This tool tells you which of the six classical seasons, or ritus, it is now, when the next one begins, and the gentle seasonal habits the tradition describes for it. You choose a city or a hemisphere, and you can also describe the weather outside if it does not match the calendar.
It describes what the tradition says, and it is not medical advice. Please read the notes below on how the seasons are worked out and where they stop fitting.
How the season is found
The classical Indian year is divided into six ritus of about two months each. In the traditional calendar they follow the Sun’s position against the stars, that is, its sidereal sign. Shishira (late winter) covers the Sun in Makara and Kumbha. Vasanta (spring) covers Meena and Mesha. Grishma (summer) covers Vrishabha and Mithuna. Varsha (the monsoon) covers Karka and Simha. Sharad (autumn) covers Kanya and Tula. Hemanta (early winter) covers Vrishchika and Dhanu.
The tool reads the Sun’s position from a Swiss Ephemeris table that runs in your browser, using the Lahiri ayanamsa to get the sidereal sign, and finds the date the Sun last changed sign into the current ritu and the date it will enter the next. The tool covers the years 2025 to 2030. Because the signs shift by about two weeks against the Western calendar, each ritu begins in the middle of a month: Shishira in mid January, Vasanta in mid March, Grishma in mid May, Varsha in mid July, Sharad in mid September and Hemanta in mid November.
Why the calendar does not fit everywhere
The ritus were described for the climate of India, and especially the north of the country. The classical texts, among them the Charaka Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita and the Ashtanga Hridayam, give the seasons a chapter of their own, and the practical teaching is to adjust food and conduct to the weather you are actually living in. That teaching travels better than the calendar does.
In the southern hemisphere the seasons run six months apart from India’s. When you choose a southern city, the tool shows the guidance for the season six months on from the calendar ritu, so that a southern spring is read as Vasanta even while the Sun is in the signs of Sharad. Close to the equator, such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Nairobi, the weather often changes little through the year or follows a wet and dry pattern instead of the Indian cycle. In very cold places, winters can be much harsher than anything in the texts, so the practical advice to keep warm applies more strongly.
For these cases, use the weather option on the form. It lets you say whether it is mild and fresh, hot and dry, rainy and damp, warm after the rains, cool and crisp, or cold. The tool then shows the guidance for the season that matches that weather, whatever the calendar says. In effect, you decide which season you are living in, and the tool tells you what the tradition suggests for it.
What you will see
The result shows the calendar ritu, the date it began and the date the next one begins in your city’s time. It then shows the seasonal guidance: a short description of the season in the classical texts, and four general habits, such as warm meals in the cold, cooling foods in the heat and light food in the wet season. A table lists all six ritus with the signs and the rough dates, so you can see the whole year at a glance.
The guidance is written as tradition. Statements about how the doshas build up and stir through the year, for example, are what the classical texts and later teachers teach, and teachers differ on the details. Ayurveda holds that kapha builds in the cold months, pitta in the monsoon and vata in the heat, and these ideas have not been tested in modern trials. We do not claim that following the habits prevents any illness.
Safety and good sense
The habits are general ideas about food, clothing and activity, and none of them is a treatment. If you have a long-term condition, take regular medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or follow a diet set by a doctor, check any change to your food or exercise with your doctor first. People with diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease in particular should not change fluids, salt or meal times because of a seasonal guide.
To read more, see the seasons section, the daily routine guides and the daily routine planner, which turns a dosha type into a timetable for your city. The prakriti quiz gives a rough idea of your constitution, and the method and sources page explains how we use the texts. The Vedic site’s panchang shows the same Sun, Moon and day details for the Vedic calendar. Please read the medical disclaimer, and see a doctor for any health concern and a registered Ayurvedic practitioner for Ayurvedic treatment.
Frequently asked questions
↳ How many seasons are there in Ayurveda?
Six: Shishira, Vasanta, Grishma, Varsha, Sharad and Hemanta, each lasting about two months. The texts also describe a short junction between seasons, called ritu sandhi, in which habits are changed gradually.
↳ Why does the tool use the Sun's sidereal sign?
The traditional Indian calendar follows the Sun against the stars, and the seasons are tied to that cycle. It places each ritu about two weeks later than a tropical, Western calendar would.
↳ Which season applies if I live in the southern hemisphere?
Choose a southern city and the tool shifts the guidance by six months, so that spring is read as Vasanta. You can also describe the weather outside and follow that season instead.
↳ Does the tool tell me what to eat for my dosha?
No. It gives general seasonal habits, and it does not tailor them to a dosha or to any health condition. For a rough idea of your constitution you can use the prakriti quiz, and for any health question please ask your doctor.
↳ Is the date of the next season exact?
It is the time the Sun enters the next sign by the Lahiri ayanamsa, worked out to the minute. Other ayanamsas or local almanacs can differ by a day or so, and the tradition does not treat the day as a sharp line.