India Celebrates Sheetala Saptami 2025 with Traditional Rituals Honoring Goddess Sheetla

The festival, observed on March 21, highlights health, cleanliness, and devotion as preparations for Sheetala Ashtami continue.

Sheetala Saptami, dedicated to Goddess Sheetla, is celebrated on March 21, 2025, marking the seventh day of the Shukla Paksha in the Hindu month of Chaitra.
The festival is observed across northern and western India, particularly in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Haryana, as well as in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Devotees follow unique rituals, including consuming pre-cooked food, offering mustard seeds, milk, and cold water, and visiting temples early in the morning after bathing.
Goddess Sheetla is revered as a protector against infectious diseases and is depicted in mythology riding a donkey and holding a pot, neem leaves, a sieve, and a broom.
Preparations for Sheetala Ashtami, which falls on March 22, are underway as devotees continue their observances in honor of the goddess.