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Ritucharya · ऋतुचर्या

The wheel of the seasons

Ayurvedic traditions describe the year through six seasons (ritus) and connect each one with particular dosha, taste and habit concepts. This page is an educational map of that tradition, not a personalized routine or medical recommendation.

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Right now · the season you're in

Sharada · Autumn

Settle the accumulated heat.

Read the dosha guide Browse the library

Uttarayana

Adana kala — the sun's northward course (mid-winter to mid-summer), when the environment gradually draws strength from the body. Diet and habits lean nourishing and building.

Shishira

शिशिर

Late winter · mid-January – mid-March

Nourish against the deep cold.

Deep cold; agni (digestive fire) runs strong and Kapha quietly accumulates.

Traditional theme: VataSweetSourSalty

Shishira is the coldest stretch, when the body's fire is strongest to meet it. Eat well and warm — this is a season to nourish and build strength — while keeping Kapha in check with movement so it doesn't quietly pile up before spring.

Favour

  • warm, unctuous, nourishing meals
  • rasayana tonics and warming spices
  • daily warm-oil abhyanga
  • staying warm and well-rested

Ease off

  • cold and raw foods
  • light dry meals that leave you hungry
  • exposure to cold wind

Vasanta

वसन्त

Spring · mid-March – mid-May

Lighten as winter's Kapha melts.

Warmth melts the winter's accumulated Kapha, which now aggravates.

Traditional theme: KaphaPungentBitterAstringent

As spring warms, the Kapha stored over winter liquefies — the season of colds, congestion and heaviness. Lighten the diet toward pungent and bitter tastes, move the body, and let go of the heavy comfort foods of winter to keep Kapha flowing rather than clogging.

Favour

  • light, warm, easily digested food
  • pungent and bitter herbs (tulsi, ginger, turmeric)
  • brisk movement and dry massage
  • honey as a Kapha-scraping carrier

Ease off

  • heavy, oily, sweet and sour foods
  • daytime sleep
  • cold, mucus-forming dairy

Grishma

ग्रीष्म

Summer · mid-May – mid-July

Cool and hydrate through the heat.

Fierce heat saps strength; agni weakens and Vata begins to accumulate.

Traditional theme: PittaSweetBitterAstringent

Summer's heat draws energy and moisture out of the body, so agni is naturally lighter. Favour cooling, sweet and hydrating foods, protect yourself from the midday sun, and avoid adding more fire with spice — the aim is to keep Pitta calm and the body hydrated.

Favour

  • cooling, sweet, hydrating foods
  • plenty of water, coconut and floral teas
  • cooling coconut-oil massage
  • rest during the hottest hours

Ease off

  • hot, spicy, sour, salty and fermented foods
  • midday sun and over-exertion
  • alcohol

Dakshinayana

Visarga kala — the sun's southward course (mid-summer to mid-winter), when the moon's cooling influence returns strength to the body. The year's most restorative half.

Varsha

वर्षा

Monsoon · mid-July – mid-September

Protect the digestive fire.

Damp and cold aggravate Vata; agni is at its weakest and Pitta accumulates.

Traditional theme: VataSweetSourSalty

The monsoon is when digestion is weakest of the whole year and Vata is most easily disturbed. Keep meals warm, light and freshly cooked, guard your agni with ginger and gentle spices, and stay warm and dry — this is the season to eat simply and protect the gut.

Favour

  • warm, light, freshly cooked meals
  • ginger, honey and digestive spices to protect agni
  • warm-oil abhyanga against Vata
  • boiled or filtered water

Ease off

  • raw salads, cold food and leftovers
  • heavy, hard-to-digest meals
  • getting chilled and damp

Sharada

शरद्Now

Autumn · mid-September – mid-November

Settle the accumulated heat.

Sudden sun on a monsoon-cooled body aggravates the accumulated Pitta.

Traditional theme: PittaSweetBitterAstringent

After the damp monsoon, the returning sun heats a body already carrying accumulated Pitta — the classic season for acidity, inflammation and skin flare-ups. Cool and lighten with sweet and bitter tastes, favour ghee and bitter herbs, and ease off the hot and sour to settle Pitta.

