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Shitala Saatam- Religion VS Science


Shitala Saatam – Religion Vs Science; Inoculations Vs Vaccination;non-acceptance of intellectuals


ShitalaSaatam–  A religious festival of India

Shitala is a folk diety, worshipped largely by many faith in the Indian subcontinent specially in North India, West Bengal, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In Gujarat continent ShitalaSatam as religious festival is celebrated every year in Shravan month. The mythical story or faith behind this is that this goddess will prevent diseases of small pox.

In a religious country India, earlier it was necessary to connect scientific facts with religious beliefs for making them generalize among people. As a part of religion,everyone is ready to do whatever is being told to them. At that time perhaps it was appropriate but the complication is that even today also after a tremendous progress in the field of science and technology; we used to see ShiatalSatam as a religious festival which was generalized in our mind. Though society pretend to be a modern, but it still not able to rationalize their minds. On the many occasions we see the conflict between religion and science, ShitalaSatam is one of them.

Religion Vs Science

In the ancient time any kind of disease regarded as a punishment from deities, or the work of evil spirit as well as of an effect of a kind of supernatural power. In order to prevent themselves from diseases they believed in worshiping the deities.  As a part of so called tradition people still today also worshiping goddess Sitala by eating a food on previous day as called cold food. 

There is a belief that if anyone make a hot food on the day of ShitalaSatam, goddessS hitala(known to cure poxes) may become furious at them. When the vaccine against smallpox was already invented by Edwad Jenner, why still we have the same belief which was there before 70 years? Very surely everyone know that now because of vaccination diseases of small pox is under controlled yet even they are following the tradition of worshiping diety Shiatala. In south also this festival is organized annually in the month of Sharavan, the muslim community who do not believe in worshiping yet even they be a part of this practise as they were afraid of village god and goddesses as the Hindus.

Inoculation Vs Vaccination

Inoculation generally known as tikah was practised in 17th century in India. This operation is performed by selected Brahmins only. When the small pox come to maturity, by taking a little pus and then dipping these in the point of a pretty large sharp needle. It was a quite painful as in this they did some puncture in order to get rid of bacterial infection even after the operation they do not allow to eat fish, milk and ghee for the one month from the day of inoculation. In order to succeed operation four collans of water were thrown on the patient early in the morning and was continued till the patient got fever. This traditional method of operation was continued but than even many people killed in India because of small pox.
At Calcutta in mid 18th century, the yearly death rate from smallpox was around 12,000 per million. It was very common technical operation in India around 17th century. But as soon as small pox vaccine was discovered in 1798 by Edward Jenner and  was introduced in India under the guidance of Lord Clive, technical inoculation operation was banned under the Bengal Presidency.

Today when we know that, prevention of smallpox is possible only because of vaccine, than even the scientific idea is not accepted very widely. Rather than to praising this scientific advancement still people is trying to connect the religious idea of Sitalasatam with various phenomenon. The new breed of nationalist have connected the idea of eating cold food as it was a practise to overcome deficiency of vitamin B12.

Only by eating a cold food on the day of SitalaSatam, how one can overcome deficiency of vitamin B12?

On the one side people go for vaccine yet even they believe in safeguard of diety Shitala. It showcases that we are not yet able to think rationally. By sticking to particular tradition we are still doing the same which people did at 70 years ago.


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