Sharad : October heat : Do's and Dont's .

Śarad – October heat - 2

            In sharad season, theme is that, one should take care of pitta doṣa and should take food, which is opposite to qualities of pitta.  In short, all what is to be taken should be sweet, easily digestible i.e. light, cold in nature, and slight bitter in taste.  So one should consume śali rice, barley and wheat.

Śāli rice consumption

          Śāli rice is that one which yields in cold season, in contrary to Vrīhi rice which is yielded in śarad season. Vrīhi should not be consumed as it becomes sore during digestion and piita which is sore in taste, might be increased. Śāli rice should be consumed in the form of rice only and not in the form of Idalī, dosā etc which are prepared from its flour. Food products made up of rice flour, become vidāhi i.e. causes burning sensation in chest, sore belching, excess thirst and late digestion. So Idalī, dosā etc are vidāhi in nature thus not to be consumed in śarad season. For preparing rice of śāli, one should wash it out thoroughly, should cook in open pot by adding fourteen times water in it.. After cooking the rice extra water should be removed and can be drunk as peyā separately. Thus, prepared rice is light i.e. easy for digestion and is devoid of any harm causing factor. When we cook in pressure cooker, rice becomes heavy to digest with ample of unwanted things, which we otherwise remove in open pot cooking method. Along with śāli rice, rotī made up of wheat flour or barley should be consumed. Sweet verity of Pomegranate is also good to consume in this season.      

Eating Bitter things

            Vegetables having bitter taste like bitter melon, pointed gourd, spreading hogweed should be consumed. Bitter taste itself pacifies pitta and also ghee. Thus ghee prepared or boiled with bitter drugs should also be consumed in these days. 

Purgation

            Purgation is treatment coming under pañchakarma known as virechana. Extra pitta, which is usually generated daily in our body, is excreted through feces. Thus if we forcefully evacuate the bowel with the help of certain drugs, extra increased pitta will also get removed along with that feces. Thus virechana which removes such increased pitta, is essential in this season.

Bloodletting therapy

            Pitta lives in rakta dhatu (compared with modern blood) in our body. Thus along with pitta, rakta is also vitiated in this season, causing various skin problems. To overcome this rakta duṣṭi i.e. impaired state of blood, rakta mokṣaṇa i.e. removing some amount (may be 100 cc) of blood from our blood vessels, which may be called as bloodletting therapy, is good practice. Thus rakta mokṣaṇa must be preferred in śarad season.  

Don’ts in śarad

            Oil, curd, yoghurt, sleep in day time, sun rays, sore, saline, pungent, vidāhi, hot all these increase pitta, so not to be consumed. Oily food means pāpada, bhaji, chips etc. Pungent also cover spicy things. Vidāhi foods are viz ḍhokalā, idalī, dosā, magi, pizza, burger, vadāpāva, dābelī etc. All these food items should be avoided as far as possible. 

Haṃsodaka/ Hansodaka – water in śarad

            In śarad water is heated by sunrays in day time and allowed to become cold in night by moon rays. Thus, water undergoes both heating and cooling processes. Due to this and also due to agastya udaya ( the star which emerges in space when sun is in 17^th degree in siṃha rāśi in late bhādrapada) water becomes purest and free of poison in śarad. Such water is termed as haṃsodaka, which should be used for drinking, bath, tub bath etc.  

Kojagiri/ Kojāgarti paurṇimā -  moon bath etc.

            In śarad season rātricharyā is also very specific. One should allow himself or herself to expose his/her body to moon rays. One should drink a moon rays processed milk. For this every one should go to terrace in night in pradoṣa kāla i.e ( first three hours of night may be from 7 to 10 Pm) and keep a pot containing milk open to allow to full expose to moon rays. Sitā i.e rock candy sugar should be added in this milk. It should be boiled enough to dissolve sugar and should be allowed to cool and then kept under moon rays. By this process milk which is previously sweet and cold becomes more sweet and cool, which pacifies pitta very effectively.

Joy & Fragrance : The pitta treatment

            Gossiping with friends and beloved ones, generates joy in mind, which is again useful in pacifying pitta. It is also very effective, as pitta which is vitiated due to mental stress, anger must be allowed to pacify by means of mental joy only. Flowers containing good fragrance, white, clean and beloved cloths should be used in this season.  Fragrance is also best treatment of pitta. 

            This article has been written for benefit of society. Wise people should follow it for getting health. Wish you all the best for śarad season.