Last verified: April 2026
Ritucharya — Seasonal Regimen
Ashtanga Hridayam, Sutrasthana 3 and Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana 6 document Ritucharya as the Dosha-informed adaptation of diet, lifestyle, and practices to each of the six classical seasons. Each season produces a predictable pattern of Dosha change — and a specific regimen addresses each pattern before it becomes disease.
The six-season Dosha cycle
Classical Ayurveda documents six seasons rather than four. The Dosha cycle across the year follows a predictable three-phase pattern for each Dosha — Sanchaya (accumulation), Prakopa (aggravation), and Prasama (return to balance). Aligning lifestyle to these cycles is the classical preventive medicine framework.
Vata: Accumulates in Grishma (summer); aggravates in Varsha (monsoon); pacifies in Sharad (autumn).
Pitta: Accumulates in Grishma (summer); aggravates in Sharad (autumn); pacifies in Hemanta (winter).
Kapha: Accumulates in Hemanta and Shishira (winter); aggravates in Vasanta (spring); pacifies in Grishma (summer).
The six seasons
Vasanta
Vasanta is when accumulated winter Kapha melts. Ashtanga Hridayam documents it as the season most prone to Kaphaja diseases: colds, congestion, fatigue, and los...
Read Vasanta regimen →Grishma
Grishma is the season that tests the body most. Despite external heat, Agni paradoxically weakens — the body conserves its internal fire when external heat over...
Read Grishma regimen →Varsha
Varsha is the season of maximum Vata aggravation and minimum Agni strength. The combination of erratic weather, cold rains, and cloudy skies produces Vata aggra...
Read Varsha regimen →Sharad
Sharad is the season of Pitta release. The Pitta accumulated silently through summer is released as temperatures cool in autumn. Ashtanga Hridayam documents Sha...
Read Sharad regimen →Hemanta
Hemanta is the most nourishing season of the year. Ashtanga Hridayam documents that Hemanta produces the strongest Agni of the six seasons — the internal heat c...
Read Hemanta regimen →Shishira
Shishira continues winter but with increasing cold, dryness, and wind — conditions that begin to aggravate Vata despite the season's general nourishing quality....
Read Shishira regimen →