{{Short description|Sanskrit work meaning "ode" or "eulogy"}} {{Hindu scriptures}} '''''Stotra''''' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."<ref name=monierwilliamsstotra>Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on '''[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/indexcaller.php?input=HK&output=SktRomanUnicode&citation=stotra Stotra]'''</ref>{{Sfn|Apte|1965|p=1005}} It is a literary genre of Indian religious texts designed to be melodically sung, in contrast to a ''shastra'' which is composed to be recited.<ref name=monierwilliamsstotra/> 'Stotra' derives from 'stu' meaning 'to praise' <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-30 |title=Stotra |url=https://www.hindupedia.com/en/stotra |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>
A stotra can be a prayer, a description, or a conversation, but always with a poetic structure. It may be a simple poem expressing praise and personal devotion to a deity for example, or poems with embedded spiritual and philosophical doctrines.<ref name="Nayar1992"/>
A common feature of most stotras other than Nama stotras is the repetition of a line at the end of every verse. For example, the last line of every verse in the Mahiṣāsura Mardinī Stotra ends in "Jaya Jaya Hē Mahiṣāsura-mardini Ramyakapardini śailasute."
Many stotra hymns praise aspects of the divine, such as Devi, Shiva, or Vishnu. Relating to word "''stuti''", coming from the same Sanskrit root ''stu-'' ("to praise"), and basically both mean "praise". Notable stotras are ''Shiva Tandava Stotram'' in praise of Shiva and ''Rama Raksha Stotra'', a prayer for protection to Rama.
Stotras are a type of popular devotional literature. Among the early texts with Stotras are by Kuresha,{{Clarify|reason=|date=August 2018}} which combine Ramanuja's Vedantic ideas on qualified monism about Atman and Brahman (ultimate, unchanging reality), with temple practices.<ref name="Nayar1992" /> Stotras are key in Hindu rituals and blessings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2024-09-20 |title=Stotra: Significance and symbolism |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/concept/stotra |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>
==Etymology and definition== ''Stotra'' comes from the Sanskrit root ''stu-'' which means "to praise, eulogize or laud" combined with the ''ṣṭran suffix''.<ref name="Nayar1992">{{cite book| author=Nancy Ann Nayar| title=Poetry as Theology: The Śrīvaiṣṇava Stotra in the Age of Rāmānuja| year=1992| publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3447032551|pages=ix-xi}}</ref> Literally, the term refers to "poems of praise".<ref name=nayar1516>{{cite book| author=Nancy Ann Nayar| title=Poetry as Theology: The Śrīvaiṣṇava Stotra in the Age of Rāmānuja| year=1992| publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3447032551|pages=15–16}}</ref> The earliest trace of stotras are Vedic, particularly in the ''Samaveda''.<ref name=nayar1516/>
The genre of stotras spans from refined, personal works of poetic phrase such as ''kavya'' to impersonal lists of a deity's names (''nama-stotras'') that can function like mantras through repetition. Historically linked to Vedic hymns and other lyrical poetry, stotras appear in many South Asian traditions, including Buddhism, Jainism, Shaivism, and Vaishnavism, and are often included in larger works like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and various Puranas and Tantras.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stainton |first=Hamsa |title=Poetry as prayer in the Sanskrit hymns of Kashmir |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-088982-1 |location=Oxford; New York |pages=2–4}}</ref>
==Example== thumb|right|A seated Ardhanarishvara with both the vahanas The following is a Peterson translation of a Stotra by the Tamil poet Appar for Ardhanarishvara, the Hindu concept of a god who incorporates both the masculine and the feminine as inseparable halves.<ref name=goldberg94/>
{{Blockquote| <poem> An earring of bright new gold one ear, a coiled conch shell sways on the other, On one side he chants the Vedic melodies, on the other, he gently smiles, Matted hair adorned with sweet konrai blossoms on one half of his head, and a woman's curls on the other, he comes. The one the nature of his form, the other of hers, And both are the very essence of his beauty. </poem> |Appar, Ardhanarishvara Stotra|<ref name=goldberg94>{{cite book|author=Ellen Goldberg|title=Lord Who Is Half Woman, The: Ardhanarisvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective| year=2012| publisher=State University of New York Press| isbn=978-0791488850| pages=91–96}}</ref>}}
== Nama-stotra == The ''nama-stotra'' is based on chanting a litany of names for a deity. The Sahasranama, a type of ''nama-stotra,'' is a litany of a thousand names for a particular deity. Sahasranama means "1000 names"; Sahasra means 1000 and nama means names. For example, Vishnu Sahasranama means 1000 names of Vishnu.<ref>[https://www.hindupedia.com/en/Vishnu_Sahasranamam Vishnu Sahasranamam] on Hindupedia, the Online Hindu Encyclopedia</ref> Other ''nama-stotra''s may include 100 or 108 epithets of the deity. According to Hinduism, the names of God are valuable tools for devotion.
