The Divine Prescription: How Hindu Deities Teach Hygiene Practices

We have seen many natural forces being worshipped as deities in Hinduism. We have Varun (personification of ocean and flowing water), Indra (God of rain and thunder), Vayu or Pavana (Air we breathe), Agni (the fire). We also have celestial bodies embodied as Gods. These includes Sun worshipped as Surya, Moon worshipped as Chandra. Mangal (Mars), Guru (Jupiter), Shani (Saturn), Shukra (Venus), Budha (Mercury) also hold important places. Rahu and Ketu are celestial positions that hold significant value. We also worship different medicinal plants and animals, for their help in making our day today lives better. But do you know that, we also have some deities associated with diseases, and we worship various diseases through these deities?

Our ancestors were always aware of different diseases and the importance of hygiene to avoid these diseases. In the past, diseases like cholera, plague and chickenpox were life threatening. And for this diseases, precaution was the best cure. Our ancestors had their unique ways to get us follow the basic hygiene habits. Our festivals and rituals were all aligned towards creating awareness towards the diseases and hygiene. So much so that we even have some deities associated with different diseases.

Sheetala is a goddess worshipped primarily in North India. She is regarded to be an incarnation of the goddess Parvati; and is believed to cure poxes, sores, ghouls, pustules, and diseases, and most directly linked with the disease smallpox. The deity is depicted as a mother who defends children from paediatric ailments, such as exanthemata and smallpox. In some areas, Shitala is said to reside in a neem tree, thus forming her association with medicinal plant and providing divine importance to the medicinal plant of Neem.

Sheetala is traditionally represented as a young maiden crowned with a winnowing fan, riding a donkey, and holding a short broom; to spread the content of her pot full of viral pustules or cold water of immortality. In smaller rural shrines, Sheetala may be simply represented by smooth stone slabs with painted facial features and decorative adornments donated by devotees. Notably, references to neem leaves are present everywhere in Sheetala’s worship and also appear in her iconography, suggesting an early understanding of Azadirachta indica as a medicinal plant. Moreover, neem leaves are extensively mentioned in the Sushruta Samhita, where it is listed as an effective antipyretic, as well as a remedy for certain inflammatory skin conditions.

Sheetala is historically understood as causing smallpox among non-believers, providing them an opportunity for reflection. She is also said to heal those that make offerings to others recovering from illness. Because of this belief, the World Health Organization’s efforts to distribute smallpox vaccines initially faced resistance as local people saw vaccination as an attempt by Western science to circumvent Hindu religious order. To combat this perception, the international Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) produced posters depicting Sheetala with a vaccination needle to reinterpret immunization as derived from Sheetala’s power.

Similarly, we have Vasoorimala worshipped in Kerala; Karumari worshipped in some villages of Andhra Pradesh; Marisamma or Mesai worshipped in border areas of Telangana and Maharashtra; Mariamman in many villages of Tamilnadu. The goddess of smallpox gets many different names in different parts of country. But at every place, she gives the same message about cleanliness and hygiene.

Plague was another disease that would cause thousands of casualties with every outburst. The plague is spread by byte of flea or by handling of an infected animal. And the rituals in our culture are meant to exactly avoid this. The cleanliness that needs to be maintained for worships, the use of neem (with immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycaemic, antiulcer, antimalarial, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties) and the use of healthy food as Prasad is all a teaching to maintain the hygiene.

In southern India, goddess Mariamman (also referred as Amman) is associated with the disease of plague along with others. The word Mari has the Sangam Tamil origin meaning “Rain”, and the Dravidian root term Amman means “Mother”. She was worshipped by the ancient Tamils as the bringer of rain and thus also the bringer of prosperity, since the abundance of their crops was dependent largely upon adequate rainfall. The rains she brings also spreads cleanliness and keeps everyone healthy. Mariamman cures all so-called “heat-based” diseases like pox and rashes. During the summer months in South India (March to June), people walk miles carrying pots of water mixed with turmeric and neem leaves to ward off illnesses like the measles and chicken pox. In this way the goddess Mariamman is very similar to the North Indian goddess Shitaladevi. We also see deities associated with plague in other ancient mythologies. Artemis in Greek mythology, Ishara from the Eblia region (north of today’s Syria) and Sekhmet in Egyptian mythology perform the same kind of function.

We similarly have deities associated with fever. Jwarasura or Jvara is the personification fever in Hinduism. At certain places, he is worshipped as deity. And at some places, he is considered as a demon. Oladevi is the goddess of cholera and is worshipped by people of Bengal region (consisting of the present-day Bangladesh and West Bengal) and Marwar region Rajasthan. In Marwar region, Shitala Devi protects us from diseases appearing on out body like poxes and Ola Devi protects from diseases within like cholera, jaundice, diarrhoea and other stomach related diseases. Mariamman and Shitala are also said to be the goddesses associated with the plague disease; which claimed numerous lives in the past. Personification of diseases can be found in other traditions too. We see Alardy in Ossetian mythology, Shakpana in Yoruba and Zhao Yunxiao in Chinese traditions.

Now, with advancements in medical research and treatments, the diseases may not be as deadly as they used to be. Smallpox is entirely eradicated from the world. Polio is on the verge of eradication. The plague is not that common now. Human plague was reported in Mulbagal area of Karnataka in 1966-67 only to re-emerge in the country in 1994 in Beed district (Maharashtra) (probably as an aftermath of the deadly Latur earthquake of 1993) and subsequently in Surat (Gujarat). And maybe we may find these deities reluctant in this scenario. But we must applaud the efforts and vision of our ancestors. After all, our society and culture has survived for centuries, only because of this vision.

By Dr Dinesh Soni

Dinesh is an an indologist and is writer of 18 books. He holds a doctorate in cultural studies. He is felicitated by Acedemia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan for his research in mythology. He has received numerous awards including the Lokmat Digital Influencer Award (Heritage). Dinesh is also a speaker who has graced many occasions. He is the main admin of Indian.Temples.

2 thoughts on “The Divine Prescription: How Hindu Deities Teach Hygiene Practices”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *