Sheetala Ashtami or Sheetalasthami is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

festival in honor of the goddess

Shitala Sheetala (, IAST: ) , 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, an ...

or Sheetala, celebrated on the eighth day (

ashtami Ashtami (अष्टमी ''aṣṭamī'') is the eighth day (Tithi) of Hindu lunar calendar. Festivals Krishna Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, an avatar of Hindu deit ...

) after the festival of colors,

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

. Sheetala Ashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of

Krishna Paksha Paksha (also known as ''pakṣa''; sa, पक्ष, Nepal Bhasa: ''thwa'' and ''gа̄''; ) refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the Ful ...

(the waning moon) in the

Hindu month The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

, and thus falls eight days after Holi. The festival falls at the start of the summer season; Shitala is worshipped to ward off heat-borne diseases, such as

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, and also to bring prosperity. Observances of the day involve offering to the goddess and consuming only food prepared one or two days before. For this reason, Sheetala Ashtami is referred to in some parts of India as Basora or Basoda, meaning "previous night".

Khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as ''swadeshi'' (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan ...

, panchkuta, khichiya, and sweetened rice are foods traditionally offered and consumed. After this day, stale food is not to be eaten.

References

{{Reflist Hindu festivals