Shitala
Hindu goddess
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 as an incarnation of the goddess Parvati and 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 Shitala Saptami and Shitala Ashtami, respectively.
Name and variants
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 17th-century Bengali-language Shitala Mangal-Kāvya (lit. 'auspicious poetry of Goddess Shitala') by Manikram Gangopadhyay - has contributed to popularising her worship.
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