Śītalā

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Śītalā. Goddess of pustular diseases, dominant in Bengal. Her līlā (play) is to sweep through the countryside with her companion Jvarāsura, the fever demon. Śītalā means ‘cool one’, perhaps a euphemism to ward off her fury. Worship of her, and writing poems to her, tend to follow upon an epidemic, thus belonging to the cults of affliction.

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