Today Thu 5 Nov TithiEkadashi NakshatraUttara Phalguni PlaceCoimbatoreUse my location Full Panchang & horoscope →

Rituals

All HomasAradhanaNadi AstrologyMantra Guides

Astrology

All Free ToolsVedic AstrologyToday's PanchangFree KundliDaily Horoscope

More

BlogAsk NirnayaContact

Your account

Sign inCart
Home › Mantras › Sheetala Mata Mantra
Dhanvantari Sheetala Mata Mantra: Shitala on a grey donkey under a neem tree, holding a broom and water pot, two women worshipping her knee-deep in a pond
At a village pond at dawn, women stand in the water and worship Shitala seated on her donkey
Mantra · Shiva's octet to the cool goddess who rides a donkey with a broom

Sheetala Mata Mantra

वन्देऽहं शीतलां देवीं रासभस्थां दिगम्बराम् । मार्जनीकलशोपेतां शूर्पालङ्कृतमस्तकाम् ॥

Also known as Sheetalashtakam

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

Sarva Roga Nivaran HomamThe Sarva Roga Nivaran Homam, performed for youBook →

What the Sheetala Mata Mantra is

The Sheetala Mantra people mean by a sheetla mata mantra is the Shitalashtakam, an octet of praise to Shitala, the goddess whose name means 'the cool one' from the Skanda Purana. The speaker is Ishvara, that is Shiva, and most printings open with a viniyoga naming Mahadeva as its seer, Anushtup as its metre and Bhavani as its power. Verses 1 and 2 share one salutation, 'vande'ham shitalam devim', and picture her seated on a donkey, holding a broom and a water pot, a winnowing fan on her head. Verses 3 to 8 call her by name and speak of burning fever and pox, closing on the line that for this affliction no mantra or medicine is found except her. Verses 9 to 15 form the phala shruti: a meditation on her as a thread fine as a lotus fibre between navel and heart, six names for her donkey, and a closing rule that the octet be given only to those with faith.

Shiva's octet and the worship in water

The hymn has no human author. It opens with the words 'Ishvara uvacha', 'Ishvara said', so tradition hears it as Shiva's own praise of the goddess, and every printed closing line assigns it to the Skanda Purana. Some manuscript colophons go further and place it in the Kashi Khanda, the part of that Purana given to Varanasi; handwritten copies from around 1700 survive. The same Purana knows Shitala in other places. Its Prabhasa Khanda gives a chapter to the greatness of Shitala Gauri and says that, adored with devotion, she keeps the bodies of children cool, and its Ayodhya Mahatmya places her shrine to the north of one of that city's sacred spots. Two verses of the octet echo a rite set out in the Narada Purana, which tells the worshipper to stand in water and repeat 'Shitala, Shitala'. Verse 3 keeps that doubled call, and verse 4 speaks of worshipping her 'udakamadhye', in the midst of water. The donkey verses belong to the same household world: verse 14 says that reciting the animal's names before her keeps the Shitala affliction from the children of that home. In village tradition across Bengal, Rajasthan and Gujarat her worship was offered when pox broke out, and it has long been led by women.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiवन्देऽहं शीतलां देवीं रासभस्थां दिगम्बराम् । मार्जनीकलशोपेतां शूर्पालङ्कृतमस्तकाम् ॥
Tamilவந்தேஹம் ஶீதலாம் தேவீம் ராஸபஸ்தாம் திகம்பராம் । மார்ஜநீகலஶோபேதாம் ஶூர்பாலங்க்ருதமஸ்தகாம் ॥
Teluguవన్దేఽహం శీతలాం దేవీం రాసభస్థాం దిగమ్బరామ్ । మార్జనీకలశోపేతాం శూర్పాలఙ్కృతమస్తకామ్ ॥
Kannadaವನ್ದೇಽಹಂ ಶೀತಲಾಂ ದೇವೀಂ ರಾಸಭಸ್ಥಾಂ ದಿಗಮ್ಬರಾಮ್ । ಮಾರ್ಜನೀಕಲಶೋಪೇತಾಂ ಶೂರ್ಪಾಲಙ್ಕೃತಮಸ್ತಕಾಮ್ ॥
Malayalamവന്ദേഽഹം ശീതലാം ദേവീം രാസഭസ്ഥാം ദിഗമ്ബരാമ് । മാര്ജനീകലശോപേതാം ശൂര്പാലങ്കൃതമസ്തകാമ് ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationvande'haṃ śītalāṃ devīṃ rāsabhasthāṃ digambarām | mārjanīkalaśopetāṃ śūrpālaṅkṛtamastakām ||
“I bow to the goddess Shitala, who rides a donkey and is clothed by the directions alone, who holds a broom and a water pot, and whose head is adorned with a winnowing fan.”
वन्देऽहं
vande'haṃ — I bow to
शीतलां
śītalāṃ — Shitala, the cool one
देवीं
devīṃ — the goddess
रासभस्थां
rāsabhasthāṃ — seated on a donkey
दिगम्बराम्
digambarām — clothed by the directions
मार्जनीकलशोपेतां
mārjanīkalaśopetāṃ — bearing a broom and a water pot
शूर्पालङ्कृतमस्तकाम्
śūrpālaṅkṛtamastakām — whose head is adorned with a winnowing fan

