Shitala

Sheetala (शीतला, IAST: ) "coolness", also spelled as Shitala 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. Sheetala 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 Sheetala on the seventh and eighth day of the Hindu month is referred to as the Sheetala Saptami and Sheetala Asthami, respectively . The deity is principally featured as a women’s goddess, portrayed as a mother who defends children from paediatric ailments, such as exanthemata. She also serves as a fertility goddess, who assists women in finding good husbands and the conception of healthy sons. Her auspicious presence promises the welfare of the family, and is also considered to protect the devotee's sources of livelihood. Sheetala is also summoned to ensure refreshing rainfall and the prevention of famines, droughts, as well as cattle diseases. The Skanda Purana describes her role: 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. In Sanskrit, the name 'Sheetala' (शीतला śītalā) literally means 'the one who cools'; as an epithet of the mother goddess or Devi revered in Hinduism, 'Sheetala' represents the divine blessing of bestowing relief from suffering, like how a cool breeze relieves the weary traveller on a sweltering day. Goddess Sheetala is worshipped under varying names across the Indian subcontinent. Devotees most often refer to Goddess Sheetala using honorific suffixes reserved for respected motherly figures, vis-à-vis Sheetala-Ma (Hindi: मां māṃ), Sheetala-Mata (Sanskrit: माता mātā), Sheetala-Amma (Kannada: ಅಮ್ಮ am'ma), etc.