Semen

As with all bodily fluids, semen is considered to make a person ritually impure
through emission or contact, although it is
obviously necessary for procreation,
which is an auspicious event. Semen is
also considered the concentrated essence
of a man’s vital energy, distilled drop by
drop from his blood; in Hindu mythology
the semen from the gods is portrayed as
having wondrous generative powers, as in
the story of the god Skanda, who spontaneously developed when the god Shiva’s
semen fell on the ground. Although a married man is obliged to have intercourse
with his wife at certain times during her
menstrual cycle, this is also seen as a
potentially dangerous depletion of his
vital energy. Since in Indian culture
women are seen as having stronger sex
drives than men, men are faced with the
constant demand on their resources,
which must be carefully husbanded to
maintain their vitality. This problem of
depletion is particularly pronounced in
the unusual case when a man is younger
than his wife, for in that case her needs are
believed to be far greater than his capacity. Because all seminal emission depletes
one’s vital forces, there are strict taboos on
masturbation, which is seen not only as an
abject surrender to one’s baser instincts,
but as posing actual physical danger.