Encyclopedia of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants

 Dashinayana ( southern solastice )

       The three ritus commencing with kalã (varsa, sarat and hemanta ) from the Daksinayana ( southern solastice) and visarga kala-the period in which the sun releases the strength of the people; because the moon is more powerful and the sun loses his strength, the earth becomes cooled of the heat of sunlight with (the effect of) clouds, rain and cold wind; the unctuous tastes—amla (sour), lavana ( salt ) and madhura ( sweet )-are powerful ( respectively) during this period.
 

 Notes —Anila (sour) is powerful during varsa ( rainy season ), lavana (salt) during sarat (autumn season ) and madhura (sweet) during hemanta (winter season).



Hemañta charya—(regimen during winter) :-

In hemanta, the people are strong, the anala (fire in the alimentary tract ) becomes powerful because it gets obstructed (from spreading out) by the cold (in the atmosphere). It begins to digest the tissues (of the body) supported (helped) by vayu (vãta in the body); so in this hemanta (winter), use of ( substances of) sweet, sour and salt tastes should be made.

As the nights ate longer, persons feel hungry in the (early) morning itself, so after attending it oblations, they should resort to the regimen as enumerated in abhyaiga (oil-bath over the head and body ) procedure with medicated oil with váta alleviating property; mürdha-taila (bathing the head with more of oil), mild massaging of the body, wrestling with the skilled ( wrestlers ) to half of his strength and judicious trampling of the body.