Shitala

Hindu goddess

Shitala

Goddess of Ailments[1]

The goddess Shitala on Jvarasura

Affiliation| Devi
Parvati
Weapon| Broom, hand fan, water pot (medicinal water for cure for diseases)
Mount| Jvarasur (donkey)
Festivals| Sheetala Asthami
Consort| Shiva

Shitala (Sanskrit: शीतला, IAST: śītalā) lit. 'coolness', also spelled as Sheetala, śītalā and Seetla, is a Hindu goddess venerated primarily in North India.[2] She is regarded to be an incarnation of the goddess Parvati. She is believed to cure poxes, sores, ghouls, pustules, and diseases, and most directly linked with the disease smallpox. Shitala is worshipped on Tuesday[3] Saptami and Ashtami (the seventh and eighth day of a Hindu month), especially after Holi during the month of Chaitra. The celebration of the goddess Shitala on the seventh and eighth day of the Hindu month is referred to as the Sheetala Saptami and Sheetala Asthami, respectively.[4]

## Mythology

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The deity is typically depicted as a mother who defends children from paediatric ailments, such as exanthemata and smallpox. She also serves as a fertility goddess that assists women in finding good husbands and conceiving healthy children. Her auspicious presence promises the welfare of the family and is considered to protect the devotee's sources of livelihood. Shitala is also summoned to ensure refreshing rainfall and the prevention of famines, droughts, and cattle diseases.[5]

Some 16th-century copies of the Skanda Purana's Kāśī Khaṇḍa section on Varanasi describe Shitala curing ailments like smallpox pustules:[6]

> For the sake of quelling boils and blisters (of smallpox) and for the sake of the children, a devotee takes Masūra lentils by measures and grinds them. Due to the power of Śītalā, children become free from the disease.

> — Skanda Purana, Chapter 12

The earliest Bengali language poems on Shitala were composed in Saptagram in 1690. 18th-century compositions from Midnapore, West Bengal led to Shitala's increasing prominence in religious worship. During this period, conflicts between the Maratha Empire and British East India Company led to famines that increased the mortality of smallpox cases.[7]

## Name and variants

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In Sanskrit, the name Sheetala (शीतला śītalā) literally means 'the one who cools.' An epithet of the mother goddess Devi revered in Hinduism, 'Sheetala' represents the divine blessing of bestowing cool relief from the suffering of fever. The goddess Sheetala is worshiped under varying names across the Indian subcontinent. Devotees most often refer to Sheetala using honorific suffixes reserved for respected motherly figures, such as Sheetala-Ma (Hindi: मां māṃ), Sheetala-Mata (Sanskrit: माता mātā), and Sheetala-Amma (Kannada: ಅಮ್ಮ am'ma). Sheetala is revered by Hindus, Buddhists, and Adivasi communities. She is mentioned in Tantric and Puranic literature, and Her later appearance in vernacular texts - such as the 17th-century Bengali-language Sheetala Mangal-Kāvya (শীতলা মঙ্গলকাব্য, Lit. 'auspicious poetry of Goddess Sheetala') by Manikram Gangopadhyay - has contributed to popularising Her worship.[8]

In North India, Sheetala Devi's worship is especially popular among Jatavs communities,[9] where She is traditionally identified as an aspect of Goddess Parvati, the Divine Consort of Lord Shiva. She is also closely associated with the neem tree \- the leaves and flowers of which are used as naivedya (sacred offerings) at Sheetala Devi shrines and temples. In some places, like Muzaffarnagar, worshippers pray to Her using the divine epithet 'Mā Ujalī Devī' (माँ उजली देवी, 'Divine Mother of Brightness'). Other shrines are located at Sikandarpur; in Bijnor, Raewala, Dehra Dun and in Jalon. These Goddesses seem to have been worshipped for many centuries by the Chamars as has been documented.[9] In addition to being addressed as 'Mother', Sheetala Devi is also revered with honorific titles such as Thakurani, Jagrani (Queen of the World), Karunamayi (She Who Is Full of Mercy), Mangala (The Auspicious One), Bhagavati (The Revered Goddess), Dayamayi (She Who Is Compassionate, Full of Grace, and Kindness).[10] In Gurgaon, Haryana, Sheetala is considered to be Kripi (the wife of Drona) and worshipped in the Sheetla Mata Mandir Gurgaon.[11] In South India, Sheetala Devi is revered as the goddess incarnate Mariamman, widely worshipped by Tamil people.

## Sheetala Puja

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Sheetala is primarily worshiped by women on Sitalastami, the eighth day of Phalguna, the eleventh month of the Hindu lunar calendar, which typically falls between mid-February and late March, as established by Raghunandana because the long, dry nights are associated with deaths from smallpox.[7] There are many arti sangrah and stutis for the puja of Seetala. Some of them are Shri Shitla Mata Chalisa, Shitala Maa ki arti, and Shri Shitala Mata ashtak.

According to common belief, many families do not light their stoves on Ashtami/Saptami day, and all devotees cheerfully eat cold food (Cooked the previous night) in the form of prasada. The idea behind this is that as spring fades and summer approaches, cold food should be avoided.[12]

Sheetala Mata Pooja

Sheetala is primarily worshiped by women on Sitalastami, the eighth day of Phalguna, which typically falls between mid-February and late March. The worship is rooted in ancient customs, as established by Raghunandana, due to the association of this period with smallpox and seasonal transition.

Devotees often recite various hymns and prayers during the puja, such as Shitala Mata Chalisa, Shitala Maa ki Aarti, and Shitala Mata Ashtak. [1]

## Iconography and symbolism

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Image of Shitala

### Traditional depictions

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Shitala is traditionally represented as a young maiden crowned with a winnowing fan, riding a donkey, and holding a short broom to spread the content of her pot full of viral pustules or cold water of immortality. In smaller rural shrines built by Adivasi and Bahujan communities, Shitala may be simply represented by smooth stone slabs with painted facial features and decorative adornments donated by devotees. Notably, references to neem leaves are ubiquitous in Shitala's liturgy and also appear in her iconography, suggesting an early understanding of Azadirachta indica as a medicinal plant. Moreover, neem leaves are extensively mentioned in the Sushruta Samhita, where it is listed as an effective antipyretic, as well as a remedy for certain inflammatory skin conditions.

Shitala is a form of Goddess Katyayani. She provides coolness to feverish patients. According to the Devi Mahatmyam, when an asura named Jvarasura gave bacterial fever to all the children, the goddess Katyayani arrived in her avatar of Shitala to purify the children's blood by ridding them of the fever-causing bacteria, and vanquishing the evil Jvarasura. In Sanskrit jvara means 'fever', and shītala means 'coolness'. In North Indian iconography, Shitala is often depicted with Jvarasura as her eternal servant. Other deities often worshiped alongside Shitala Devi include Ghentu-debata, the god of skin diseases; Raktabati , the goddess of blood infections and the sixty-four epidemics; and Oladevi, a cholera-associated disease goddess.[13]

She is also depicted enthroned in an eight-handed form holding a trident, broom, discus (chakra), pot of viral pustules and healing water, branches of neem, scimitar, conch. and a hand depicting varadamudra. She is also flanked by two donkeys. This depiction has established her as a goddess of protection, good fortune, health, and power.

### Smallpox eradication

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Shitala is historically understood as causing smallpox among non-believers, providing them an opportunity for reflection. Based on her religious role of healing those that make offerings to others recovering from illness, the World Health Organization's efforts to distribute smallpox vaccines initially faced resistance as local people saw vaccination as an attempt by Western science to circumvent Hindu religious order. To combat this perception, the international Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) produced posters depicting Shitala with a vaccination needle to reinterpret immunization as derived from Shitala's power.[14]

## Buddhism

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In Buddhist legends, Jvarasura and Shitala are depicted sometimes as companions of Paranasabari, the Buddhist goddess of diseases. Jvarasura and Shitala are shown escorting her to her right and left side, respectively.[15]

## Shitala temples in India

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Shitala Makara Dham (Tilochan Mahadev, Jaunpur) Interior of the Shitala temple at Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Some of the notable temples:

* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Mand, Dist. – Mandla, MP
* Sheetala Mata birthplace, Maghra, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda, Bihar
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Mehandi Ganj, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, PitaMaheshwar Kund, Gaya, Bihar
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh
* Rejidi Khejdi Mandir, (Kajra, near Surajgarh, Jhunjunu district) Rajasthan
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
* Sheetala Chaukiya Dham Sheetala mata Mandir, Jaunpur
* Sheetala Mata Mandir Gurgaon
* Sheetala Mata Temple, Khanda, Sonipat
* Maa Sheetala chaukiya Dham, Jaunpur
* Shree Sheetala Mata Mandir, Adalpura, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
* Shitla Mata Mandir, Jalore, Rajasthan
* Sheetala Mata Temple, Reengus, Rajasthan
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Garia, Kolkata
* Adi Shitala Mandir, Kalikapur, Kolkata
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Una, Himachal Pradesh
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh
* Harulongpher Shitalabari, Lumding, Nagaon, Assam
* Shitala Mata Mandir, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
* Shitala Mata Mandir, Nagaur, Rajasthan
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Kaushambhi, Uttar Pradesh
* Shitala Mata Mandir, Nizambad, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Barmer, Rajasthan
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Bidhlan, Sonipat
* Sheetala Mata Mandir, Farrukhabad
* Shitala Devi Temple, Gurgaon[16][17][18]
* Shitala Maa Temple, Samta
* Sheetala Mata Mandir Anjaniya, Mandla 481998
* Shitla Devi Mandir, Mahim, Mumbai[19][20]
* Shitala Mandir, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
* Shitla Devi Mandir, Chembur, Mumbai
* Shitala Devi Mandir, Barad, Maharashtra.[21]
* Sheetala Devi Mandir, Ranibagh, Nainital, Uttarakhand[22]
* Ma Shitala mandir Bakrahat 24 parganas (South), West Bengal

## See also

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* Lakshmi
* Vishnu
* Ashvins
* Sita
* Dhanvantari

## Notes

[edit]

* Arnold, D. (1993) Colonizing the Body: State Medicine and Epidemic Disease in Nineteenth-Century India, Berkeley, University of California Press.
* Auboyer, J. and M.T. de Mallmann (1950). ‘Śītalā-la-froide: déesse indienne de la petite vérole’, Artibus Asiae, 13(3): 207–227.
* Bang, B.G. (1973). 'Current concepts of the smallpox goddess Śītalā in West Bengal', Man in India, 53(1):79–104.
* Kinsley, D. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition
* Dimock, E.C. Jr. (1982) 'A Theology of the Repulsive: The Myth of the Goddess Śītalā', in J.S. Hawley and D.M. Wulff (eds), The Divine Consort: Rādhā and the Goddesses of India, Berkeley, University of California Press, 184–203
* Ferrari, Fabrizio M. (2009). "Old rituals for new threats. The post-smallpox career of Sitala, the cold mother of Bengal". In Brosius, C. & U. Hüsken (eds.), Ritual Matters, London & New York, Routledge, pp. 144–171.
* Ferrari, Fabrizio M. (2015). Religion, Devotion and Medicine in North India. The Healing Power of Śītalā. London: Bloomsbury.
* Inhorn, M.C. and P.J. Brown (eds) (2005). The Anthropology of Infectious Disease. International Health Perspectives, Amsterdam, Routledge.
* Junghare, I.Y. (1975) 'Songs of the Goddess Shitala: Religio-cultural and Linguistic Features', Man in India, 55(4): 298–316.
* Katyal, A.; N. Kishore (2001) 'Performing the goddess: sacred ritual into professional performance', The Drama Review, 45(1), 96–117.
* Kolenda, P. (1982) 'Pox and the Terror of Childlessness: Images and Ideas of the Smallpox Goddess in a North Indian Village', in J.J. Preston (ed.), Mother Worship, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 227–250
* Mukhopadhyay, S.K. (1994) Cult of Goddess Śītalā in Bengal: An Enquiry into Folk Culture, Calcutta, Firma KLM.
* Nicholas, R. (2003). Fruits of Worship. Practical Religion in Bengal, Chronicle Books, New Delhi.
* Stewart, T.K. (1995) 'Encountering the Smallpox Goddess: The Auspicious Song of Śītalā', in D.S. Lopez, Jr. (ed.), Religious of India in Practice, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 389–397.
* Wadley, S.S. (1980), 'Śītalā: The Cool One', Asian Folklore Studies, 39: 33–62.

