Shitala

Shitala (Sanskrit: शीतला, IAST: śītalā) lit. 'coolness', also spelled as Sheetala, śītalā and Seetla, is a Hindu goddess venerated primarily in North India. 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 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.
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.
Some 16th-century copies of the Skanda Purana's Kāśī Khaṇḍa section on Varanasi describe Shitala curing ailments like smallpox pustules:
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.
In Sanskrit, the name 'Shitala' (शीतला śītalā) literally means 'the one who cools.' An epithet of the mother goddess Devi revered in Hinduism, 'Shitala' represents the divine blessing of bestowing cool relief from the suffering of fever. The goddess Shitala is worshiped under varying names across the Indian subcontinent. Devotees most often refer to Shitala using honorific suffixes reserved for respected motherly figures, such as Shitala-Ma (Hindi: मां māṃ), Shitala-Mata (Sanskrit: माता mātā), and Shitala-Amma (Kannada: ಅಮ್ಮ am'ma). Shitala 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 Bengali 17th-century Shitala-mangal-kabyas ('auspicious poetry') written by Manikram Gangopadhyay) has contributed to popularising her worship.
Shitala Devi's worship is especially popular in the regions of North India specially by Jatavs, where she is traditionally identified as an aspect of goddess Parvati, the divine consort of Shiva. She too is said to reside in the neem tree, although she has special shrines and small temples that are in the charge of a devil- priest. In some places, like Muzaffarnagar, she is worshipped as Ujali Mata or the Bright Mother. 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. In addition to being addressed as 'Mother', Shitala 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 goddess), Dayamayi (she who is compassionate, full of grace, and kindness). In Gurgaon of Haryana, Shitala is considered to be Kripi (the wife of Drona) and worshipped in the Sheetla Mata Mandir Gurgaon. In South India, the functions of Sheetala is taken by the goddess incarnate Mariamman, who is widely worshipped by the Tamil people.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some of the notable temples: