Shashthi

Shashthi

Shashthi, Shashti, Soshthi or Chhathi is a Hindu goddess, venerated in India and Nepal as the benefactor and protector of children. She is also the deity of vegetation and reproduction and is believed to bestow children and assist during childbirth. She is often pictured as a motherly figure, riding a cat and nursing one or more infants. She is symbolically represented in a variety of forms, including an earthenware pitcher, a banyan tree or part of it or a red stone beneath such a tree; outdoor spaces termed Shashthi Tala are also consecrated for her worship. The worship of Shashthi is prescribed to occur on the sixth day of each lunar month of the Hindu calendar as well as on the sixth day after a child's birth. Women without children desiring to conceive and mothers seeking to ensure the protection of their children will worship Shashthi and request her blessings and aid. She is especially venerated in eastern India.

Pantheon: Hindu Culture: Indian Civilization: Indian subcontinent Period: 1500 BCE – present

Source: Wikipedia