Shashthi
Shashthi | |
---|---|
Goddess of children, reproduction, child birth, mid-wives | |
Sachi (mother) | |
Consort | Kartikeya (when identified with Devasena) |
Shashthi or Shashti (
Also known as Chhathi Maiya, the sixth form of
Most scholars believe that Shashthi's roots can be traced to
Iconography
Shashthi is portrayed as a motherly figure, often nursing or carrying as many as eight infants in her arms.[1][2][3][4] Her complexion is usually depicted as yellow or golden.[1][2] A Dhyana-mantra – a hymn describing the iconography of a deity, upon which a devotee of Shashthi should meditate – describes her as a fair young woman with a pleasant appearance, bedecked in divine garments and jewellery with an auspicious twig laying in her lap.[5] A cat (mārjāra) is the vahana (mount) upon which she rides.[1] Older depictions of Shashthi may show her as cat-faced,[3][6] while another reference describes her as bird-faced.[3]
In
The folk worship representation of Shashthi is a red-coloured stone about the size of a human head, typically placed beneath a
Evolution and textual references
The general consensus among scholars of Hinduism traces the origins of Shashthi, like Skanda, back to ancient folk traditions.
In textual references, Shashthi is often depicted as closely connected to Skanda. An early textual reference dating to 8th–9th century BCE relates Shashthi to the six
Scriptures and folk traditions also connect Shashthi and Skanda in numerous indirect ways. The Mahabharata, finalised around the 4th century CE, describes a relationship between the infant Skanda and the
Shashthi is historically associated with a variety of other deities. The second century BCE composition
Over time, the characterisation of Shashthi underwent a gradual evolution. Aforementioned folk traditions originating between the 10th and 5th centuries BCE associated the goddess with both positive and negative elements of fertility, birth, motherhood and childhood. However, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE, a shift occurred in which Shashthi was increasingly depicted as a malevolent deity associated with the sufferings of mothers and children. The fifth century text Kashyapa Samhita calls Shashthi by the epithet Jataharini ("one who steals the born") and provides a list of the malevolent activities in which Shashthi is believed to engage, including her practice of stealing foetuses from the womb and devouring children on the sixth day following birth. For this reason, the text recommends that she be propitiated through worship in her honour on this day in the lying-in room and on the sixth day of every fortnight thereafter.[8]
Eventually, Shashthi came to represent all goddesses and forces responsible for causing diseases in children and their mothers, who needed to be propitiated on the sixth day after childbirth to prevent these illnesses. Consequently, Shashthi came to personify the sixth day of a child's life.
Over the past 1500 years, the characterisation of Shashthi gradually shifted toward that of a benevolent and protective figure.
Legends
A chapter entitled Shashthidevyupakhyanam, appended to the texts Brahma Vaivarta Purana and Devi Bhagavata Purana, narrates the tale of Shashthi.
A Bengali folk-tale about Shashthi tells of the youngest of seven daughters-in-law in a prosperous household who was a glutton that used to secretly steal food and then blame a black cat, which was thrashed as punishment. The black cat happened to be the vahana (mount) of Shashthi and complained about the mistreatment to the goddess, who pledged to avenge it. When the youngest daughter-in-law gave birth to a son, the cat stole the child in the night and gave it to the goddess, and did the same for her next six sons. The neighbours accused the young mother of carelessness and began to believe she might be a witch who ate her own children. Finally, when a daughter was born, the young mother decided to remain awake the whole night to resolve the mystery. She managed to catch the cat in the act of robbery and wounded it with her bracelet, but the cat escaped with the child, leaving a trail of blood. The mother followed this trail to the abode of Shashthi. There she saw her sons playing around Shashthi as the goddess held the mother's infant daughter in her arms. Shashthi explained the reason for the mother's ordeal and told her to ask pardon of the cat. The mother asked the cat's pardon, which was granted, and then she promised the goddess that she would offer worship in a ritual dedicated to her, which would come to be known as the Jamai-Shasthi Vrata. The mother returned home with her children and spread the worship of the goddess, who blessed her family with children, wealth and happiness.[17]
A different version of this tale narrates that when the youngest daughter-in-law was pregnant, she secretly ate the food-offerings ritually dedicated to Shashthi and then blamed the theft on the black cat. Angered by the dishonour of its mistress and the unjust accusation of theft, the cat pledged to teach the young mother a lesson. In this version of the tale, the cat not only stole her six children, but also ate them. But when the seventh child was born, the mother caught the cat fleeing with her child and followed it but tripped in middle of the chase and fainted. The cat took the infant to Shashthi's abode, where she told the goddess the whole tale of her insult. The benign goddess, however, was annoyed with the cat and rushed to the aid of the mother. The goddess explained the reason of her suffering, and after the mother had begged the cat for forgiveness and had sworn to worship Shashthi on anointed days, all seven of her children were returned to her.[18]