Sheetala Mata Mantra lyrics in full

Fifteen verses: the eight verses of praise, then the phala shruti with the verse of the donkey's names. The printed closing line is given at the end.

All 16 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Sheetala Mata Mantra PDFAll 16 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

वन्देऽहं शीतलां देवीं रासभस्थां दिगम्बराम् ।
मार्जनीकलशोपेतां शूर्पालङ्कृतमस्तकाम् ॥

I bow to the goddess Shitala, who rides a donkey and is clothed by the directions alone, who holds a broom and a water pot, and whose head is adorned with a winnowing fan.

Verse 2

वन्देऽहं शीतलां देवीं सर्वरोगभयापहाम् ।
यामासाद्य निवर्तेत विस्फोटकभयं महत् ॥

I bow to the goddess Shitala, who takes away the fear of every disease; on reaching her, the great fear of pox turns back.

Verse 3

शीतले शीतले चेति यो ब्रूयाद्दाहपीडितः ।
विस्फोटकभयं घोरं क्षिप्रं तस्य प्रणश्यति ॥

The verse says that whoever, tormented by burning heat, calls out "Shitale, Shitale" is quickly freed from the dreadful fear of pox.

Verse 4

यस्त्वामुदकमध्ये तु ध्यात्वा सम्पूजयेन्नरः ।
विस्फोटकभयं घोरं गृहे तस्य न जायते ॥

The verse says that in the house of the person who meditates on you and worships you while standing in water, the dreadful fear of pox does not arise.

Verse 5

शीतले ज्वरदग्धस्य पूतिगन्धयुतस्य च ।
प्रणष्टचक्षुषः पुंसस्त्वामाहुर्जीवनौषधम् ॥

O Shitala, for a man scorched by fever, giving off a foul smell and whose sight is lost, you are called the medicine of life.

Verse 6

शीतले तनुजान्रोगान्नृणां हरसि दुस्त्यजान् ।
विस्फोटकविदीर्णानां त्वमेकाऽमृतवर्षिणी ॥

O Shitala, you remove the bodily diseases of men that are hard to throw off; for those torn by pox, you alone rain down nectar.

Verse 7

गलगण्डग्रहा रोगा ये चान्ये दारुणा नृणाम् ।
त्वदनुध्यानमात्रेण शीतले यान्ति सङ्क्षयम् ॥

Swellings of the throat, seizures and the other cruel diseases of men go to destruction, O Shitala, merely by meditating on you.

Verse 8

न मन्त्रो नौषधं तस्य पापरोगस्य विद्यते ।
त्वामेकां शीतले धात्रीं नान्यां पश्यामि देवताम् ॥

For that disease born of sin no mantra and no medicine is found; O Shitala, I see no deity other than you alone, the nurturing mother.

Verse 9

मृणालतन्तुसदृशीं नाभिहृन्मध्यसंस्थिताम् ।
यस्त्वां सञ्चिन्तयेद्देवि तस्य मृत्युर्न जायते ॥

The verse says that whoever meditates on you, O Goddess, fine as a lotus-stalk fibre and dwelling between the navel and the heart, does not meet death.

Verse 10

अष्टकं शीतलादेव्या यो नरः प्रपठेत्सदा ।
विस्फोटकभयं घोरं गृहे तस्य न जायते ॥

The verse says that in the house of the man who always recites this octet of the goddess Shitala, the dreadful fear of pox does not arise.

Verse 11

श्रोतव्यं पठितव्यं च श्रद्धाभक्तिसमन्वितैः ।
उपसर्गविनाशाय परं स्वस्त्ययनं महत् ॥

It should be heard and recited by those endowed with faith and devotion; it is a great and supreme blessing for the removal of afflictions.

