Grishma: eating and living through summer
The sun takes more than it gives. Ayurveda's summer advice is to eat sweet, cool and light, drink plenty, and rest through the hottest hours.
12 October 2026 · 3 min read
Reviewed by the Vapika team
ग्रीष्म · mid-May to mid-July
The loo wind, power cuts, shikanji and sattu, mangoes by the crate: Grishma is the season India has always met with cooling food and long afternoon rests. The classical texts recommend much the same.
When it falls
Grishma covers the lunar months of Jyeshtha and Ashadha, which is roughly mid-May to mid-July. That is the peak of the North Indian summer, up to the first monsoon rains.
What the season does
Grishma is the last and harshest season of the "taking half" (ādāna kāla). The sun is at its strongest, and the hot, dry winds are said to draw moisture and strength out of everything. So strength is at its lowest of the year, and the body tires quickly in the heat.
For the doshas:
- Kapha, which troubled spring, settles in the heat.
- The dryness and depletion let Vata begin to gather. It will stir with the rains.
The texts' answer is to give back what the sun takes: moisture, coolness and sweetness.
Eating in Grishma
Tastes to favour: sweet (madhura) above all, in food that is light, cool, unctuous and liquid.
Tastes to go easy on: salty, sour and pungent, and anything hot, heavy or fried.
| Lean towards | |
|---|---|
| Grains | Rice (with a little ghee), barley, light rotis |
| Pulses | Moong, as a thin dal |
| Dairy | Milk, chilled after boiling; ghee in small amounts; fresh chaach (buttermilk) |
| Fruit | Mango, melons, grapes, pomegranate, phalsa, bael |
| Vegetables | Gourds (lauki, tori), cucumber, pumpkin |
| Drinks | Plenty of cool (not iced) water, sattu drinks, aam panna, rose or khus sherbet, coconut water |
| Herbs | Fennel (saunf), coriander, mint, cardamom: the cooling spices |
Go easy on: chillies and hot spices, pickles, very salty snacks, fried food, alcohol, and hot drinks in the heat of the day.
The day in Grishma
- Rest in the afternoon. This is the one season in which the texts approve of sleeping during the day. Keep it short, in a cool room.
- Exercise lightly, early in the morning or late in the evening, never in the midday sun.
- Stay cool: loose cotton and light colours. The texts mention sandalwood paste on the skin, cool baths, and evenings out under the open sky.
- Drink through the day, not only when thirsty.
Moving into Varsha
When the monsoon breaks, digestion drops further and the weather turns damp. Over the ṛtusandhi fortnight, cut back on cold drinks and raw food. Make sure drinking water is boiled, and start bringing warmth back into meals with ginger and cumin (see the Varsha guide).
A cup for the season
Something cool and floral rather than spiced. A hibiscus or spearmint brew, made as a cold brew, or a saunf-led blend after meals.
Go gently
This is general guidance from a traditional system of wellbeing, not medical advice. In extreme heat, follow official heat advisories, and get medical help for signs of heatstroke. If you are pregnant, nursing, managing a health condition or taking medicine, speak to your doctor before changing your diet or routine.
From the texts
- Charaka Saṃhitā, Sūtrasthāna 6 (Tasyāśitīya Adhyāya).
- Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya, Sūtrasthāna 3 (Ṛtucaryā Adhyāya).