Shitala

Shitala literally means "one who cools" in Sanskrit. Shitala is worshiped under different names in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. Shitala is more often called Ma and Mata (‘mother’) and is worshiped by Hindus, Buddhists and tribal 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 strengthen her status.[2]

Shitala is primarily popular in regions of North India. In some traditions she is identified with an aspect of Parvati, the consort of Shiva. Shitala is addressed as Mother, as a seasonal goddess (Vasant, i.e. Spring) and 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 Full of Grace and Kindness').[3] The role of Shitala in South India is taken by the Goddess incarnate Mariamman, who is worshiped by Dravidian-speaking people.

In Gurgaon of Haryana state, Shitala is considered to be Kripi (wife of Guru Dronacharya) and worshiped there in Sheetla Mata Mandir Gurgaon.[4]

The worship of Shitala is conducted by both Brahmins and pujaris. She is primarily worshiped in the dry seasons of winter and spring on the day which is known as Sheetala Satam. There are many arti sangrah and stuties for the puja of Maa Shitala. Some of them are Shri Shitla Mata Chalisa, Shitala Maa ki Arti, and Shri Shitala Mata Ashtak.

Image of Shitala

Shitala is represented as a young maiden crowned with a winnowing-fan, riding a donkey, holding a short broom (either to spread or dust off germs) and a pot full of pulses (the viruses) or cold water (a healing tool). Among low-caste Hindus and tribal communities, she is represented with slab-stones or carved heads. Sometimes, she is said to be carrying a bunch of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves, a medicinal herb used throughout India since ancient times that is believed by some to be an effective remedy to most skin diseases to this day.

Shitala is the form of folk demi-goddess Katyayani. She gives coolness to the patients of fever. According to Devi Mahatyam, when a demon named Jvarasura gave bacterial fever to all the children, goddess Katyayani came in the form of Shitala to purify children's blood and to destroy the bacteria of fever in blood. In Sanskrit 'jvara' means "fever" and 'shītala' means "coolness". Shitala is sometimes also depicted with Jvarasura, the fever demon; Ghentu-debata, the god of skin diseases; Raktabati, the goddess of blood infections and the sixty-four epidemics; and is often worshiped with Oladevi, another disease goddess (some say of cholera).[5]

She is also depicted enthroned in an 8 handed form holding trident, broom, discus (cakra), jar of abrasia or pot full of water, branches of neem, Scimitar, conch and vard mudra. She is also flanked by 2 donkeys. This depiction has established her as a goddess of protection, good fortune, health, and power.

In Buddhist culture, 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.[6]

Shitala Makara Dham (Tilochan Mahadev, Jaunpur)

Some of the notable temples:

• Sheetala Mata birthplace Magdha, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda
• Sheetla Mata Mandir, Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh
• Sheetla Mata Mandir, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
• Sheetala Chaukia Dham Mandir, Jaunpur
• Sheetla Mata Temple, Khanda, Sonipat
• Maa Sheetala Makara Dham, Jaunpur
• Shree Sheetla Mata Mandir, Adalpura, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
• Shitla Mata Mandir, Jalore, Rajasthan
• Sheetla Mata Temple, Reengus, Rajasthan
• Sheetala Mata Mandir, Garia, Kolkata
• Sheetla Mata Mandir, Una, Himachal Pradesh
• Sheetla Mata Mandir, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh
• Harulongpher Shitalabari, Lumding, Nagaon, Assam
• Shitala Mata Mandir, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
• Sheetala Mata Mandir, Kaushambhi, Uttar Pradesh
• Shitala Mata Mandir, Nizambad, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh
• Sheetala Mata Mandir, Barmer, Rajasthan
• Sheetla Mata Mandir, Bidhlan, Sonipat
• Shitala Devi Temple, Gurgaon[7][8][9]
• Shitala Maa Temple, Samta
• Shitala Maa Temple Mand, Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
• Shitla Devi Mandir, Mahim, Mumbai[10][11]

• Kali
• Māri or Mariamman
• Isakki
• Rangda
• Jvarasura

• 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. and 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.