On Sheetala Ashtami, devotees worship Sheetala Mata, the one who saves people from diseases such as chicken-pox, measles and other heat-borne diseases.
The eighth day in the month of Chaitra (Purnimant calendar) or Phalguna (Amanta calendar), Krishna Paksha is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Sheetala. This festival is also known as Basoda and is celebrated in states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
On this day, devotees worship Sheetala Mata, the one who saves people from diseases such as chicken-pox, measles, and other heat-borne diseases.
The pictorial depiction of the Goddess shows her with either four or two hands. When she is shown having four hands, she holds a broom, a dustpan, neem leaves, and a pitcher. And when she is shown having two hands, she holds a broom in one hand, and a pitcher on the other. Mounted on a donkey, the Mother Goddess blesses her devotees and wards off all kinds of heat-generated illnesses.
Devotees do not light fire on this day to cook, and hence, they consume food prepared on the previous day. Moreover, they prepare a dish made of rice and jaggery or sugarcane juice on Saptami Tithi for the Goddess as Naiveidhya.
How to perform Sheetala Mata Puja?
Rise early, take a bath and wear clean clothes.
Do Dhyana or meditation and invoke Goddess Sheetala.
Seek her blessings and request her to accept your humble prayers and offerings.
Then prepare the thaalis for the puja. Make a lamp with wheat flour dough but do not light it. Make a pack of other offerings such as sindoor, mehendi, haldi, kumkum, akshat, flowers, paan supari, currency coins, coconut with its husk, bananas or any other fruit. Prepare another thaali for the Naivedhya and also fill water in a Kalash.
Hail the Mother Goddess and seek her blessings after offering the Naivedhya.
Perform the aarti to conclude the puja and then distribute the prasad. You may then consume the food prepared on the previous day.
Details of this years Sheelata Ashtami:
Ashtami Tithi began at 3:19 AM on March 16 and shall end at 2:59 AM on March 17.
You can perform the puja any time between 6:29 AM to 06:30 PM today.
Courtesy: https://www.timesnownews.com
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