Overview
- Most guides place the observance on Wednesday, March 11, using the Udaya Tithi, while Drik Panchang (as cited by Free Press Journal) lists Tuesday, March 10, reflecting a calendar-method difference.
- Ashtami tithi is reported to begin at 1:54 am on March 11 and end at 4:19 am on March 12, with puja windows published as morning-to-evening by various outlets.
- Ritual practice emphasizes preparing food on Saptami and not lighting a cooking fire on Ashtami, with offerings of cold or stale items such as jaggery sweets, sweet rice, roti or puri, and curd.
- Coverage highlights devotion to Goddess Sheetala—described in the Skanda Purana and associated with healing—with the name signifying cooling and protection from ailments like smallpox and chickenpox.
- The festival, also called Basoda, is widely observed in northern and western India, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab, with temple visits and home pujas common.