Shloka : 174

मनुष्यं चांशुकादीनि नारी क्वापि रजस्वला ।

दिनत्रयं स्पृशेन्नैव स्नात्वा तुर्येऽह्नि सा स्पृशेत् ॥ 174 ॥

અને વળી રજસ્વલા એવી જે સુવાસિની અને વિધવા સ્ત્રીઓ, તે ત્રણ દિવસ સુધી કોઈ મનુષ્યને તથા વસ્ત્રાદિકને અડે નહિ, ને ચોથે દિવસે નાહીને અડવું. (એવી રીતે ગૃહસ્થાશ્રમી એેવા જે પુરુષ અને સ્ત્રીઓ તેમના જે આ વિશેષ ધર્મ કહ્યા, તે સર્વ, ધર્મવંશી આચાર્ય ને તેમની પત્નીઓ તેમને પણ પાળવા; કેમ કે એ ગૃહસ્થ છે.) ॥ 174 ॥

And the married as well as widowed women should not touch any person or things like clothes etc. for three days during menstruation, and on the fourth day they can touch after having bath. (Similarly, all these specific codes of conduct mentioned for the Grihastha men and women devotees should be followed by the Dharmavanshi Acharya and his wife as they are also Grihastha). || 174 ||

Commentary

A woman who menstruates is called a 'Rajaswala'. She should not touch any human being for three nights and three days; on the fourth day, she should wash all the clothes worn by her and touched by her and then have bath. After that she can touch other things in the house. She is allowed to touch the animals but she should never touch the clothes or vessels made of clay.

Long back, Indra had committed the sin of killing a Brahmin by killing Vritrasur. He has given the fourth part of the sin to the women which becomes visible every month in the form of menstruation. Therefore, during menstruation a women becomes untouchable. On the first day of menstruation, she is untouchable like a 'Chaandali'; on the second day she is like a 'Brahmdhatini'; on the third day she is like a 'Rajaka'; on the fourth day she is like a 'Shudrani'. On the fifth day after purifying herself through bath she becomes eligible to perform rituals related to God and Pitru. During emergency by observing fast, she becomes pure on the third day.

And, during menstruation for three days, a woman should give up milk, ghee etc. dairy products, wearing flowers and ornaments, Kumkum, Kajal, scented objects like essences etc. She should not sit on a sofa, sleep on a cot, touch the fire, massage the body with oil, travel, eat beetlenut or beetleleaf and sleep during daytime.

If menstruation starts during night, then divide the night into three parts and if it has started in the first two parts then it should be considered of previous day, otherwise it should be considered of the next day. Moreover, if it starts within seventeen days then by having bath one gets purified; if it starts on the eighteenth day then one gets purified after one day and one night; if it starts within nineteen days then the purification should be performed after two days; and if it starts after nineteen days then purification should be performed after completing three days. And during menstruation, if there are festival days or fasting days in between, then let other persons do service of God and the woman should observe fast herself.

And knowingly or unknowingly, if someone has touched a woman during menstruation, they should perform the penance accordingly.