On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 12:11 PM Asko Parpola <aparpola@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Paolo,

Below are some further references regarding your request:

- Bhattacharyya, N. N. (1996). Ancient Indian Rituals and Their Social Contents (2nd revised and enlarged ed.). New Delhi: Manohar. Includes studies on the menstrual rites of ancient India and the cults and rituals of fertility.
- Chawla, Janet (1992). "The Rig Vedic slaying of Vrtra: Menstruation taboos in mythology." Manushi, vol. 68.
- Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi, Gabriella (1973). "Food avoidances at puberty and menstruation in Tamilnad: An anthropological study." Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 2: 165-172.
- Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi, Gabriella (1974). "Women's pollution periods in Tamilnad (India)." Anthropos, 69: 113-161.
- Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi, Gabriella (1975). "Temporary female food avoidances in Tamilnad: Interpretations and parallels." East and West NS, 25 (3-4): 471-485.
- Flueckiger, Joyce Burkhalter (2013). "Menstruating goddess." RISA-list (11 Oct 2013). Discusses Raja parba/sankranti in Orissa and relates to themes in When the World Becomes Female: Guises of a South Indian Goddess (2013).
- Johansen, Sundari (2013). "Goddesses." RISA-list (11 Oct 2013). Discusses Kamakhya and the Kalikapurana account of the birth of Naraka.
- Leslie, Julia (1994). "Some traditional Indian views on menstruation and female sexuality." In Porter, R. & Teich, M. (eds.), Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Science: The History of Attitudes to Sexuality (pp. 63-81). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Salomon, Richard (1984). "Legal and symbolic significance of the 'menstrual pollution' of rivers." In Lariviere, R. W. (ed.), Studies in Dharmaśāstra (pp. 153-178). Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhyopadhyay Private Limited.
Sridhar, Nithin, 2019. Menstruation across cultures. Vitasta Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 362 pp.
Timalsina, Sthaneshwar, 2014. Menstruation* in Hinduism. [Women* Pollution*] On RISA-list 19 July 2014: A Nepalese novel, Sumnima, epitomizes all the narratives woven around menstruation. The author, B. P. Koirala, is one of the best known names in Nepal for both his literary works as well as his leadership. Although a fiction, the text is sapped with philosophical and Dharmashastric discourse.


Best regards,

Asko Parpola

On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 12:48 AM Paolo E. Rosati via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Dear all, 

If anyone has access to the following articles, I would appreciate it if you could share them with me:

Samanta, Suchitra. 1992. “Maugalmayma, Sumangala, Mangal: Bengali Perceptions of the Divine Feminine, Motherhood and ‘Auspiciousness.’” Contributions to Indian Sociology 26(1):51–75. 

Apffel-Marglin, Frédérique and Dennis Hudson. 2002. “Who has the Potency?” Journal of Vaishnava Studies Vol. 10 (2):111–121 

Apffel-Marglin, Frédérique.1992.“Women’s Blood: Challenging the Discourse of Development.” The Ecologist 22(1):22–32

Chawla, Janet. 1994. “Mythic Origins of Menstrual Taboo in Rig Veda.” Economic and Political Weekly (October 22):2817–2827. 

Gillespie, George. 1984. “A Myth of the Goddess Kamakhya.” India Cultures 39(2):1–22 

Any additional recommendation for studies on  menstrual blood and/or menstrual festivals in India would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Paolo


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Paolo E. Rosati
PhD in Asian and African Studies
Mobile/Whatsapp: (+39) 338 73 83 472

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Asko Parpola, aparpola@gmail.com