## References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shitala.

1. ^ "Shitala, Sitala, Śītalā, Sītala, Śītala: 24 definitions". 3 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
2. ^ Folk Religion: Change and Continuity Author Harvinder Singh Bhatti Publisher Rawat Publications, 2000 Original from Indiana University Digitized 18 June 2009 ISBN 9788170336082
3. ^ Chaudhari, Ram Gopal Singh (1917). Rambles in Bihar. Express Press. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
4. ^ "Sheetala Saptami 2022: आज है शीतला सप्तमी का व्रत, मान्यतानुसार इस तरह की जाती है फल पाने के लिए पूजा". 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
5. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (3 August 2014). "Shitala, Sitala, Śītalā, Sītala, Śītala: 24 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
6. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (12 October 2020). "The Greatness of Śītalā [Chapter 12]". www.wisdomlib.org. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
7. ^ a b Nicholas, Ralph W. (November 1981). "The Goddess Śītalā and Epidemic Smallpox in Bengal". The Journal of Asian Studies. 41 (1): 21–44\. doi:10.2307/2055600. JSTOR 2055600. PMID 11614704. S2CID 8709682.
8. ^ Mukherjee, Sujit (1998). A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125014539. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
9. ^ a b Narayan, Badri (7 November 2006). Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 978-93-5280-057-5. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
10. ^ Ferrari (2009: 146–147)
11. ^ Kapur, Manavi (23 April 2016). "Finding Guru Dronacharya in 'Gurugram'". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018 – via Business Standard.
12. ^ "घर-घर पूजी जाएंगी शीतला माता,जानिए पूजा का महत्व और आराधना मंत्र". 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
13. ^ Nicholas, Ralph W (2003). Fruits of worship: practical religion in Bengal By Ralph W. Nicholas. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788180280061. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
14. ^ Aboitiz, Nicole Cuunjieng; Manela, Erez (20 May 2020). "Interview – Toynbee Coronavirus Series: Erez Manela on the WHO, Smallpox Eradication, and the Need for Renewed Internationalism". Toynbee Prize Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
15. ^ Mishra, P. K (1999). Studies in Hindu and Buddhist art By P. K. Mishra. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 9788170173687. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
16. ^ "Shri Mata Sheetla Devi Temple". Archived from the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
17. ^ "Sheetala Mata Temple in Gurgaon". religiousportal.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
18. ^ "Sheetala Devi Mandir in Gurgaon city, Haryana". hinduismtheopensourcefaith.blogspot.in. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
19. ^ "मुम्बई का शीतला मंदिर: हर धर्म के लोग आते हैं दर्शन करने जानिए, क्या है खासियत?". punjabkesari. 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
20. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024. [user-generated source]
21. ^ "बारडच्या शितलादेवी नवरात्र महोत्सवावर करोनाचे सावट, आईच सांभाळून नेईल अशी भाविकांची ठाम श्रद्धा" (in Marathi). Retrieved 12 February 2021.[permanent dead link]
22. ^ "शीतला देवी मंदिर, रानीबाग". Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.

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