According to Kalidasa's Ritu Samhara, Sharad Ritu (Autumn), the season of
cool, clear skies and blooming flowers, begins around September 13th and
lasts until October 26th. Today, September 11th, 2025, falls at the very
end of the preceding Varsha Ritu (Monsoon) and the very start of Sharad
Ritu, which is described as a season of grace and radiant light.
Ritu is a division of the year , reflecting the change of seasons. The
concept of Rtu occurs in Rig Veda also, where only three Ritus are
mentioned: Varsha , Grishma and Sharad. Later, the year was further
divided; and, two more Rtus were added. A hymn in Taittareya Brahmana has a
beautiful graphic presentation of the Ritus in the image of a bird:
Vasantha is the head of the bird called Samvathsara (year); Grishma its
right wing; Sharad its left wing; Varsha its tail; and , Hemanta its middle
part.
Tasya re Vasantha shirahah/Grishmo Dakshina pakshahah/ Sharad
uttara-pakshhah/Varshap pucchyam/ Hemanto Madhyama. (Titriya Brh: 1.10.4.1)
It was during the epic period that the seasons were counted as six:
Vasantha – spring; Grishma – summer; Varsha – rainy season; Sharad – autumn;
Hemanta – winter; and, Shishira – cool season preceding the spring.
The Puranas (say, the Brahmanda Purana) mention six seasons. The Matsya
Purana has a whole chapter dedicated only to the month of spring; and, the
Samba Purana gives a reference to the different colors of the sun in the
Six Ritu’s : Kapila (tawny or yellowish-brown) in Vasantha Rtu ;
Tapta-kanchana (furnace gold) in Greeshma ; Sweta (white) in Varsha Rtu;
Pandu (pale) in Sharad Rtu; Pingala (coppery or reddish brown) in Hemanta
Rtu; and , Raktha (reddish) in Sishira Rtu.
The Chitrasutra of the Vishnudharmottara-purana (5th– 6th century), however
, mentions four Ritus; and, outlines their general features.
Summer : Under trees, languorous men seek shade from the harsh summer
sun, buffaloes wallowing in the mire of muddy waters, birds hiding under a
thick abundance of leaves, and lions and tigers seeking cool caves to
retire in.
Rain: An overcast sky, with heavy rain filled clouds weighed down with
their aquatic excess, flashes of lightning and the beautiful rainbow,
animals like tigers and lions taking shelter in caves, sarus (cranes) birds
flying in a row.
Autumn: Trees laden with ripe fruit, the entire expanse of the earth filled
with ripened corn ready for harvest, lakes filled with beautiful aquatic
birds like geese, the pleasant sight of blooming and blossoming lotus
flowers, the moon brightening up the sky with a milky white luster.
Winter : the earth wet with dew, the sky filled with fog, men shivering
from the cold, but crows and elephants seem euphoric.
The nature is at its benevolent best in Sharad Ritu. The
oppressive heat of the summer is a distant memory and the chill of the
winter is still on its way. The annoying downpour of the monsoon has just
ended. The weather is mild, pleasant and refreshing. Sharad is a season of
moderation, comfort and peace. It is the season of the middle path. It is
a soothing delight, as its designated Raga Malkauns a pentatonic haunting
melody. The rivers are neither dry as in summer nor flooded, muddy brown,
twirling with orphaned twigs and overflowing menacingly as in monsoon. In
Sharad Ritu, the rivers are moderately full, transparently clear; rippling
down the gentle slopes in peals of temple bells.
The Great Poet Valmiki in his Epic Ramayana (4.29.27) talks of
‘The Mountains washed spotless by great clouds and their glittering peaks
now shine as if bathed in moonbeams’.
abhivṛṣṭā mahāmeghair nirmalāś citra-sānavaḥ | anuliptā iva ābhānti girayaś
candra-raśmibhiḥ ||
Kalidasa the great poet of ancient India in his Ritu-Samhara (song of the
seasons) sings of the “golden plenitudes” of Sharad Ritu in passages of
high lyrical imagery. (RS.3.21- 3.28) Sharad is the season of slenderness
and grace; cool as the sandalwood (candanaṃ candra-marīci-śītalaṃ); of
clear moon (śarad-indu-nirmalam); of radiant moon (vimala kiraṇa candraṃ);
and of light, floating, soft colored silks. Kalidasa fondly talks of
cheerful women dressed in light-hearted elegance of “silks dyed scarlet
with mallow juice, delicate silks saffron dyed and shining pale gold
veils”- anupama mukha rāgā rātrimadhye vinodaṃ śaradi taruṇa kāntāḥ
sūcayanti pramodān – KalRs_3.24 .
He compares Shard Ritu to a bride; decked in white as the moon and
the swan, adorned with jewels and flowers; moving with gentle grace like
the rivers in Shard Ritu. The sky scattered lightly with thin clouds is as
a king fanned with a white fly-whisk. The women adorn their hair with
jasmine and ears with blue lotus; pine for the beloved. The travelers see
in the lotuses the dark lustrous eyes of their beloveds; in the infatuated
swans, they hear the tinkle of the beloveds’ golden girdle; and in
Bhandu-jiva, flowers look for the gleam of their coral lips. Travelers sigh
and pine for their beloveds – bandhujīve priyāṇāṃ pathika jana idānīṃ
roditi bhrānta-cittaḥ- KalRs_3.26.
In the Shard Rtu the veil of the clouds vanishes; moon shines up in
the blue night sky; breeze is gentle and pleasant; and whole of delightful
existence is filled with intoxicating fragrance of flowers withering gently
from the Aasan trees; the lover swims in the scented lotus pond with his
beloved who as the Chakravaka bird is well versed in the secrets of love;
the air around is scintillated with the music of Saras birds and the peels
of girdle bells and anklets of cheerful beauties playing around the pool
whose forehead is adorned with the Bindi bright as the Bandhuka flower .{KR:
IN MALAYALAM TETCHIPPOO; IN TAMIL VETCHIPPOO} [
https://youtu.be/RsMVm2lOGBs][CHETHI MANDARAM TULASI SONG]
Sharad Ritu is aptly named after Sharada the goddess of speech
(vac), learning and fine arts. She is the presiding deity of the Ritu.
Sharad Ritu personifies the mild- glowing beauty, serenity, grace and
compassion of mother Sharada. The ten days following the new- moon in the
month of Ashwina in Sharad Ritu are celebrated as Navarathri (Sharan
navarathri) in devote reverence and in worship of the mother. Display of
learning, performance of arts and honouring the learned and the virtuous
during Navarathri are all in humble submission to the mother. Bengal has a
tradition of commencing the Durga Puja with Saraswathi Puja. Saraswathi is
regarded as daughter of mother goddess Durga.
As Sharad Ritu nears its end, the leaves on the trees turn from
green to yellow to red and to dusty brown. The trees let go the aged
leaves, that once clothed, fed and sheltered them; with grace and
gratitude. They gently place the departed friends, with reverence, on the
floor. WELCOME SHARAD K RAJARAM IRS 11925
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Thatha_Patty" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoqn0uJb0TnRn4_KX88LWvGXxzaNZYsSBtE2nedS7YiSZA%40mail.gmail.com.
