MONSOON TREATMENTS AUTHENTICALLY AT SAKALYA AYURVEDA
Monsoons and Ayurveda
The tropical coastal belt of Kerala where Sakalya Ayurveda is located is the entry point of Monsoons into the Indian Peninsula. Kerala where Ayurveda is a lifestyle than health care has its own Monsoon Ayurveda Care System for humans as well as the domestic animals and fowls. The annual Monsoon elephant wellness care for the domesticated pachyderms is very unique and famous.
Rainy Seasons as per Ayurveda Classics
Classically the Indian scriptures compiled by the Aryans who inhabited the Indo-Gangetic Plains classify the year into two monthly six seasons or Ritus as Shishira, Vasanta, Grishma Varsha, Sharad, and Hemanta, based on the movement of the sun into the northern and southern solastic positions which are called as Adanakala (Uttarayana) and Vishargakala (Dakshinayana).
Ayurveda treatises of Charaka Samhita, Sushrutha Samhita, and Ashtanga Sangraha composed by the great Vaidyas who lived in the Sapta Sindhu-Ganga region also relied on these scriptures for classifying Ritus and formulating Ritu Charyas or seasonal regimens.
Characteristics of Adana and Visarga Kala
Adanakala takes away the strength while the Visarga Kala imparts it to all living creatures. During Adanakala the powerful sun and wind drain the moisture, strength, vigor, and coolness from the earth and its creatures. The Visargakala milder sun, rain clouds, and the wet wind bestow strength to earth and its creatures. The influence of the moon’s closeness to Earth calms the environment.
The classical Varsha Ritu or Shraavana-Bhaadrapada months (approximately the last week of July-last week of September) are the beginning of Visargakala and hence restoration of the lost strength during the trying Adanakala is recommended.
Rainy Seasons in Kerala and Deccan Peninsula
The Tropic of Cancer which passes through India divides the country into the northern temperate and southern tropic belts. The two parts are demarcated by the horizontal Aravalli-Vindhya mountain ranges.
Kerala is part of southern India which comprises the Deccan Plateau held by the formidable Western Ghats, the tapering rugged Eastern Ghats, and the Aravallis. The narrow coastal line on both sides of the peninsula forms the plains. Kerala has to its west the Arabian Sea and to the east Western Ghats. Hence Monsoons are different in Kerala.
The monsoon rains typically shower their first bout on the Kerala soils on the 1st of June. They exit by the end of September. The Varsha Ritu of Kerala is interspersed between the last 45 days of Adana Kala and the first 45 days of Visarga Kala.
The Karkataka Sankranthi which falls on the 17th of July is the drawing line between the two phases known locally as EDAVAPPATHI and KARKIDAKAM. Hence the monsoon regimen in Kerala focuses on purifying the creatures including the humans physically and mentally, cleaning up the homes and environment to destroy disease-causing germs and disease-spreading vectors, and sowing or planting food and flora for the future.
In the second half of Karkitakam when the season settles, the sun changes direction, the environment cleans up and the creatures are detoxified physically and mentally, the focus shifts to the rejuvenation of the body, refreshing of the mind, and reinforcing spirituality. Special Karkitaka Kanji diet, special Karkitaka Ayurveda Chikitsa, Ramayana Parayanam, and other festivities enrich the period.
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