Phul Mata
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Phul Mata is a Hindu goddess of disease, one of a group of seven sister goddesses with similar associations. Her sisters were Sitala Mata, Chamariya mata, Durga Kali, Maha Kali, Bhadra kali and Kalika Bhavani.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a group, they were well known in northern India, and were often represented by balls of clay.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Phul Mata was specifically associated with typhoid fever.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Phul Mata is mentioned in epic and Puranic Hindu literature.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>