Shashthi's Bengali legends appear in the
Worship
Among Hindus, Shashthi is widely regarded the benefactor and protector of children and tutelary deity of every household.[8] She is also worshipped as a bestower of children to the childless, and regarded as the foremost goddess for blessing children.[10] One of the earliest scriptural sources to describe a ritual in her honour is the second century BCE composition Manava Grhya Sutra, appended to the Yajurveda (written between the 14th and 10th centuries BCE), which describes a ritual called Shashthi-kalpa. In the Shashthi-kalpa rite, which was described as performed on the sixth lunar day of every fortnight, Shashthi was invoked to provide sons, cattle, treasures, corn, and the fulfilment of wishes.[3] Today, Shashthi continues to be worshipped on the sixth day of each of the twelve lunar months of the Hindu calendar,[3][5] as well as on the sixth day after childbirth in the lying-in chamber where the birth has taken place. Shashthi is worshipped in a different form in each of these lunar months as the deities Chandan, Aranya, Kardama, Lunthana, Chapeti, Durga, Nadi, Mulaka, Anna, Sitala, Gorupini or Ashoka.[5]
In North India, Shashthi is worshipped at childbirth and puberty, and during marriage rites.[3] When the pregnant woman is isolated during childbirth in the lying-in chamber, a cow-dung figure of the goddess is traditionally kept in the room. The birth of a living child is considered the blessing of Shashthi, while the birth of a stillborn infant or the early death of a child are considered manifestations of her wrath.[4] Before childbirth, Shashthi is worshipped to protect the welfare of the expecting mother. She is also invoked after childbirth on the sixth day of each month until the child reaches puberty, especially when the child is sick.[20]
In
In Bengal, on the night of the sixth day after childbirth, a number of items may be placed in the lying-in chamber in deference to Shashthi, such as an earthen pitcher of water covered with a napkin, offerings of husked rice, cooked rice, bananas and sweets, bangles, and pieces of gold and silver. A pen and paper are also kept in the room, because it is believed that Shashthi (or, according to some traditions, Chitragupta or Brahma) comes into the home after everyone is asleep and writes the child's fortune on the paper with invisible ink.[8][21] In Bihar, the sixth day ceremony is called Chhathi or Chhati ("sixth") and Shashthi is known by the epithet Chhati Mata ("Mother Chhati"). A lump of cow dung dressed in red cloth or paper and covered with vermilion, symbolising the goddess, is kept in the lying-in room. Here, the new-born baby is oiled and dressed in new clothes and rings and then named; a feast follows this ceremony. Childless people may perform a vrata (ritual) in worship of Shashthi, called either Chhati Mata or Shashthi Vrata, in an effort to conceive.[8] Similar traditions of naming the child on the sixth day also exist in Gujarat. In Gujarat and Haryana, Shashthi (known as Chhathi or Be-Mata) is said to decide the future of the new-born.
In
In North India, women worship Shashthi on Ashoka Shashthi, the sixth lunar day of the month of Chaitra. In this region, women will drink water from six flower-buds of the Ashoka tree to secure the well-being of their children. Women observe Khas Shashthi in the month of Pausha by fasting to ensure the longevity of their children.[15]
Footnotes
- ^ Initially described as a killer, Jara gave life to the prince Jarasandha of Magadha and was then adored as the saviour of children throughout the kingdom.
- Buddhainto their protector. In contemporary iconography, Hariti, like Shashthi, is pictured surrounded with children and is affiliated with a cat.
Notes
- ^ a b c d Stutley, Margaret. "Ṣaṣṭhī". The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography. p. 127.
- ^ ISBN 1-4021-9308-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-226-89483-5.
- ^ a b c Wilkins pp. 6–8
- ^ a b c d e Bhattacharji p. 66
- ^ McDaniel p. 39
- ^ ISBN 90-04-10758-4.
- ^ ISBN 81-7488-168-9.
- ^ ISBN 0-8426-0822-2.
- ISBN 9788174881687. Archivedfrom the original on 22 June 2023.
- ^ ISBN 90-279-7632-5.
- ISBN 81-208-1087-2.
- ^ a b "Shashthi". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- ^ ISBN 81-206-0523-3.
- ^ The Stillborn Prince: Bhattacharji pp. 66–9
- ^ a b For Jamai-Shasthi Vrata, see Jamaisathi Brata: McDaniel pp. 46–9
- ^ The Cat's Revenge: Bhattacharji pp. 69–71
- ^ McDaniel pp. 55–7
- ^ a b Wilkins (1900) pp. 68–9
- ^ Wilkins(1900) p. 10
References
- McDaniel, June (2003). Making virtuous daughters and wives: an introduction to women's Brata rituals in Bengali folk religion. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-5565-3.
- Bhattacharji, Sukumari (1998). Legends of Devi. Orient Longman. ISBN 81-250-1438-1.
- Wilkins, W. J. (1900). Modern Hinduism : an account of the religion and life of Hindus in Northern India (2 ed.). Thacjer, Spink & Co. ISBN 0-524-09142-0.