🥣 Sheetla Satam and Randhan Chhath (Gujarat) 2027
Shravana Krishna Shashthi-Saptami (Amanta — a day before Janmashtami) — all the dishes cooked on Randhan Chhath, the hearth cold on Satam, the worship of Sheetla Mata, stale food; the mothers' vrat for protecting children from disease; Gujarat-Saurashtra-Kutch-Rajasthan (Marwar).
- Randhan Chhath (the day of cooking everything) — Monday, 23 August 2027
- Sheetla Satam (stale food — the hearth cold) — Tuesday, 24 August 2027
Sheetla Satam falls on the Saptami of the Krishna Paksha of the Gujarati (Amanta) Shravana month — exactly a day before Krishna Janmashtami (Bhadrapada Krishna Saptami in the North-Indian Purnimanta reckoning); a day earlier is **Randhan Chhath** (Shashthi) — the day on which the women of the house cook the whole next day's food (thepla, dhebra, poori, sabzi, sweets, bajra rotla) and at night wash the hearth, worship it with turmeric and kumkum and let it go cold. On Satam the hearth is not lit — stale (cold) food is offered to Sheetla Mata and the whole family eats stale food.
Sheetla Mata is the goddess of smallpox, measles, boils and fever — 'Sheetla' = she who keeps cool; mothers keep this vrat to protect their children from disease, offer cold water, curd and stale roti at the Sheetla temple, fodder for the donkey (Sheetla's mount); the katha (below) of a daughter-in-law who forgot to cool the hearth. The **Sheetla Ashtami (Basoda)** of north India in Chaitra is a festival of the same spirit — separate page. Above are this year's Randhan Chhath and Sheetla Satam dates; below the vidhi, the two-day menu, the katha and regional customs.
Significance — why this vrat
Skanda Purana: the goddess Sheetla — riding a donkey, with broom, pot, winnowing fan and neem in her hands, a form of Durga — the destroyer of disease; the stotra 'Sheetale tvam jaganmata…'; her worship with cold food — 'let no hearth burn today, let the goddess find coolness'; a day of rest for the kitchen in the season of infectious disease at the end of the monsoon, the folk health-science of stale, cold food (the food of Randhan Chhath is mostly long-keeping — thepla, dry sabzi, pickles).
The date rule: in Gujarat-Saurashtra-Kutch the Amanta Shravana Krishna Shashthi-Saptami (before Janmashtami) — the list above follows this; in Rajasthan (Marwar-Jodhpur) some communities keep 'Sheetla Satam' on the same day, others the Basoda of Chaitra; 'Sheetla Saptami' in Shravana in Madhya Pradesh-Malwa; the Sheetla puja in Bengal-Odisha in Chaitra/Phalguna.
A women's vrat: mothers for the protection of children (smallpox-measles-fever); a fast/stale food on Satam, Sheetla darshan; a new bride's first Satam at her in-laws'; Randhan Chhath is the festival of the Gujarati kitchen — 10-15 dishes in every home; 'Satam-Aatham' (Sheetla Satam + Janmashtami) is Saurashtra's great fair and holiday (the folk fairs of Dwarka-Junagadh-Bhavnagar).
Puja vidhi (step by step)
This is the Randhan Chhath–Sheetla Satam vidhi of a Gujarati home — the dishes and hearth puja on Chhath, the Sheetla puja and stale food on Satam; the same for families of Marwar-Malwa.
- Randhan Chhath (Shashthi) — all day: bathe in the morning, clean the house and kitchen; cook all the food for Satam (and in many homes Aatham/Janmashtami too) — thepla (methi/doodhi), dhebra (bajra-methi), poori, bajra rotla, dry sabzi (stuffed ringan/bhindi/karela-potato), curry (no kadhi — many homes), sweets (lapsi/sheero/laddoo/puran poli), farsan (dhokla-khaman-muthia-patra), pickles-chhundo, set the curd, no khichdi (needs to be fresh); fill and store water.
- Randhan Chhath — night: after all the dishes are done the hearth/stove is made completely cold — wash the hearth with water, worship it with turmeric-kumkum-rice-flowers, a lamp, a pot of cold water on the hearth; the vow 'no fire will burn tomorrow'; keep stale roti, curd and jaggery for Sheetla Mata apart in the kitchen; turn the griddle and kadhai upside down (custom).
- Sheetla Satam — morning: bathe in cold water (no hot water — many homes), clean clothes; do not light the hearth, not even tea (strict custom — some homes milk-tea from outside/a thermos); the worship of Sheetla Mata's picture at the temple/at home — cold water, curd, stale roti-thepla, jaggery, kuler (bajra-jaggery-ghee), sweet rice, neem leaves, turmeric-kumkum, flowers; the 'Sheetla Ashtak/Sheetla Stotra'; fodder and jaggery for the donkey (Sheetla's mount); a sprinkle of cold water on the children before the Mata — protection from disease.
- Sheetla Satam — the katha: hear the Sheetla Satam katha (below — the daughter-in-law and the hearth) with the family, all the women; the mothers keeping the vrat take fruit/one meal of stale food; no vrat for children — feed them the stale food.
