WHAT IS MEANT BY IMPURITY?
Impurity in the religious sense is not the same as impurity in a microbiological sense, here we are talking of RITUAL IMPURITY known in Sanskrit as ‘asaucham’ in which one has to conform to a certain type of behaviour and place some restrictions on oneself and one’s socialising for a certain period of time. Ritual impurity or asaucham usually lasts for 10 days and is of two kinds; a. after the birth of a child – known as sütakam b. after death of a family member – known as mritakam. 2. WHY OBSERVE ASAUCHAM? These periods of sütakam and mritakam have a religious as well as a social significance. In the case of a birth it is a profound and traumatic experience for the mother and less so for the father. The mother is weak and exhausted, and the child is vulnerable and susceptible to infections [antibodies to various bacteria are passed on from the mother to the child during breast feeding.] The first few days are the most important in the life of the mother and the child as this is the pe
