Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 6,4.13
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यस्य जायाम् आर्तवं विन्देत् त्र्यहं कंसे न पिबेत् अहतवासाः न एनां वृषलः न वृषली अपहन्यात् त्रिरात्रान्ते आप्लुत्य व्रीहीन् अवघातयेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yasya jāyām ārtavaṃ vindet tryahaṃ kaṃse na pibet ahatavāsāḥ na enāṃ vṛṣalaḥ na vṛṣalī apahanyāt trirātrānte āplutya vrīhīn avaghātayet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; further
यस्यyasyawhose; in whose case
जायाम्jāyāma wife; his wife
आर्तवंārtavaṃher season (ārtava — the menstrual cycle); the menses; the term
विन्देत्vindethe should find; he would find
त्र्यहंtryahaṃthree days (tri-aha); three days and nights; three days
कंसेkaṃsefrom a bronze cup (kaṁsa, loc.); from the bowl; from the cup
नnanot; no
पिबेत्pibetlet her drink; she should drink
अहतवासाःahatavāsāḥin an unworn garment (ahata-vāsas — 'in one not yet used'); in a new garment; in an unworn garment
नnanot; no
एनांenāṃit; this
वृषलःvṛṣalaḥthe śūdra; a man of low birth
नnanot; no
वृषलीvṛṣalīa śūdra woman; a woman of low birth
अपहन्यात्apahanyātlet him not touch; let him not strike
त्रिरात्रान्तेtrirātrāntewhen the three nights are over; after three nights
आप्लुत्यāplutyahaving bathed (ā + √plu); having washed; having bathed
व्रीहीन्vrīhīnthe rice grains; the rice
अवघातयेत्avaghātayetlet him have it husked (ava + √han, causative optative); let him pound it; let him have it threshed
Translation
If a man's wife has her period, let her for three days not drink from the [common] cup and let her wear an unstitched garment; let neither a śūdra man nor a śūdra woman touch her. At the end of the three nights, having bathed, let her [set about] husking rice.
Version
d51083d5b33a · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:28:50 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The rule of a woman's period: three days of seclusion — her own cup, her own garment, protection from touch — and at the end a bath and a return to the household work (the husking of rice, for the coming rite of conception!). Ancient hygiene is framed as a temporary consecrated retreat: not a banishment but a safeguard.
The rhythm of a woman's cycle is built into the rhythm of the household's rites: the times of purity set the times of the chief mystery, the asking for offspring, to which the code now turns. A knower's house lives by two calendars at once — the lunar and the feminine — and both are sacred to it.