- Sheetla Satam — the meal: the whole family eats stale (Randhan Chhath's) food all day — thepla-curd-pickle, rotla-sabzi, sweets, farsan; nothing is heated (not even the microwave — custom); a thali of stale food gifted to guests and neighbours; the Sheetla aarti in the evening.
- Satam — the day: markets and fairs (the Satam-Aatham fair — Saurashtra), swings, children's games; many homes go to Sheetla temples by a pond/river; from 12 at night Janmashtami (Aatham) — Kanha's birth, the hearth is lit again (many homes keep Aatham sattvic and fresh too).
- Aatham (the next day — Janmashtami): light the hearth in the morning and offer fresh bhog first to Sheetla Mata and then to Krishna; the leftover stale food to the cow, donkey and the poor; the night puja of Janmashtami.
- The North-Indian equivalent: the Basoda (Sheetla Ashtami) of Chaitra Krishna Ashtami — the dishes on Saptami, stale on Ashtami; the vidhi almost the same — on that page; in Rajasthan-Marwar the Shravana custom of 'Sheetla Satam' too.
Puja samagri checklist
The full kitchen of Randhan Chhath + the hearth puja + Sheetla Mata's cold bhog — the two-day list.
- The Randhan Chhath kitchen: wheat-bajra flour, methi-doodhi (thepla-dhebra), besan (khaman-dhokla-muthia), colocasia leaves (patra), vegetables (brinjal-okra-karela-potato), jaggery-ghee (lapsi-laddoo-kuler), milk for setting curd, pickles-chhundo-murabba, spices, oil
- The hearth puja: water, turmeric, kumkum, rice, flowers, lamp, a pot of cold water; the griddle and kadhai (to turn upside down)
- Sheetla Mata: picture/idol (on a donkey, with broom-winnowing fan-pot), temple darshan; bhog — stale roti-thepla, curd, jaggery, kuler (bajra-jaggery-ghee), sweet rice (cold), cold water, neem leaves, turmeric-kumkum, flowers (hibiscus-marigold), coconut, winnowing fan-broom (symbols — some homes)
- Stotra/katha: the Sheetla Ashtak (Skanda Purana), the Sheetla Satam katha, aarti
- Fodder and jaggery for the donkey; a sprinkle of cold water and neem for the children
- Vrat: fruit (fruit-curd-milk — without heating), stale food; a cold-water bath
- Aatham/Janmashtami: the items for the fresh bhog (the next day)
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
In a village all the women cooked the dishes on Randhan Chhath and cooled the hearth, and offered stale bhog to Sheetla Mata on Satam. A merchant's daughter-in-law, in her tiredness, forgot to cool the hearth — the embers kept smouldering. At night Sheetla Mata went round the village, resting on the cold hearth of every home; as she lay on the daughter-in-law's hearth she was burnt — in anger the goddess took the daughter-in-law's sleeping child with her (elsewhere: the child fell to fever and smallpox).
In the morning the daughter-in-law could not find the child and set out weeping in search of Sheetla Mata; on the way she met two women (who had given the Mata cold buttermilk — their sorrow was removed), a potter (whose kiln fire the Mata had cooled); at last she found Sheetla Mata under a banyan outside the village warming her burnt back; recognising her, the daughter-in-law cooled the Mata's back with cold curd and water and begged forgiveness — 'I will never light the hearth on Satam again'; the pleased Mata returned the child alive and gave the boon — 'whoever keeps the hearth cold on Satam and gives me stale, cold bhog, their children will stay free of disease'.
The Sheetla tale of the Skanda Purana: Shubhakari, daughter of King Indradyumna, revived a Brahmin family dead of snakebite by keeping the Sheetla vrat; Sheetla — the water goddess, on a donkey, with broom (sweeping away disease), winnowing fan (sifting), pot (cold water), neem (medicine) — the folk goddess of smallpox and measles worshipped with coolness; the Satam-Aatham fairs of Gujarat (Dwarka, around Tarnetar, Bhavnagar) are in her memory.
The full Randhan Chhath menu — thepla, dhebra, rotla, lapsi, farsan; everything cold on Satam
Randhan Chhath is the festival of the Gujarati kitchen — 10-15 dishes that stay tasty cold the next day (oil, spices, dry sabzi, pickles); nothing heated on Satam — thepla-rotla with curd, pickles and chhundo; kuler and stale roti-curd for Sheetla Mata; stale food is regarded as light on the stomach (fermentation). The list below.
