Sarkar, Suparna2021-11-012021-11-0131-03-20212348-6538https://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/4170In Bengal, Shasthi-Broto (worship of Goddess Shasthi) is popularly practised by married women for long life and well-being of children. The Broto rites involve the ritual narrative (Broto-Katha) associated with the Broto, which defines motherhood by a set of normative social roles that are assigned to a woman. Motherhood is an idealized status given to a woman from time immemorial. A woman becomes a mother not only by the biological act of delivering a child but also by conforming to the expected role assigned by the society. Mothering may be viewed medically as giving birth to a new born baby nurtured in the womb but sociologically it refers to an expression of a culture which embodies a value system that society assigns to a woman. Thus, the concept of motherhood is a social construction. In this paper, I will explore this social construction of motherhood by analyzing the iconography and narratives of Devi Shasthi the goddess of fertility among the Hindus.enMotherhoodIconographyworship of Shasthi in BengalSocial construction of motherhoodnarratives on ShasthiIconography of ShasthiArticle