As a deity name
Name 292 of the Durga Sahasranāma — Kula Arnava Tantra / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
Name 897 of the Saraswati Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
As a Hindi name
शीतला · noun · feminine
विस्फोटक रोग । चेचक · एक देव ी जो विस्फोटक की अधिष्ठात्री मानी जाती हैं · आराम शीतला — Śabdasāgara
शीतला · śītalā · s.f.
Small-pox; the goddess presiding over or inflicting small-pox — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 739
Cited formation "शीतला" is शीतल + -आ: शीतल means "cold, cool", and the suffix -आ forms abstract, agent, action or instrumental nouns (masc.); also past participles. CHD Basic Grammar App. I §8(3) — cited from the extracted rule table
Cited formation "शीतला" is शीतल + -आ: शीतल means "cold, cool", and the suffix -आ forms 'having' (adjectives). CHD Basic Grammar App. I §9(1) — cited from the extracted rule table
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
small-pox
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (3)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "śītalā" is the feminine form of "śītala" — the same word with the feminine ending (nominative).
M3 · meaning shifts "śītala" is derived from "śīta" with the lac suffix — a related word whose meaning shifts, so both meanings are shown.
śīta mf(ā)n. (fr. śyai; cf. śīna) cold, cool, chilly, frigid (with ind.p. of √ kṛ either śītaṃ kṛtya, or kṛtvā, g. sākṣādi), RV. &c. &c.
dull, apathetic, sluggish, indolent, L.
śītala mf(ā)n. cold, cool, cooling, MBh.; Kāv. &c.
shivering, frosty, Cat.
Related forms
Dictionary citations
śītalā (ā), f., see below
śītalā f. (only L.) sand
Pistia Stratiotes
= kuṭumbinī and ārāma-śītalā
a red cow
śītala mf(ā)n. cold, cool, cooling, MBh.; Kāv. &c.
shivering, frosty, Cat.
śīta mf(ā)n. (fr. śyai; cf. śīna) cold, cool, chilly, frigid (with ind.p. of √ kṛ either śītaṃ kṛtya, or kṛtvā, g. sākṣādi), RV. &c. &c.
dull, apathetic, sluggish, indolent, L.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources