Shitala

"In central Punjab, Sitala Devi or the Cool One, the goddess of pustular diseases, was widely worshipped by Sikhs.* She was the eldest of seven sisters, a collectivity of disease goddesses, each of whom was responsible for inflicting and curing a particular disease. Since it was her wrath which caused the dreaded smallpox epidemic, devotees exercised considerable caution to contain her anger. The shrines of Sitala, often called than, which were found in almost every town and village, were frequented only by women and children, as men were not supposed to set foot within them. Represented bya clay image of a naked female riding on a donkey, she was also thought to dwell in the kikkar (Acacia arabica) tree.** It was not uncommon for women to water the roots of the tree in order to cool those suffering from the disease. The principal months during which Sitala was worshipped were April and May, possibly because the smallpox epidemic often erupted during the dry heat of the summer months.’” But devotees could start the worship cycle as early as spring and continue until late summer. The exact choice of months and days of worship varied greatly from region to region and depended on local customary practices. Once the epidemic struck,a series of rituals was undertaken to appease the goddess. Ibbetson, the premier ethnographer of Punjab, recorded these therapeutic rituals in the late nineteenth century: Sitala rides upon a donkey, and grain is given to the donkey and to his master, the potterat the shrine, after having been waved over the head of the child. Fowls, pigs, goats and coconuts are offered, black dogs are fed, and white cocks are waved and let loose. An adult who has recovered from small-pox, shouldlet a pig loose to Sitala, or he will again be attacked. During an attack no offerings are made; and if the epidemic has once seized upon village all worship is discontinued till the disease disappears.”"

"We have some interesting evidence from a court chronicle of the Sikh ruler of Kapurthala, Raja Fateh Singh (1785-1836), written in the mid 1830s, showing that, besides the peasantry, the elites too worshipped Sitala Devi. When Fateh Singh as a young prince was afflicted with smallpox the royal family arranged for the worship of the goddess, and on his being cured a thanksgiving ceremony was held in her honour.’ The same court chronicle from where we have this information also describes how in 1807 Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Raja Fateh Singh collectively undertook a pilgrimage to Jwalamukhi, in Kangra district, a shrine associated with sister of Sitala Devi in popular mythology.’ On arriving there they performed all the religious rites. Independently of this source we know that Ranjit Singh gave large amounts of money to the shrine and had its roof gilded in gold."