==Notable stotras== ===Stotras for Siva=== *''Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotra'' *''Śiva Mahimna Stotra'' *''Panchākṣara Stotra'' *Nataraja Stotra *Asitakṛtam Śivastotram *''Dakshinamūrti Stotra''
===Stotras for Devi=== *''Mahiṣāsura Mardinī Stotra'' *''Aṣṭalakshmī Stotra'' *''Agasti Lakshmi Stotra'' *''Annapūrṇa Stotra'' *''Radha Sahasranama Stotra''<ref>Rita Thyagarajan, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrNyYldbm3I Sri Radha Sahasranama]</ref><ref>Yaśodā Kumāra Dāsa, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqJBVCHGfHY Sri Radha Sahasranama Stotram]</ref> * Lalita Sahasranama Stotra * Bala Tripurasundari Sahasranama Stotra<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nidhi |first=Stotra |date=2022-04-16 |title=Sri Bala Tripurasundari Sahasranama Stotram 1 - śrī bālā tripurasundarī sahasranāma stōtram 1 |url=https://stotranidhi.com/en/sri-bala-sahasranama-stotram-in-english/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=Stotra Nidhi |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_2rAk3gBCA |title=Sri Bala Sahasranamam |date=2023-04-04 |last=Srividya Tantram |access-date=2025-11-12 |via=YouTube}}</ref> * Bhavani Sahasranama Stotra<ref>Durga Lal Sharma Raj Purohit Kishtavad, [https://archive.org/details/bhavani-sahasranama-stavaraj-durga-lal-sharma-raj-purohit-kishtavad Bhavani Sahasranama Stavaraj]</ref><ref>''[https://archive.org/details/rnwc_shri-bhavani-sahasra-nam-stotram-chaukhamba-stotra-granth-mala-9-sanskrit-chaukh/page/n23/mode/2up Shri Bhavani Sahasra Nam Stotram],''Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratisthan, Delhi</ref><ref>Swami Nirdosha, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JFS5aGcTm8 Bhavani Sahasranama Stotram]</ref> * Dakaradi Sridurga Sahasranama Stotra * Durga Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iquBJsZyBLI Durga Sahasranama Stotram] chanting in Sanskrit</ref> * Gayathri Sahasranama Stotra<ref>Bengaluru Sister, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1L5lw6LE6o Sri Gayathri Sahasranama]</ref> * Kali Sahasranama Stotra<ref>{{Cite web |title=Astro Mantra® Official {{!}} The Astro Products Store |url=https://www.astromantra.com/kali-sahastranaam/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=Astro Mantra |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LauyKyOjeos |title=Kali Sahasranamam Stotram |date=2023-08-03 |last=Rajalakshmee Sanjay - Topic |access-date=2025-11-12 |via=YouTube}}</ref> * Kalika Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://stotranidhi.com/en/sri-kalika-sahasranama-stotram-in-english/ Stotranidhi.com]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/Kalika_Sahasranama_Stotra_From_Kalika_Kulasarvasva Kalika Sahasranama Stotra (From Kalika Kulasarvasva)]</ref> * Lalitarahasya Sahasranama Stotra * Lakshmi Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://www.hindupedia.com/en/Lakshmi_Sahasranama_Stotram Lakshmi Sahasranama Stotram], translated by P. R. Ramachander</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRIQAitIcCo Lakshmi Sahasranama Stotram] with lyrics</ref> * Minakshi Sahasranama Stotra * Parvati Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_devii/pArvatIsahasranAmastotram.html