Phul Mata

Phul Mata is a Hindu goddess of disease, one of a group of seven sister goddesses with similar associations. Her sisters were Sitala Mata, Badi Mata, Pansahi Mata, Gusulia Mata, Kankar Mata, and Malbal.^[1] Another tradition names the sisters as Sitala Mata, Chamariya mata, Durga Kali, Maha Kali, Bhadra kali and Kalika Bhavani.^[2][3][4] As a group, they were well known in northern India, and were often represented by balls of clay.^[5][6] Phul Mata was specifically associated with typhoid fever.^[7]

Phul Mata is mentioned in epic and Puranic Hindu literature.^[8] She may have originally been perceived as a shakti, a personification of divine power, but in Hinduism gradually became associated with evil intent and illness. She was said to inflict sickness on children under seven years of age.^[9]