- The roti group: methi thepla, doodhi thepla, dhebra (bajra-methi-jaggery), bajra-jowar rotla, poori (masala), bhakhri — with curd and pickles on Satam
- Sabzi (dry/oily — good cold): bharela ringan-bataka (stuffed brinjal-potato), bhindi sambharo, karela shaak, tuver-dhokli (some), dry potato, sambharo (a fresh-style pickle of cabbage-carrot-chilli)
- Farsan: khaman-dhokla, muthia, patra (colocasia leaves), khandvi, chakri-ganthia-sev, dal vada, bhajiya (on Chhath)
- Sweets: lapsi (broken wheat-jaggery-ghee), sheero, boondi/motichoor laddoo, puran poli, ghari (Surat), mohanthal, kheer (cold), kuler (bajra flour-ghee-jaggery — the special bhog of Sheetla Mata), shrikhand (set on Chhath)
- Pickles-chutney-curd: chhundo (sweet mango pickle), gunda-keri, methia, green chutney, curd (set on Chhath night), buttermilk (may be churned — no fire)
- The Sheetla bhog: kuler, stale roti/thepla, curd, jaggery, sweet rice, cold water, neem; fresh on Aatham — panjiri-butter (Krishna)
Regional customs
The Satam-Aatham fair of Saurashtra, the theplas of Ahmedabad, the Sheetla of Kutch, the Satam of Marwar, the Saptami of Malwa — the hearth cold, the mind cool.
A custom, tale, song or dish heard from your grandmother — 2-4 lines; after reading we add it on this page with your region's name (the phone is never shown — only to ask you back).
✅ Received — after reading we will add it on this page in 1-2 days. Thank you!Something went wrong — please try again.⏳ Sending…Do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Cook all the food on Randhan Chhath, wash and worship the hearth at night, let it go cold; no fire on Satam
- Cold water-curd-stale roti-kuler-neem for Sheetla Mata; fodder and jaggery for the donkey; a cold sprinkle for the children
- Keep the stale food cold and clean (covered, airy) — thepla, dry sabzi and pickles keep well; hear the katha
- Fresh bhog on Aatham first to Sheetla then to Krishna; the leftover stale food to the cow and the poor
- The unwell/pregnant/infants: fruit-milk-curd (without heating) instead of stale food — health first
❌ Don't
- No lighting the hearth, stove or microwave on Satam, no hot water, no making tea (custom — fire distresses Sheetla)
- Do not let the Randhan Chhath food spoil in heat and humidity — do not keep milk-based/khichdi-rice-like things (spoil quickly); use the fridge according to custom
- No hot/freshly cooked bhog, red chilli or strong spices for Sheetla Mata; no harm to the neem tree
- No forcing stale food on a sick child; no troubling the donkey
- No sewing, scissors, cutting hair and nails on Satam (folk rule); no quarrels
Frequently asked questions
When are Sheetla Satam and Randhan Chhath in 2027?
Both of this year's dates are above — Randhan Chhath (Shravana Krishna Shashthi, Amanta) and Sheetla Satam (Saptami), just before Janmashtami (Aatham); in the North-Indian Purnimanta panchang this is Bhadrapada Krishna Shashthi-Saptami — the same date; match with the Gujarati panchang.
What is the difference between Sheetla Satam and Sheetla Ashtami (Basoda)?
Both are Sheetla Mata's stale-food festivals — Sheetla Satam is of Gujarat-Saurashtra-Kutch, on Shravana (Amanta) Krishna Saptami, before Janmashtami (the end of the monsoon); Sheetla Ashtami/Basoda is of north India-Rajasthan-MP, on Chaitra Krishna Ashtami, eight days after Holi (the end of spring); the vidhi is one — cook on the first day, the hearth cold and stale food the next.
Not even tea or milk on Satam?
In the strict custom no fire at all — not even tea; practical homes keep tea/milk in a thermos on Chhath night or take cold milk-buttermilk; making something hot for infants, the unwell and the elderly is no fault (health comes first — the goddess is a mother); the microwave too is regarded as 'fire'.
How to keep the stale food safe?
On Randhan Chhath make low-moisture, oil-and-spice dishes (thepla-dhebra-dry sabzi-pickles-laddoo-farsan); do not keep milk-paneer-khichdi-rice-kadhi (spoil quickly); covered in an airy cool place/fridge (according to custom); set the curd on Chhath night; smell it in the morning — if sour or foul, do not eat, take fruit and milk.
Why kuler for Sheetla Mata?
Kuler = a dry mix of bajra flour with ghee and jaggery — made without fire, cold, long-keeping — the Sheetla bhog of Gujarat-Rajasthan (on Nag Panchami too); stale roti-curd-jaggery-sweet rice-cold water-neem too; the goddess loves 'coolness', hot, fresh and spicy are forbidden.
What is the Satam-Aatham fair?
The two-to-three-day folk fair and holiday of Sheetla Satam + Janmashtami (Aatham) in Saurashtra-Kutch — swings, stalls, folk dance and raas in Jamnagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Dwarka, Bhuj; farmers, traders and artisans all on holiday; the dishes of Randhan Chhath taken to the fair; among Gujarat's biggest rural fairs.
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⚠️ This description follows the traditional customs and folk tale of Gujarat-Saurashtra-Kutch; the custom of your family and region comes first. Stale food according to health — fresh food is no fault for infants, the pregnant, the unwell and in heat and humidity; match the date with the Gujarati (Amanta) panchang.
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