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 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 In Sanskrit, the name 'Shitala' (शीतला śītalā) literally means 'the one who coo

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