| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
FC ; Half Title ; Title Page ; Copyright ; Contents ; List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Note on transliteration ; Abbreviations ; Months in north India; Introduction; 1. Śītalā, the Cold Mother ; The goddess Śītalā in Indian literature; Purāṇas and dharmanibandhas ; Tantric and āgamic literature ; The Bengali Śītalāmaṅgalkāvyas ; Bhakti gīti; Concluding remarks; 2. Visions of the goddess: Theiconography of Śītalā ; Aniconic mūrtis; Ethnographic vignette 1: Śrī Mātā Śītalā Devī Mandir, Gurgaon (Haryana) ; The water pitcher ; The broom and the winnower; Cephalomorphic mūrtis |
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Ethnographic vignette 2: The Agam Kuāṅ, Patna (Bihar) Ethnographic vignette 3: The Choṭa Mā Yātrā, Salkia (West Bengal) ; Zoomorphic and phytomorphic mūrtis; Equestrian mūrtis; The ass vāhana ; Ethnographic vignette 4: Śrī Dakṣiṇī Ādi Śītalā (Buṛhiyā Māī) Mandir, Banaras (Uttar Pradesh) ; Concluding remarks; 3. Hosting Mā, feeding Mā .Controversies around Śītalāpūjā ; Ethnographic vignette 5: Animal sacrifice: feeding and thanking the goddess ; Ethnographic vignette 6: Possession: bearing the visit of the goddess ; Ethnographic vignette 7: Mortification of the flesh: Śītalā meets Māriyammaṉ |
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Concluding remarks4. The smallpox myth and the creation of the goddess of smallpox ; Ethnographic vignette 8: The Baṛī Śītalā Mandir of Adalpura (Uttar Pradesh) ; Disease and ambiguity: The construction of the 'other' in the Bengali maṅgalkāvyas ; The consolidation of the smallpox myth: The struggle against smallpox ; Concluding remarks; 5. The Legacy of Śītalā ; After smallpox. The AIDS myth? ; Śītalā's shade in Calcutta: On a contemporary maṅgal novel ; The Durgāfication of the goddess. Śītalā in pop-devotional culture ; Concluding remarks; Concluding reflections |
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Appendix A. Śrīśītalāsaptamīvratakathā (ŚVK 9-14) Appendix B. Śrīśītalāsaptamīvrata of Skandapurāṇa (VR 310-311) ; Appendix C. Śītalāsaptamīvratakathā of Bhaviṣyapurāṇa (VR 310-313) ; Appendix D. Śītalāpūjāpaddhati of Picchilātantra ; Bibliography; Index |
| Summary |
This volume examines notions of health and illness in North Indian devotional culture, with particular attention paid to the worship of the goddess Sitala, the Cold Lady. Consistently portrayed in colonial and postcolonial literature as the ambiguous 'smallpox goddess', Sitala is here discussed as a protector of children and women, a portrayal that emerges from textual sources as well as material culture |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on May 20, 2020) |
| Subject |
Śītalā (Hindu deity)
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| SUBJECT |
Śītalā (Hindu deity) fast |
| Subject |
Hinduism -- India, North -- Rituals
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Health -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism.
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Religion: general.
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Hinduism.
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RELIGION -- Comparative Religion.
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Hinduism -- Rituals
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Health -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism
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| SUBJECT |
India, North -- Religious life and customs
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| Subject |
North India
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9781472598714 |
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1472598717 |
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9781472594563 |
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1472594568 |
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9781472598721 |
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1472598725 |
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