Virechan in Sharad ritu: why October and November are the time for it

In Ayurveda each dosha follows the seasons in three steps: it collects in one season, flares in the next and settles in the one after. For pitta, the dosha of heat and digestion, the steps fall like this:

• Varsha, the monsoon. Pitta collects. The rains are cool and damp and digestion is weak, so pitta builds up without showing much.
• Sharad, the autumn. Pitta flares. The skies clear and the sun is strong again, the October heat everyone in Pune knows, and a body that has grown used to the cool of the rains is suddenly heated.
• Hemant, the early winter. Pitta settles of its own accord as the cold sets in.

The Charaka Samhita’s chapter on the seasons gives three measures for Sharad: bitter medicated ghee, purgation, and bloodletting. All three bring pitta down. The purgation is Virechan, and because it clears pitta at the point where it is flaring, the texts place it in this season.

Ayurveda links the complaints of this time of year to pitta: acidity and heartburn, rashes and itching, a flare of acne or boils, burning in the eyes, loose motions, and a short temper. These are common in October and do not by themselves mean you need Virechan. Whether you do is decided at a consultation, after a detailed history.

1. Consultation. The doctor takes a history and decides whether Virechan suits you, or whether a milder measure or medicine alone is enough.
2. Ghee by mouth. Medicated ghee is taken in the morning on an empty stomach for several days, the dose rising each day. Many people find this the hardest part: the ghee is heavy and the appetite drops.
3. Oil massage and steam. Abhyangam and a steam bath loosen what is to be cleared.
4. The Virechan day. The purgative medicine is taken in the morning. Bowel motions follow through the day while you rest, near a toilet.
5. The graded diet. Thin rice gruel first, then thicker gruel and moong soup, then ordinary food, in steps over several days. The diet is part of the treatment, not an extra.

In the classical scheme the whole course, from the first dose of ghee to ordinary meals, takes between ten days and a little over two weeks. The doctor sets the days for each person.

At the clinic, Virechan is advised for:

• Hyperacidity and acid reflux
• Skin disease
• Obesity, as part of a programme
• Preparation before planning a pregnancy
• A general seasonal cleanse

One patient of the clinic reported relief from hyperacidity for at least two years after Virechan. Results differ from person to person.

Virechan is not given during pregnancy, in weakness or dehydration, or during a fever or diarrhoea. People with bleeding from the bowel or other bowel disease are assessed first, and the cleansing procedures are not given to young children or the very elderly.

If you take medicine for diabetes, blood pressure or the thyroid, tell the doctor. Do not stop it on your own: the course is planned around it.

Where the main complaint is of vata, such as joint or back pain, Basti is usually the better choice.

The season’s routine still helps. The classical advice for Sharad is:

• Light meals with sweet, bitter and astringent tastes: rice, moong, amla and gourds such as parwal
• Less curd, sour and fermented food, fried food and strong spices, all of which raise pitta
• No sleeping in the day, and less time in the midday sun
• Cool evenings in the moonlight, which is the spirit of the masala milk of Kojagiri Purnima

None of this replaces Virechan for someone who needs it, but it keeps the season’s pitta from building further.