Shri Parvati Sahasranama Stotram] in Sanskrit</ref><ref>Koushik K, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y_nx7EuhdQ Parvati Sahasranama] from Kurma Purana</ref> * Saraswati Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://vignanam.org/english/sarasvati-sahasra-nama-stotram.html Sarasvati Sahasra Nama Stotram]</ref><ref>[https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/details/skandapurana50.html Essence of Skanda Purana] by Kamakoti Peetham</ref><ref>Prema Rangarajen, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s33xvWjF36E Saraswati Sahasranama Stotram]</ref> * Sita Sahasranama Stotra<ref>Prem Prakesh Dubey, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8v65FdRIms&t=8s Sri Sita Sahasranama Stotram]</ref><ref>Anika Aggarwal, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LivdRqBdNXM Sri Sita Sahasranama Stotram] with lyrics</ref> * Sodasi Rajarajeswari Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4JhIHzNqCo&t=5s Shri Rajarajeswari Sahasranama Stotram] chanting</ref> * Syamala Sahasranama Stotra<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhM2ZF9USJI Shri Syamala Sahasranama] Chants by Dr.R.Thiagarajan</ref>
===Stotras for Vishnu & avatara=== *''Hayagrīva Stotra'' *''Hari Stotra'' *Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra *Narasimha Kavacham Stotra *''Rāma Raksha Stotra'' * Venkatesa Sahasranama Stotra * Santanagopala Sahasranama Stotra * Rakaradi Srirama Sahasranama Stotra * Makaradi Srirama Sahasranama Stotra * Lakshminarasimha Sahasranama Stotra * Kakaradi Krishna Sahasranama Stotra
===Stotras for other Gods & Goddesses=== *''Māruti Stotra'' * Anjaneya Sahasranama Stotra<ref>Tangirala Lakshmi Murty, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdwaq4evPX0 Sri Hanuman, Anjaneya Sahasranamam]</ref> * Surya Sahasranama Stotra<ref>Rajalakshmee Sanjay, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGmKswbZci8 Surya Sahasranama]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gG6RJjx8AU Surya Sahassthranaam] by Rattan Mohan Sharma</ref> * Sanaischara Sahasranama<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2ruilUQvnU Shri Sanaischara Sahasranama], Chants by Dr.R.Thiagarajan</ref>
===General / Philosophical Stotras=== *''Dvādaśa Stotra'' by Madhvacharya *Mohamudgara Stotra (Bhaja Govindam) by Sankaracharya
==Jainism== *''Bhaktamara Stotra'' *''Uvasagharam Stotra''
==See also== *''Khadgamala'' *List of suktas and stutis
==References== {{reflist}}
===Bibliography=== *{{Citation | last=Apte | first=Vaman Shivram | year=1965 | title=The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary | place=Delhi | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers | edition=Fourth revised and enlarged | isbn=81-208-0567-4}}
== External links == *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514200843/http://stotra.teluguthesis.org/ Read Stotras in multiple languages] (archived 14 May 2011) *[http://www.dvaita.org/stotra/alphaList.html Alphabetical List of the Stotras] *[https://stotra.in/ Read Samskrit Stotra with their English Translation and English Transcription]
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Category:Hindu devotional texts Category:Chants Category:Stotras