Ṛtu Cakra

[Radhakrishna Warrier]

As the six-spoked wheel of the seasons turns, I see signs of an imminent spring here. 🙂.

I have always wondered why ancient Indian literature mentions six seasons (ṛtu-s).  Even here in the middle of the temperate zone, we experience only four seasons namely spring, summer, autumn and winter. In tropical Kerala, there is practically only one season - an eternal summer interspersed with monsoon rains, that arrive not necessarily during only monsoon.  In the plains of India, there could be two seasons, a mild winter and a hot summer.  Spring and autumn, if they exist, are too short to be of significance. In such a climatic zone, where are the six seasons?  Are they there even in the Himalayan valleys like Kashmir?

Regards,

Radhakrishna Warrier

[Bijoy Misra]

Dear friends,

As I had indicated earlier, a few friends have started studying the RgVeda Samhita since last year.

My personal goal has been to track the origin of words as much I can.   We are in Suukta 83 now. We cover

six to ten stanzas in a session of two hours.

The most important observation that we have made so far is the nomenclature of objects. I as a person

get extreme delight to read and appreciate the names of varieties of fire, wind, cooked food, wealth, strength

and more.  There is natural physics and cognitive perception to specify an object property and then use

sound (वर्ण)  to label it.  It appears that there is critical effort to distinguish objects such that there is precision

in communication. 

I wanted to mention this in the context of the perception and terminology of seasons as proposed here.

This possibly has to do with the neurological object perception in the brain.  A short man is different than a

tall man, they are two different objects.  That they are in the same class of "man" is a deduction and not

an observation.  The same is possibly true for all objects as much the brain can distinguish to resolve.

The limitation of resolution appears to be the principal factor in classification.   As some may see, this

has larger consequences in creating the classification as a basis in scientific thinking.  

Best regards,

Bijoy Misra

  

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