Season’s Cycle

तस्य ते [ संवत्सरस्य ] वसंतः शिरः ॥ ग्रीष्मो दक्षिणः पक्षः ॥
वर्षाः पुच्छं ॥ शरदुत्तरः पक्षः ॥ हेमंतो मध्यं ॥
                                                               - तैत्तरीय ब्राम्हण

The above shloka clearly indicates that our ancestors not only knew the six distinct seasons but also the concept was so generalized and widespread that they had used bird as a simile to Samvatsar – imagined Samvatsar as a bird. Vasant is a head or face, Hemant is the center and Varsha is a tail. That time Samvatsar word was also being used as an alternative to an year.

In general we know three seasons – Summer, Monsoon and Winter. Aayurved divides the complete year in six seasons and those are Vasant-Greeshm (Summer), Varsha-Sharad (Monsoon) and Hemant-Shishir (Winter).

The chakra (चक्र) in this storyticle shows approximate span of the six seasons across the twelve months. The group of three seasons is called as ‘Ayana’ (अयन). The group of Shishir-Vasant-Greeshm is called as ‘Uttarayan’ (उत्तरायण) and the group of Varsha-Sharad-Hemant is is called as ‘Dakshinayan’ (दक्षिणायन).

Following table shows, each season – it’s Marathi month group, key characteristic and English month group for further understanding.

Season	Marathi Month Group (Approx.)	Characteristic	English Month Group (Approx.)
Vasant (वसंत)	Chaitra-Vaishakh	The beginning of the Summer	March-April-May
Greeshm (ग्रीष्म)	Jyeshth-Aashadh	The peak of the Summer	May-Jun-Jul
Varsha (वर्षा)	Shravan-Bhadrapad	The Monsoon	July-August-September
Sharad (शरद)	Aashvin-Kartik	End of Monsoon and increasing heat. Fall Season	September-October-November
Hemant (हेमंत)	Margshirsh-Paush	The beginning of the Winter	November-December-January
Shishir (शिशिर)	Magh-Falgun	The peak of the Winter	January-February-March

Seasons for Kids

Video Credit: TOPScorer App

The Basics of Seasons

Video Credit: Knowledgology

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To be continued …