While menstruation is still a taboo in India, this temple worships a Godess' Vagina

India, a country where menstrual cycle is still listed as a taboo and a country where a girl is  'embarrassed' for a very normal body function, seems to be also holding opposite perception in this socially and religiously bound country. 

So, here we introduce Goddess Kamakhya, an incarnation of Shiva's wife, Sati, whose vagina is  worshipped on the Nilachal Hill, in the West of Guwahati,  Assam.

The temple is one of the Shakti Peeths where the vagina or the yoni of the Goddess fell upon. The temple also hosts an annual fertility festival called Ambuwasi Puja in which the goddess is said to be going through her yearlymenstrual cycle. The temple remains closed for three days and opens up with great festivities on Day 4. It is also said that the river Brahmaputra turns red  during this time.

What an irony! Where women are supposed to be impure during their menstrual cycle and are not allowed at any holy place, we are worshipping the vagina of a supposed Goddess!

(Special Thanks to Harish Sharma & Sachin Dhanraj for idea)