Ritucharya means seasonal conduct. Where dinacharya arranges a day, ritucharya arranges a year, and the classical texts treat the two as a pair. The Charaka Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita and the Ashtanga Hridayam each give a chapter to the seasons, and the central teaching is that the body should be eased gently from one season into the next, rather than shocked by a sudden change in diet or habit.
The texts divide the year into six seasons of about two months each. Shishira is the cool, dry late winter. Vasanta is spring. Grishma is the hot summer. Varsha is the monsoon. Sharad is the clear, warm days of early autumn. Hemanta is the cold, early winter. The texts also group them into two halves, the northern course of the sun (adana kala), when the sun is described as drawing strength from the world and the days grow drier and hotter, and the southern course (visarga kala), when strength is said to return.
Each season is linked to the doshas. Broadly, the tradition teaches that kapha tends to gather in the cold of winter and be disturbed in spring, that vata gathers in the dry heat of summer and is disturbed by the first rains, and that pitta gathers in the monsoon and is disturbed in autumn. Advice follows from this: lighter, drier, warming foods and plenty of exercise for the damp of spring, cooling, sweet and well-hydrated meals in summer, and bitter, sweet and cooling choices in autumn.
Two points need care. First, this calendar was written for the plains of north and central India, and its season names and dates do not map neatly onto, for example, a British or Canadian year. Teachers today adapt it, and we will explain how, without claiming one correct way. Second, the advice is tradition, not tested prescription. Some of it echoes ordinary good sense, such as drinking enough in the heat. Other parts rest on the dosha framework and have not been studied.
The guides in this section will go through the seasons in order, give the traditional reasoning, and suggest where the advice is easiest to translate to other climates. They will not tell you that following a season’s routine prevents any illness. If you have a health condition or take medicines, please speak to a qualified doctor before changing your diet or adding herbs. Our medical disclaimer has the details.