Shishira: eating and living through late winter
The coldest, driest stretch of the year. Ayurveda keeps the Hemanta routine going and adds more warmth and more oil, against the wind.
12 October 2026 · 3 min read
Reviewed by the Vapika team
शिशिर · mid-January to mid-March
Lohri bonfires, cracked heels, chapped lips and that biting wind off the fields: Shishira is winter at its sharpest. The texts treat it as Hemanta's twin, with the same care, turned up a notch.
When it falls
Shishira covers the lunar months of Magha and Phalguna, which is roughly mid-January to mid-March. It begins around Makar Sankranti and Lohri and runs to about Holi, when Vasanta, the spring, takes over.
What the season does
Shishira opens the "taking half" of the year (ādāna kāla). The sun turns north and, through the next three seasons, its heat and the dry winds are said to draw strength out of living things. For now, though, the cold still keeps the body's fire strong, and strength remains high, much as in Hemanta.
What changes is the air. Shishira adds dryness and wind to the cold. That is why the texts call for even more of what Hemanta needed: oil, warmth and unctuous food.
Shishira is also where the year's movement of Kapha begins. The cold and stillness let it gather, ready to loosen when the spring sun arrives.
Eating in Shishira
Tastes to favour: sweet, sour and salty, as in Hemanta, in warm, unctuous food.
Tastes to go easy on: pungent, bitter and astringent, and anything cold or very light. The texts name these specifically for Shishira, because they add to the dryness the season already brings.
| Lean towards | |
|---|---|
| Grains | Wheat, bajra, makki, rice; khichdi with ghee |
| Pulses | Urad and rajma, well cooked, tempered in ghee |
| Dairy | Ghee, milk, makkhan |
| Sweet | Gur, til and revri, panjiri, dates |
| Vegetables | Sarson and methi greens, carrots, peas, sweet potato |
| Fats | Ghee and sesame oil, in cooking and on the skin |
| Drinks | Warm water; warm milk with a pinch of haldi at night |
Go easy on: iced drinks and fridge-cold food, dry snacks and crackers on their own, and skipping meals.
The day in Shishira
- Oil, every day if you can. Warm sesame oil on the body before bathing, and a little on the soles of the feet at night. The dry wind takes moisture from the skin faster than anything else this season.
- Bathe warm, and cover up. The wind is the thing to keep out: scarves, covered ears, socks.
- Keep moving. Exercise still suits, and a brisk morning walk in the sun is the best of it.
- Warm rooms, warm bedding, and sitting by the fire or heater in the evenings.
Moving into Vasanta
As Holi nears, the sun strengthens and the Kapha that gathered all winter starts to loosen. In the ṛtusandhi, the fortnight that joins the two seasons, begin tapering the heaviest foods: less fried food, fewer sweets, less curd. Then start bringing in the lighter ways of spring (see the Vasanta guide). Change gradually rather than all at once.
A cup for the season
Something warming and unctuous: a tulsi-adrak kahwa through the day, and haldi doodh at night. A sesame-based blend suits the season's oiliness too.
Go gently
This is general guidance from a traditional system of wellbeing, not medical advice. 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).