The changes in the seasons are attributed by some to Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesha (Shiva), the gods of the Hindu Trinity. Brahma sends down the rains and produces corn, grass, etc., Vishnu protects and nourishes the harvests in winter, and Shiva causes the heat of the summer.[536] There is also a belief that these three gods go down in turns to the pātāl (nether regions) and stay there for four months. Vishnu descends on the eleventh day of the bright half of Āshādh, and on that day the rainy season begins. When Vishnu comes up and Shiva takes his place, people experience the cold of winter: but as this god always keeps a dhuni[537] burning near him, the waters under the surface of the earth, such as those in the wells, remain hot during this period. Such waters are cooled when Shiva returns and Brahma goes down to the pātāl: but the return of Shiva causes summer on the earth.[538]
According to another belief, the sequence of the seasons is controlled by the sun-god.[539] There are six ritus or seasons: and the changes in the ritus depend upon the position of the sun in the twelve rāshis or signs of the Zodiac.[540] Each ritu lasts for a period of two months, during which time the sun travels through two rāshis. Vasant-ritu is the period which the sun takes to pass through the Min (Pisces) and Mesha (Aries) rāshis. Grishma-ritu corresponds to the time during which the sun passes through Vrishabha (Taurus) and Mithun (Gemini). During Varshā-ritu the sun moves through the signs Karka (Cancer) and Sinha (Leo), and during Sharad-ritu through Kanyā (Virgo) and Tulā (Libra). Hemant-ritu is the time which the sun takes to travel through Vrishchika (Scorpio) and Dhanu (Sagittarius). Shishir-ritu occurs when the sun stands in the Makar (Capricornus) and Kumbha (Aquarius) rāshis.[541]
Indra (the god of rain), Varuna (the lord of all waters), Vāyu (the god of wind), Agni (the god of fire), and the moon-god are also believed by some to have power over the seasons.[542]
The belief is as old as the Vedas that demons sometimes obstruct the fall of rain, and confine the waters of the clouds. It is Indra who fights with them and breaks through their castles by means of his thunderbolt, sending down showers of rain for the benefit of his worshippers. So, whenever there is an unusual drought, people still invoke the aid of this god, and celebrate a festival in his honour, called Ujjani or Indramahotsava. Homas[543] are performed to propitiate the god, and Brahmans are entertained at a feast. Sometimes the festival is celebrated outside the village, where people go in large parties to dine together. The usual dish on such an occasion is Meghlādu or sweet balls of wheat-flour fried in ghi.
Another favourite ceremony supposed to cause rain to fall is the submersion of the image of Shiva in water, by blocking up the khāl or passage in the Shiva-linga by which water poured over the image usually runs off.[542] This ceremony is known as Jala-jātrā. Rudrābhisheka, or the ceremony of pouring water in a constant stream over the image of Shiva for eleven consecutive days and nights, is sometimes performed with the same object.[544]
Sometimes the assistance of Shringhi rishi is invoked to bring about a fall of rain. The rishi is installed in water, mantras are recited, and prayers are offered before a sacrificial fire. This ceremony, called Parjanya-shānti, is said to have been performed within recent years in Bombay, and to have been successful in bringing rain.[545]
It is also said that rainfall can be caused by singing a song or a sacred hymn to the malār tune. There is a tradition that the well-known saint Narsinha Mehta once sang this tune on the occasion of the celebration of the first pregnancy of his daughter, and the performance was immediately followed by a shower of rain. Rain, which is brought down in this manner, can be put a stop to by singing to a different tune.[546]
Low-caste women have recourse to the following expedient to bring rain. Five or six of them place a quantity of muddy earth on a wooden stool, which is carried by one of them. The lump of mud is covered with leaves of the Gidotān or Tindotān creeper, and is called mehulo or meghalo. The whole party then sing songs, and visit every house in the village. A bowl of water is poured over the mehulo and the women receive some corn for their trouble.[547]
Some believe that when the worship of the village-gods is neglected and when the people grow corrupt, ill-treat the saints and are given to the killing of cows and Brahmans, Yama, the God of Death, directs his colleagues, Indra and Varuna, to threaten the world with a drought. The rainfall returns only when the people revert to righteous ways, and after Indra and Varuna have been conciliated by offerings.
The lower classes of the people believe a prolonged cessation of rain to be due to the wrath of local minor deities, aroused by the neglect of their worship. In such a contingency, therefore, they prepare bāklan[548] of uḍad (lentils), lāpsi,[549] vadān[550] and other dishes, and offer them to the local gods for their propitiation.[551]