Shitala: The Goddess of Cleanliness and Small Pox, Holding a Broom

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A prince once wishing to be blessed with a son, made elaborate sacrifices to propitiate Brahma. But something went amiss in the performance of rituals and instead of a son, a beautiful maiden arose from the sacrificial fire. Brahma named her Shitala, the cooling one. Shitala inquired Brahma about her status in the world. He assured her that humans would always worship her, provided she carried on her, seeds of the urad (black gram), signifying that she embodied the powers of this particular lentil. Shitala then expressed desire for a companion and was directed to Shiva. Impressed by her devotion Shiva agreed to give her a companion.

From the sweat of Shiva's asceticism was born a demon of prodigious size, who was cut down into three pieces by Shiva himself. Brahma put him back together again. But the demon now had three pairs of arms and legs. He was given the name, jvarasura, or the demon of fever. Shiva assigned him to be Shitala's companion.

Shitala required a beast of burden to carry her load of lentils and Jvarasura suggested an ass for the purpose. Shitala then disguised herself as an old woman, and Jvarasura as a young boy. With their bag of lentils on the back of their ass, they visited all the divine beings. The lentils got converted into pox germs and whosoever they visited was afflicted with fever and small pox. Thus affected, the gods asked for her mercy and promised her that they would worship her, provided she went to the earth carrying her packload of germs with her.

Agreeing, Shitala descended to the earth. To display her prowess she first paid a visit to King Birat, an energetic worshipper of Shiva. Birat though acknowledging her status as a goddess, refused to giver her precedence over Shiva. Shitala threatened him by apprising him of her power to inflict small pox, but the king did not budge from his position. Thus incensed Shitala called upon seventy five different types of the pox to her service, which wreaked havoc on the people of King Birat. But the king even then refused the citizens permission to worship her, the outcome of which was widespread epidemic and deaths. But finally the king, realizing his folly, did relent, and was miraculously restored back to health, without any residual blemishes, as were all others who acknowledged her supremacy.

Shitala embodies both the disease and its remedy. She hates dirt, and the householder who wants her to visit his place to cure it of disease, especially small-pox, must first thoroughly clean it, since a dirty house is the birthplace of most diseases. For this purpose the Great Goddess carries in her hands a silver broom. The winnow fan she hods in her upraised right hand is to collect the results of this cleansing operation and to sift the healthy grains from the diseased ones. The small bowl in the other right hand is to collect the rogue germs, which are then to be banished from the house. The clean house is then to be ritually declared as purified by the sprinkling of Ganga jal (water from the river Ganges). She thus also holds a water pot in one of her hands.

Marble Mastery Unveiled: The Artisan's Symphony in Sculpting Timeless Beauty

Marble is a soft and delicate metamorphic rock derived from limestone. It is composed mainly of recrystallized carbonate minerals. The appealing appearance of marble gives rise to the making of beautiful sculptures and statues. Jaipur city of Rajasthan, India, is considered the capital of marble carving where various marble idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are made. These magnificent statues are carved by skilled sculptors out of the purest white marble. The slight softness of white marble makes it easier to be carved and chiseled into any desirable form or shape. Another impressive feature of marble is that the calcite has a low refractive index that allows light to penetrate the stone before getting scattered out. This results in bringing a translucent appearance and luster to the marble sculpture. This is the reason why most sculptors prefer to work with marble for sculpting life-size statues that require intricate details, evoking a certain realism to the work.

There is a detailed or step-by-step process of developing the desired structure of a sculpture from marble stone. These steps are:

1. Clay mould

Most sculptors prefer to sculpt a preliminary model out of clay or wax to translate its complex and intricate details into the final stone sculpture with the use of calipers or a pointing machine. The plasticity of the clay mould helps sculptors capture the success of the final sculpture before carving the stone. The clay is moulded into the desired shape or form and this acts as a rough

2. Roughing out

The second step of carving or sculpting is to remove large portions of unwanted marble stone. This task is done by using a special tool known as a point chisel. The pointed end of this tool is useful for splitting the large stone and removing big chunks that are not wanted. Usually, a mallet (a tool similar to a hammer) is used to transfer energy through the chisel to shatter the stone evenly and accurately.

3. Refining the figure

Once the sculptors have determined the general shape of the sculpture, a toothed chisel or claw chisel is used to refine the stone. These tools create parallel lines in the stone to add texture to the figure. During this stage, the rough block of stone has now changed into the general shape of the sculpture.

4. Adding the details

The sculptor is now ready to carry out detailed work to develop a more refined form of the sculpture. Tools such as rasps and rifflers are then used to enhance the shape into its final form. These tools finely create details such as frills or folds of clothing or locks of hair.

5. Polishing

This is the last step in marble sculpting in which the sculptor uses materials such as sandpaper to bring out a natural sheen to the sculpture. The sandpaper is rubbed against the surface to make it smoother and flawless. Sometimes, tin oxide is also used to make the sculpture appear glossy and more translucent.

Marble sculptures are highly durable and can last for many decades if maintained and taken care of properly. They are also extremely weather-resistant and therefore, can be kept outdoors or indoors. The exquisite beauty of marble statues elevates the aura of the space and emanates positivity all around.