16/03/2019 Stotra - Wikipedia

Stotra
Stotra (Sanskrit: तो )(sometimes stotram, तो म ्) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise".[1][2]
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.[1]

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.[3]

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, which combine
Ramanuja's Vedantic ideas on qualified monism about Atman and Brahman (ultimate, unchanging reality), with temple
practices.[3]

Contents
Etymology
Example
Nama-stotra
Notable stotras
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

Etymology
Stotra comes from the Sanskrit root stu- which means "to praise, eulogize or laud".[3] Literally, the term refers to "poems
of praise".[4] The earliest trace of Stotras are Vedic, particularly in the Samaveda.[4]

Example
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.[5]

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,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotra 1/3
16/03/2019 Stotra - Wikipedia

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.

— Appar, Ardhanarishvara Stotra, [5]

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.[6] Other nama-stotras may include 100 or 108 epithets of the deity.
According to Hinduism, the names of God are valuable tools for devotion.
A seated Ardhanarishvara with both
the vahanas
Notable stotras
Shiva Tandava Stotram
Dakshinamurti Stotram
Shiv Mahimna Stotra
Panchakshara Stotra
Ram Raksha Stotra
Mahishasuramardini Stotra
Maruti Stotra
Agasti Lakshmi Stotra
Dvadasha Stotra

Jainism

Bhaktamara Stotra

See also
Khadgamala
List of suktas and stutis

References
1. Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on Stotra (http://www.
sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/indexcaller.php?input=HK&output=SktRomanU
nicode&citation=stotra)
2. Apte 1965, p. 1005.
3. Nancy Ann Nayar (1992). Poetry as Theology: The Śrīvaiṣṇava Stotra in the Age of Rāmānuja. Otto Harrassowitz
Verlag. pp. ix–xi. ISBN 978-3447032551.
4. Nancy Ann Nayar (1992). Poetry as Theology: The Śrīvaiṣṇava Stotra in the Age of Rāmānuja. Otto Harrassowitz
Verlag. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-3447032551.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotra 2/3
16/03/2019 Stotra - Wikipedia

5. Ellen Goldberg (2012). Lord Who Is Half Woman, The: Ardhanarisvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective. State
University of New York Press. pp. 91–96. ISBN 978-0791488850.
6. Vishnu Sahasranamam (http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Vishnu_Sahasranamam) on Hindupedia, the Online Hindu
Encyclopedia

Bibliography
Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965), The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (Fourth revised and enlarged ed.), Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers, ISBN 81-208-0567-4

External links
Read Stotras in multiple languages (https://web.archive.org/web/20110514200843/http://stotra.teluguthesis.org/)
Alphabetical List of the Stotras (http://www.dvaita.org/stotra/alphaList.html)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stotra&oldid=886744082"

This page was last edited on 8 March 2019, at 06:54 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotra 3/3