When the Mountains Break: Himachal’s 2025 Rains, Landslides and “Janapadodhwansa”

Dinesh Vats[1], Yash Pal[2], Shobha Bharti[3]

In Charaka Samhita (Vimana Sthana, Ch. 3) Janapadodhwansa describes events where whole populations are afflicted not due to individual faults but because common factors shared by the community are vitiated: vāyu (air), jala/udaka (water), bhūmi/deśa (land), and kāla (season/time). Remedies include collective environmental correction, public-health measures and ritual/social actions intended to restore equilibrium. This is, in effect, a proto-epidemiological and public-health doctrine. Charaka Samhita+1

Sanskrit (Charaka, Vimana Sthana 3/6):

जनपदोध्वंस :

प्रकृत्यादिभिर्भावैर्मनुष्याणां येऽन्य भावाः सामान्यास्तद्वैगुण्यात् समानकालाः समानलिङ्गाश्च व्याधयोऽभिनिर्वर्तमाना जनपदमुद्वंसयन्ति। ते खल्विमे भावाः सामान्या जनपदेषु भवन्ति तद्यथा - वायुः, उदकं, देशः, काल इति।(Charaka Samhita — Vimana Sthana 3/6)

Translation :“When certain states or qualities in people — produced by shared natural causes — become common across a population (that is, when they show similar vitiation, occur at the same time, and present the same signs), diseases that affect the entire region emerge and destroy the community (janapada). The classical text identifies four such communal factors: vāyu (air/atmosphere), udaka/jala (water/hydrology), deśa (land/terrain), and kāla (season/time).”

Modern interpretation (short):Charaka is describing a proto-epidemiological principle: when environmental or seasonal drivers are commonly disturbed across a region (same quality of disturbance, at the same time, with similar indicators), population-level disease or disaster follows. Translating the four classical categories into contemporary terms:

• Vāyu (air) → atmospheric/meteorological forcing (e.g., extreme convection, cloudbursts).

• Jala / Udaka (water) → hydrological response (flash floods, riverine inundation, groundwater & channel changes).

• Deśa (land) → geomorphology and land-use (slope stability, deforestation, road cutting).

• Kāla (season/time) → timing and seasonality (altered monsoon onset, concentrated rainfall events).

  

  Infographic showing Charaka’s Four Factors mapped to modern drivers of Himachal monsoon hazards.

The 2025 Himachal event — key figures

Since the monsoon onset on 20 June 2025, intense and erratic rains triggered dozens of flash-floods, multiple cloudbursts and scores of landslides across Himachal Pradesh. The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) reported heavy human and economic losses: hundreds of deaths and damage in the thousands of crores of rupees, with extensive road and infrastructure disruption hampering relief operations. Relief agencies and national responders recorded blocked roads, isolated villages, damaged schools and ongoing rescue operations. Business Standard+2 ReliefWeb+2

Mapping Charaka’s four factors to modern causes

1. Vāyu (air / atmosphere) → Extreme meteorological forcing

   • Climate-driven shifts in monsoon dynamics, intensified convection and local cloudburst events produced exceptional rainfall rates that overwhelmed natural drainage and engineered channels. International and national reporting has linked the intensity and erratic timing of recent monsoons to broader climate change signals. AP News+1

     

     Himalayan mountains with clouds, mist, and shifting light in the sky, representing Vāyu (air/atmosphere) and atmospheric disturbance during monsoon. Photo credit: Mr. Vikas Thakur.(vksthakur23@gmail.com)

2. Jala (water) → River and groundwater response; flash floods

   • Rapid runoff in steep catchments, coupled with blocked or silted river channels, caused sudden inundations and flash floods that destroyed bridges and settlements close to rivers. ReliefWeb situation reports documented numerous flash floods and inundations disrupting supply lines. ReliefWeb

     

     This photo of the swollen, muddy river flowing under a bridge is highly suitable to represent Jala (water) in our Janapadodhwansa article — it visually conveys flooding, hydrological imbalance, and the destructive force of water during monsoon.(Origional Image from Gallery of Dr Shobha Bharti)

3. Bhūmi / Deśa (land / terrain) → Slope instability, land-use change

   • Hillside deforestation, unplanned construction on marginal slopes, road-cutting and changes in drainage paths amplified susceptibility to landslides. This anthropogenic destabilization of slopes converts heavy rain into deadly mass movements — precisely the “land” factor Charaka cautioned about. Investigative reports and local surveys during 2025 list landslides as a leading cause of damage and isolation. Countercurrents+1

     

     Partially collapsed mountain road in Himachal Pradesh showing exposed soil and slope failure after heavy monsoon rains, symbolizing Bhūmi (land) instability. Photo credit: Mr. Nitin Sharma (Nitinmandi007@gmail.com)

4. Kāla (season / time) → Altered seasonality and timing

   • Abnormal timing and intensity of rainfall — prolonged spells or concentrated cloudbursts — change how communities can anticipate and prepare for disasters. Charaka’s inclusion of time/seasonality as a communal determinant resonates strongly with modern concerns about changing monsoon behaviour. Charaka Samhita+1

     

     Rainbow arching across stormy monsoon sky over Himachal hills, photographed on August 18, 2025, symbolizing Kāla (season/time) and shifting monsoon patterns. (original Image From Gallery Dr Vats)

Lessons from the comparison

• Convergence of drivers. Charaka’s model helps us see how multiple shared environmental stressors interact: an “air” change (extreme rain) becomes deadly when “land” is destabilized and “water” pathways are obstructed at an unfortunate time (“kāla”). Modern disasters are rarely single-cause events. Charaka Samhita

• Public-health & public-policy parallels. Just as Charaka recommends community measures (hygiene, preserving environmental quality, ritual/collective action), modern responses must combine structural (slope stabilization, drainage, resilient roads), ecological (reforestation, land-use planning) and social (evacuation planning, local early-warning) interventions. ReliefWeb

Practical recommendations (policy + community)

1. Immediate: Rapid damage assessment, prioritized road clearances to restore medical/rescue access; temporary shelters with sanitation and water purification. (Already in practice but hampered by terrain.) ReliefWeb

2. Short-term (months): Rapid PDNA (Post-Disaster Need Assessment) to unlock central funds, rebuild resiliently (setbacks from riverbanks, engineered slope protection). The Times of India

3. Medium/Long term: Restrict construction on fragile slopes, enforce watershed management, reforest critical catchments, improve early-warning & community-level evacuation drills, and integrate traditional ecological knowledge in planning. Charaka’s emphasis on maintaining environmental purity and timing (ritucharya) translates to modern watershed and seasonal preparedness. Countercurrents+1

Conclusion

Charaka’s Janapadodhwansa is not merely an historical curiosity; it is a compact analytic lens reminding us that communal disasters result from the breakdown of shared environmental factors. Himachal’s 2025 monsoon tragedy is a contemporary enactment of that ancient warning: when the air, water, land and season go out of balance — and human actions amplify vulnerability — whole populations pay the price. The remedy, then as now, must be collective: ecological restoration, resilient infrastructure, anticipatory governance, and community preparedness.

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About Authors:

👤 Dr. Dinesh Vats

BAMS, Founder of Vatsaayush and drvats.com Dr. Dinesh Vats is an Ayurvedic physician and the founder of Vatsaayush and drVats.com. He focuses on integrative health, oncology, and public health, connecting classical Ayurvedic wisdom with modern challenges to promote holistic healthcare and community well-being.

👤 Dr. Yash Pal

PhD, Associate Professor, School of Aeronautical Sciences, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai. Dr. Yash Pal is a researcher and academic specializing in aerospace engineering. With expertise in aeronautical systems and environmental modeling, he brings an interdisciplinary perspective, linking atmospheric science and climate-related risks to disaster resilience.

👤 Dr. Shobha Bharti

BAMS, Trainee in General Medicine Dr. Shobha Bharti is an Ayurvedic doctor currently undergoing a two-year clinical training under Dr. Vats. She is passionate about blending Ayurvedic concepts with contemporary medical approaches for holistic patient care.