By, Sheetal J paliwal
Research Journalist
As Bharat embraces the monsoon, ancient wisdom continues to guide the people of Rajasthan. Every year during Ashadha, a unique blend of ritual, astronomy, and agricultural forecasting unfolds in the region’s sacred spaces, a living testament to how Indian science and culture move together.
This Ashadha Purnima, the renowned Shrinathji Temple in Nathdwara performed its centuries-old Ashadhi Tol,the ritual weighing of grains before the deity. According to reports, this year’s Tuladaan indicates normal rainfall and an average harvest, bringing relief to farmers in Mewar who rely on timely monsoons for sowing millets, pulses and maize.
Not far from Nathdwara, the Dwarkadheesh Temple in Rajsamand too held its traditional Ashadhi weighing ceremony. Here, grains and sometimes even jaggery are weighed in symbolic balance, and priests interpret the results using ancient texts and local weather patterns. The Dwarkadheesh Ashadhi Tol matched Nathdwara’s prediction: a normal to above-normal monsoon, promising good ground moisture for the Kharif season.
Meanwhile, in Jaipur, the historic Jantar Mantar, built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, carried out its annual wind test (Pawan Pariksha) in this Ashadh. Using yantras like the Samrat Yantra and observing wind direction, cloud cover, and planetary alignments, local astronomers forecast steady rainfall for Jaipur and nearby regions, with peak showers expected during Shravan. These time-tested methods, from temple Tuladaans to observatory yantras reveal how Bharat’s ancient science was deeply local and community-driven. Long before satellite models, priests and local astrologers studied wind patterns, shadows, stars, and water levels to guide village sowing cycles, food storage, and monsoon festivals.
Even today, villagers in Mewar and Marwar watch these forecasts closely. Many adjust sowing dates, cattle grazing, and even cultural fairs around these predictions trusting their ancestors’ methods alongside modern IMD bulletins. As climate uncertainties sharpen, these rituals stand as more than just cultural heritage,they are proof that traditional ecological knowledge can coexist with modern science, offering communities a deeper connection to the land and seasons.