Grishma

Grishma (Sanskrit: ग्रीष्म, romanized: Grīṣhma) the Sanskrit word meaning summer.^[1] This is one of the six seasons (ritu), each lasting two months, the others being: Vasanta (spring), Varsha (monsoon), Sharada (autumn), Hemanta (pre-winter), and Shishira (winter).^[2]

It falls in the two months of Jyeshtha and Ashadha of the Hindu calendar, or April and May of the Gregorian calendar.^[3] It is preceded by Vasanta, the spring season, and followed by Varsha, the rainy season.

Etymology

The term Grishma derives from Sanskrit, meaning "summer," and appears in Vedic and classical texts as one of the six ritu or seasons in Hindu cosmology.^[1] Its usage is documented in works on ancient Indian culture and religious practice, underscoring its longstanding significance in subcontinental literature and ritual life.

Timing

Grishma spans the Hindu lunar months of Jyeshtha and Ashadha, corresponding to mid-May through mid-July in the Gregorian calendar. Regional variations in calendar reckoning may shift these dates by a few days, but classical sources consistently situate the season’s onset with the sun’s entry into Taurus and its conclusion just before the monsoon’s arrival.^[3] In solar-based regional calendars such as the Tamil calendar, this season maps onto the months of Vaikāsi (mid-May to mid-June) and Ani (mid-June to mid-July), although precise dates can shift by a few days due to lunisolar intercalation.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Barnett, Lionel D. (1999-04-30). Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 189. ISBN 978-81-7156-442-2.
^ Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2010-03-10). A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition. State University of New York Press. p. 492. ISBN 978-0-7914-8011-3.
^ ^a ^b Walker, Benjamin (2019-04-09). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-429-62421-6.
^ LYNN, W. T. "The Indian Calendar, with Tables for the conversion of Hindu and Muhammadan into A.D. dates, and vice versâ". Nature. 54 (1393): 219–220. doi:10.1038/054219a0. ISSN 0028-0836.

Sources

Selby, Martha Ann (translator). The Circle of Six Seasons, Penguin, New Delhi, 2003, ISBN 0-14-100772-9
Raghavan, V. Ṛtu in Sanskrit literature, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Delhi, 1972.

[:0-1] Barnett, Lionel D. (1999-04-30). Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 189. ISBN 978-81-7156-442-2.

[2] Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2010-03-10). A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition. State University of New York Press. p. 492. ISBN 978-0-7914-8011-3.

[:1-3] Walker, Benjamin (2019-04-09). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-429-62421-6.

[4] LYNN, W. T. "The Indian Calendar, with Tables for the conversion of Hindu and Muhammadan into A.D. dates, and vice versâ". Nature. 54 (1393): 219–220. doi:10.1038/054219a0. ISSN 0028-0836.

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