politics, wherein fasting, quiet, and rigorous adherence to food regulations function as instruments of spiritual agency, especially for women. By engaging in cooking and giving, they occupy a sacred space that connects domestic labour with divine service, and by understanding the principles of purity, they momentarily surpass their social marginalisation.

 Furthermore, these culinary prohibitions manifest as a gendered enactment of spiritual duty, with women shouldering the task of upholding both physical and symbolic purity–presenting themselves as conduits of divine energy in their roles as preparers of sacred nourishment and guardians of home holiness.

“The female votary, maintaining intense fasting and physical purification, prepares offerings in clay vessels washed seven times, avoiding all ingredients that may cause ritual defilement" .

The emphasis on single–handed preparation underlines not merely the need for ritual purity but the enormous gendered labor demanded. Uma Chakravarti argues, women's bodies in Hindu ritual systems become the “primary sites where purity is both enacted and policed," making them simultaneously sacred and dangerous.

Fasting was (and remains) a female-dominated practice, tied to ideals of marital devotion (pativrata dharma) and familial prosperity. Women breaking the fast prematurely were believed to bring misfortune, reinforcing the idea that female discipline ensured household purity.

Women observe at least 36 hours of continuous fasting without water, engaging in additional preparatory rituals (house cleaning,maintaining hygiene, bathing at least twice daily) beyond the minimum fasting requirements. And many explicitly linked fasting with the purification of familial karma and maternal responsibilities. Women who fail to fast face social ostracization or are often seen as “modern and westernized” renouncing family values and filial duties. There is a concealed social pressure to observe Chhath perfectly.

In the past (and even in present) only postmenopausal or ritually “pure" women could cook thekua (offerings), avoiding garlic, onions, and lentils. Upper-caste women refused food touched by lower castes, yet during Chhath, communal feasting at riverbanks temporarily relaxed some restrictions.

These acts of extreme bodily austerity parallel what Veena Das (1995) describes as the ritualization of suffering in which women “transform bodily pain into socially valorized sacrifice,” thus reasserting their centrality to religious and moral worlds.

Durba Ghosh's (2006) analysis of domesticity and ritual in colonial Bengal similarly notes that such practices mapped the female body onto the moral health of the nation –in the case of Chhath, the household becomes the primary unit whose fortune is tied to female ritual discipline.

Breaking down Oral traditions (devotional songs)

The devotional songs of Chhath (geet), serve as both expressions of reverence and conduits of lived experience, predominantly conveyed via the voices of women.  Composed in Maithili, Bhojpuri, or Magahi dialects, these songs inhabit a transitional realm between the religious and the domestic, providing a unique perspective into the inner lives of rural women.  They venerate deities such as Surya and Chhathi Maiya while simultaneously evoke themes of conjugal fidelity, parental responsibilities, adversity, and yearning.  Thus, Chhath songs emerge as gendered expressions of both devotion and labour, executed by women who serve as both worshippers and cultural custodians frequently encapsulating emotional labour, sacrifice, and resilience, delicately articulating the weight of purity and discipline demanded throughout the ritual, as well as within the overarching frameworks of patriarchy.  The lack of priests and the prominent role of women in conducting the rite highlights a distinctive spiritual authority, wherein femininity is not peripheral but foundational.  These songs not only evoke the holy but also retain a matrilineal oral history, wherein devotion is intertwined with perseverance, and the act of singing itself serves as an affirmation of presence in a world that frequently silences women.

“Kelwa Ke Paat Par"

​“On the banana leaf, the Sun God rises,

I ask the devotee, for whom is this offering?

It is for my son, my family, for all our well-being.”​

This verse reflects the intertwining of personal and communal aspirations in Chhath. Women’s prayers often encompass the health and prosperity of their entire family and their heirs (sons), illustrating their role as nurturers and spiritual anchors within the social fabric.​

 The Sacred and the Segregated

“Even the most devout women are turned away if found in their monthly courses, for their presence would defile the sacred offerings."

Menstruation was(is) viewed as a source of ashuddhi (pollution), excluding women from cooking or touching ritual items. Menstruating women are categorically prohibited from participating, preparing offerings, or even touching the ritual vessels. The logic is consistent with Brahmanical notions where the menstruating body is seen as inherently polluting (Manusmriti). Yet, within the ritual schema of Chhath, menstrual exclusion also reflects an indigenous cosmology that places high stakes on bodily integrity during acts of sacred communion with nature. Menstruation taboos particularly relegated women to the margins of ritual life, reinforcing what Uma Chakravarti (1993) terms the  “gendered caste system” that carries on even now. 

“Food that is kept overnight, food touched by a menstruating woman, and food prepared by a Shudra, all cause pollution". (Manusmriti Ch 5)

The behaviours related to purity and austerity were not static or universal; they evolved dynamically across regional cultures, influenced by agricultural cycles, caste structures, and local cosmologies. In this sense Chhath is not only a devotional festival but also a ceremonial space where physical discipline, gastronomic integrity, environmental awareness, and feminine spirituality intersect.  Women, via rigorous fasting, careful food preparation, and physical austerity, bear the responsibility of upholding the family's moral and cosmological order.  Their agency is paradoxical: although women serve as the principal ritual participants, their prominence in rituals is concurrently constrained by stringent norms of physical purity, particularly manifest in menstrual prohibitions. The exclusion of men from the principal rituals of Chhath Puja highlights the gendered segregation of ceremonial responsibilities.  Men, although frequently acting as onlookers or logistical helpers, largely remain disengaged from the physical difficulties and spiritual sacrifices necessitated by the celebration.  This absence is neither coincidental nor impartial; rather, it signifies an ingrained framework in which women's pain is esteemed as dedication, while men's detachment from pollution concerns is rendered normative.

Conclusion

Purity and pollution have  influenced dietary practices and rituals in the Indian subcontinent for aeons.  Although rooted in ancient Hindu legal and medicinal concepts, these beliefs evolved across various geographies and cultures.  In pre-modern eastern India, particularly in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, Sanskritic conventions merged with indigenous folk traditions to invigorate daily practices.

 These approaches challenge simplistic pure–impure dichotomies.  Communities constructed identities through caste, gender, and ecology, which colonial perspectives oversimplified.  Chhath Puja vividly exemplifies a women-centric holiday, deeply connected to land and river, that simultaneously reveres and subtly challenges purity standards.  When considered independently, these rites disclose a decolonial universe in which agricultural women harmonise with the sun, soil, and water to cultivate a sacred ecology of care and sacrifice.

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By Priyanka Priyadarshini

Priyanka Priyadarshini iis a second year  history enthusiast at University of Delhi fascinated by how people dress, adorn, eat, and pray. Her interest lies in the soci0-cultural and material lives of women in South Asia–how the sense and sensibilities of objects–textiles, pigments, ornaments and culinary practices mediate through identity, hierarchy, and ritual belonging while committed to recovering women’s aesthetic practices as vital, intellectual acts rather than ornamental detail.

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