The Skanda Purana
by G. V. Tagare | 1950 | 2,545,880 words
This page describes The Greatness of Shitala which is chapter 12 of the English translation of the Skanda Purana, the largest of the eighteen Mahapuranas, preserving the ancient Indian society and Hindu traditions in an encyclopedic format, detailling on topics such as dharma (virtous lifestyle), cosmogony (creation of the universe), mythology (itihasa), genealogy (vamsha) etc. This is the twelfth chapter of the Avantikshetra-mahatmya of the Avantya-khanda of the Skanda Purana.
Chapter 12 - The Greatness of Śītalā
[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]
Sanatkumāra said:
1. Hereafter I shall describe the excellent Markaṭeśvara. There is a well-known Tīrtha there, which fulfils all desires.
2-3. By taking the holy bath in that Tīrtha a man shall acquire the benefit (of the gift) of a hundred cows.
For the sake of quelling boils and blisters (of smallpox) and for the sake of the children, a devotee takes Masūra lentils by measures and grinds them. Due to the power of Śītalā, children become free from the disease.
4-5. O excellent Brāhmaṇa, neither sin nor poverty afflicts those men who devoutly visit Śītalā, the destroyer of sins. Nor need they fear ailments or the affliction of malignant Planets.