Favour

  • cooling, sweet and bitter foods
  • ghee, bitter herbs and gentle cleansing
  • moonlight and cooling routines
  • amla and Pitta-soothing rasayana

Ease off

  • hot, sharp, oily and sour foods
  • excess sun and heat
  • curd and fermented food

Hemanta

हेमन्त

Early winter · mid-November – mid-January

Build strength and ojas.

Cold strengthens agni to its yearly peak — the prime season to nourish and rebuild.

Traditional theme: VataSweetSourSalty

Early winter carries the strongest digestive fire of the year, so the body can take and use its richest food. This is Ayurveda's prime season for rejuvenation — nourish deeply, take rasayana tonics, keep warm with abhyanga, and build the strength and ojas that carry you through the cold.

Favour

  • rich, nourishing, unctuous foods
  • rasayana tonics — chyawanprash, ashwagandha, ghee
  • warm-oil abhyanga and warmth
  • strength-building exercise

Ease off

  • light, dry, cold and raw foods
  • fasting and skipping meals
  • cold exposure

The method

How to read the ritucharya calendar

A five-part framework for understanding how Ayurvedic tradition organizes the seasonal year.

  1. 1

    Identify the current season

    Locate today within the six-ritu wheel — Shishira, Vasanta, Grishma, Varsha, Sharada or Hemanta — using the calendar months for your region.

  2. 2

    Know the season's dosha

    Each ritu accumulates or aggravates a dosha: Kapha in spring, Pitta in autumn, Vata in the monsoon and dry winter. That dosha is what you work to pacify.

  3. 3

    Favour the balancing tastes

    Shift your plate toward the tastes that counter the season's dosha — pungent and bitter in Kapha spring, cooling sweet and bitter in Pitta summer, grounding sweet-sour-salty in Vata monsoon and winter.

  4. 4

    Adapt food, herbs and habits

    Lean into the season's favoured foods and routines and ease off what aggravates it — meals warm and light when digestion is weak, rich and nourishing when agni is strong.

  5. 5

    Separate tradition from personal advice

    Treat the calendar as educational context. It cannot determine your constitution, health needs or the suitability of any food, herb or product.

Common questions

What is ritucharya?

Ritucharya (ऋतुचर्या) is Ayurveda's seasonal routine — the practice of adjusting your diet, herbs and daily habits as the year moves through its six seasons. Each ritu accumulates and then aggravates a particular dosha, and ritucharya adapts how you eat and live to counter that season's dominant energy before it unbalances you.

How many seasons does Ayurveda recognise?

Six ritus. In order from mid-January: Shishira (late winter), Vasanta (spring), Grishma (summer), Varsha (monsoon), Sharada (autumn) and Hemanta (early winter). They group into two half-years, called ayanas.

Which dosha does each season aggravate?

Kapha accumulates through the cold months and aggravates in spring (Vasanta); Pitta accumulates in the monsoon and aggravates in autumn (Sharada); Vata is most easily disturbed in the monsoon (Varsha) and the dry cold of winter. Knowing the season's dosha tells you what to pacify.

What are Uttarayana and Dakshinayana?

They are the two ayanas, or half-years. Uttarayana (the sun's northward 'adana' course, mid-winter to mid-summer) gradually saps the body's strength, so food leans nourishing. Dakshinayana (the southward 'visarga' course, mid-summer to mid-winter) is cooling and restorative — the year's strongest half for digestion and rebuilding.

How should I eat according to the season?

Favour the tastes that counter the season's dosha: sweet, sour and salty to ground Vata in the monsoon and winter; pungent, bitter and astringent to lighten Kapha in spring; sweet, bitter and astringent to cool Pitta in summer and autumn. Keep food warm and freshly cooked when digestion is weak (monsoon), and richest in early winter when agni peaks.

Do I still need to consider my own constitution?

Traditional sources often discuss season alongside prakriti, but a general web page cannot determine constitution or individual suitability. The dosha quiz on this site is an educational reflection only, not a personal assessment.

Seasonal boundaries and interpretations vary by source and region. Read these entries as a map of traditional concepts; they do not determine what is suitable for an individual.

Educational guidance rooted in classical Ayurveda — not a substitute for medical advice.