Verse 12

शीतले त्वं जगन्माता शीतले त्वं जगत्पिता ।
शीतले त्वं जगद्धात्री शीतलायै नमो नमः ॥

O Shitala, you are the mother of the world; O Shitala, you are the father of the world; O Shitala, you are the sustainer of the world. Salutations again and again to Shitala.

Verse 13

रासभो गर्दभश्चैव खरो वैशाखनन्दनः ।
शीतलावाहनश्चैव दूर्वाकन्दनिकृन्तनः ॥

Rasabha, Gardabha, Khara, Vaishakhanandana, Shitalavahana (bearer of Shitala) and Durvakandanikrintana (cutter of durva grass roots) - these are the names of the donkey.

Verse 14

एतानि खरनामानि शीतलाग्रे तु यः पठेत् ।
तस्य गेहे शिशूनां च शीतलारुङ् न जायते ॥

The verse says that whoever recites these names of the donkey before Shitala, in his home the children do not suffer the Shitala disease.

Verse 15

शीतलाष्टकमेवेदं न देयं यस्यकस्यचित् ।
दातव्यं च सदा तस्मै श्रद्धाभक्तियुताय वै ॥

This Shitala Ashtakam is not to be given to just anyone; it should always be given to one who has faith and devotion.

Closing

इति श्रीस्कन्दपुराणे शीतलाष्टकं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Thus ends the Shitala Ashtakam from the Skanda Purana.

The syllable people get wrong

The goddess's own name, śītalā, has three syllables: a long 'shee', a short 'ta' and a long 'laa' (SHEE-ta-laa); the spelling 'Sheetla' drops the middle vowel. In the vocative call of verse 3, śītale, the last vowel is a long 'e' as in 'they'.

When the Sheetala Mata Mantra is chanted

Weekday. Friday

Festival. Sheetala Ashtami (Basoda)

Questions

No poet is named. The hymn opens with 'Ishvara uvacha', so it is spoken by Shiva, and the viniyoga printed before it names Mahadeva as its seer. Every printed colophon places it in the Skanda Purana, and some manuscript colophons narrow this to the Kashi Khanda, the section on Varanasi. Like many Puranic stotras it circulated as a separate text, copied by hand by around 1700, rather than being read only within the Purana itself.
Ashtakam means a set of eight. The praise proper is verses 1 to 8, and verse 10 refers back to them as 'ashtakam shitaladevya', the octet of the goddess Shitala. Verses 9 to 15 are the phala shruti that follows the octet, together with the refrain of verse 12 and the verse of the donkey's names. The printed form keeps all fifteen, ending with the colophon line.
The first verse already shows her 'rasabhastham', seated on a donkey, and verse 13 gives six names for that animal: Rasabha, Gardabha, Khara, Vaishakhanandana, Shitalavahana, the bearer of Shitala, and Durvakandanikrintana, the one who crops the roots of durva grass. Verse 14 says that whoever recites these names before the goddess keeps the Shitala affliction from the children of the house. Honouring the vahana alongside the deity is a familiar pattern in temple worship.
The line reads 'na mantro naushadham tasya paparogasya vidyate': for that affliction, said to arise from sin, no mantra and no medicine is found. The second half turns to her: 'I see no deity other than you alone, the nurturing mother.' It is a statement of the devotee's dependence on the goddess, in the manner of a hymn, and not a teaching about treatment; the octet is a devotional text, never a substitute for medical care.
Not sure a mantra is enough?

Have your chart read before you decide

Chanting is yours to do, and free. But which deity your situation calls for — and whether a mantra alone is the right response — depends on your chart. Sometimes it is; sometimes it is not.

Brahmashree Shivaaya
Chief Operating Officer & Head of Astrological & Spiritual Solutions
  • Over 30 years in the Guru–Sishya Parampara, from the age of five
  • He reads every chart himself — 60 minutes, one to one, never delegated
  • Charts are read only between sunrise and sunset, following tradition
Continue

Related

Ask Nirnaya

Nirnaya

AstroBhava’s automated guide

Nirnaya is AstroBhava’s automated guide. What you tell it — including birth details — is kept to recommend rites and is reviewed by our team to improve it. It does not predict. Conversations are anonymised 12 months after your last message; you can delete them sooner from your account. Privacy policy

Speak to someone at the ashram

Message the ashram on WhatsApp or by email.

Message on WhatsAppsupport@astrobhava.com

WhatsApp opens in a new tab; nothing is sent from this page.