Shitala Devi
Encyclopedia
Shitala also called Sitala (शीतला śītalā), is a Hindu goddess widely worshipped in North
India
, West Bengal
, Nepal
, Bangladesh
and Pakistan
as the pox-goddess. Shitala Devi literally means the cold Goddess.
. Śītalā is more often called mā or āmmā (‘mother’) and is worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and tribal communities. The goddess is mentioned in early Tantric and Purāṇic literature and her later appearance in vernacular texts (such as the Bengali 17th century Śītalā-maṅgal-kāvyas, ‘auspicious poetry’) has contributed to strengthen her role in village Hinduism. Śītalā is worshipped as a protector.
Shitala is primarily popular among the people of North India
and the Indian diaspora. In some traditions she is identified with an aspect of Parvati
, the consort of Shiva
. Ferrari (2009: 146-147) reports that Shitala is addressed with the following titles:
The role of Shitala in South India
is taken by the goddess Mariamman
, whom is worshipped by the Dravidian
-speaking people in the Subcontinent and abroad (i.e. in the West but particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia
, Bali
)
s and low caste pujaris. She is primarily worshipped in the dry seasons of winter and spring.
(Azadirachta indica) leaves, an ancient Ayurvedic medicinal herb that is very much an effective remedy to most skin diseases even today.
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as the pox-goddess. Shitala Devi literally means the cold Goddess.
Name and variants
Shitala is worshipped under different names all through the subcontinentIndian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. Śītalā is more often called mā or āmmā (‘mother’) and is worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and tribal communities. The goddess is mentioned in early Tantric and Purāṇic literature and her later appearance in vernacular texts (such as the Bengali 17th century Śītalā-maṅgal-kāvyas, ‘auspicious poetry’) has contributed to strengthen her role in village Hinduism. Śītalā is worshipped as a protector.
Shitala is primarily popular among the people of North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
and the Indian diaspora. In some traditions she is identified with an aspect of Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
, the consort of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. Ferrari (2009: 146-147) reports that Shitala is addressed with the following titles:
- The names implying a maternal condition: Mā, Ammā, Āi, Padmāvatī Mā (Mother [born from] a lotus],Baṛī Mā (Great Mother) and Moṭi Mā (Pearl Mother);
- The names implying a relation with a particular season: Vasanta Rāy (Queen of VasantaVasantaVasanta or Vasantha can mean* Vasanta, spring season in Hindu calendar.* Vasanta, a scouting group in the Netherlands, founded in 1933.* Vasanta was also the original name of the USS Aquamarine ....
), Vasanta Buṛī (the Beldam of Vasanta) and – among Munda speaking tribes – Māgh-boṅga (Spirit of Māgh); - Honorific titles: Ṭhākurāṇī (Notrê Dame), Jāgrānī (Queen of the World), Karuṇamāyī ([She who is] Full of Mercy), Maṅgalā (the Auspicious One), Bhagavatī (the Blessed One), Dayāmāyī ([She who is] Full of Grace).
The role of Shitala in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
is taken by the goddess Mariamman
Mariamman
Māri ,Tulu, also known as Mariamman , both meaning "Mother Mari", spelt also Maariamma , or simply Amman or Aatha is the South Indian Hindu goddess of disease and rain. She is the main South Indian mother goddess, predominant in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and...
, whom is worshipped by the Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
-speaking people in the Subcontinent and abroad (i.e. in the West but particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
)
Shitala puja
The worship of Shitala is conducted by both BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s and low caste pujaris. She is primarily worshipped in the dry seasons of winter and spring.
Iconography and symbolism
Shitala is accompanied by Jvarāsura, the fever demon, Olāi Caṇḍi/Olāi Bibi, the goddess of cholera, the Cauṣaṭṭī Rogas, the sixty-four epidemics, Gheṇṭukarṇa, the god of skin diseases, and Raktāvatī, the goddess of blood infections. Śītalā is represented as a young maiden crowned with a winnowing-fan, riding an ass, 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 aniconically represented with slab-stones or carved heads. Sometimes, she is said to be carrying a bunch of neemNeem
Azadirachta indica is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to India growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil...
(Azadirachta indica) leaves, an ancient Ayurvedic medicinal herb that is very much an effective remedy to most skin diseases even today.