LEADER 04466nam 22006131 450 001 9910809686103321 005 20141126072116.0 010 $a1-4725-9872-5 010 $a1-4411-6380-8 010 $a1-4725-9456-8 010 $a1-4725-9871-7 024 7 $a10.5040/9781472594563 035 $a(CKB)2670000000573316 035 $a(EBL)1827014 035 $a(SSID)ssj0001380747 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)12605866 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0001380747 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)11371659 035 $a(PQKB)11617584 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC1827014 035 $a(OCoLC)894506745 035 $a(UtOrBLW)bpp09259113 035 $a(UtOrBLW)BP9781472594563BC 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000573316 100 $a20150625d2015 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aReligion, devotion and medicine in north India $ethe healing power of S?i?tala? /$fFabrizio M. Ferrari 210 1$aNew York :$cBloomsbury Academic,$d2015. 215 $a1 online resource (247 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a1-4411-4829-9 311 $a1-322-23732-8 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aAcknowledgements -- Note on transliteration -- Abbreviations -- Months in North India -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. S?i?tala?, the Cold Mother -- Chapter 2. Visions of the goddess : The iconography of S?i?tala? -- Chapter 3. Hosting Ma?, feeding Ma?. Controversies around S?i?tala?pu?ja? -- Chapter 4. The Smallpox Myth and the Creation of the Goddess of Smallpox -- Chapter 5. The Legacy of S?i?tala? -- Concluding Reflections -- Appendix A. S?ri?s?i?tala?saptami?vratakatha? (S?VK 9-14)pp. 175-178 -- Appendix B. S?ri?s?i?tala?saptami?vrata of Skandapura?n?a (VR 310-311) -- Appendix C. S?i?tala?saptami?vratakatha? of Bhavis?yapura?n?a (VR 310-313) -- Appendix D. S?i?tala?pu?ja?paddhati of Picchila?tantra -- Bibliography -- Index. 330 $a"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. The eradication of smallpox did not pose a threat to Sitala and her worship. She continues to be an extremely popular goddess. Religion, Devotion and Medicine in North India critically examines the rise and affirmation of the 'smallpox myth' in India and beyond, and explains how Indian narratives, ritual texts and devotional songs have celebrated Sitala as a loving mother who protects her children from the effects, and the fear, of poxes, fevers and infantile disorders but also all sorts of new threats (such as global pandemics, addictions and environmental catastrophes). The book explores a wide range of ritual and devotional practices, including scheduled festivals, songs, vows, pageants, austerities, possession, animal sacrifices and various forms of offering. Built on extensive fieldwork and a close textual analysis of sources in Sanskrit and vernacular languages (Hindi, Bhojpuri and Bengali) as well as on a rich bibliography on the struggle against smallpox in colonial and post-colonial India, the book reflects on the ambiguous nature of Sitala as a phenomenon largely dependent on the enduring fascination with the exotic, and the horrific, that has pervaded public renditions of Indian culture in indigenous fiction, colonial reports, medical literature and now global culture. To aid study, the volume includes images, web links, appendixes and a filmography."--Bloomsbury Publishing. 517 3 $ahealing power of Sitala 606 $aHinduism$zIndia, North$xRituals 606 $aS?i?tala? (Hindu deity)$xCult$zIndia, North 606 $2Hinduism 615 0$aHinduism$xRituals. 615 0$aS?i?tala? (Hindu deity)$xCult 676 $a294.5/2114 686 $aREL000000$aREL032020$2bisacsh 700 $aFerrari$b Fabrizio M.$0301443 801 0$bUtOrBLW 801 1$bUtOrBLW 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910809686103321 996 $aReligion, devotion and medicine in north India$94009489 997 $aUNINA