Stotra: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Stotra means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1a) Stotra (स्तोत्र).—Of Gadādhara, by Brahmā;1 by Śiva.2
1b) Four-fold, dravya, guṇa, karma, and ābhijanikam.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 59. 58.
1c) 1 —of Brahmā by Gods oppressed by Tāraka;2 of Pārvatī by Vīraka;3 of Ṣanmukha before Tārakāvadha;4 same by Siddhas and Bandies;5 of Narasimha by Gods after the death of Hiraṇyakaśipu;6 of Narasimha by Śankara;7 of Hari by Aditi;8 of Hari by Prahlāda;9 of Vāmana by Brahmā;10 of Mādhava by earth (Mādhavīya);11 of Viṣṇu by Gods for Amṛthamathana.12
- 1) Matsya-purāṇa 61. 50-3.
- 2) Ib. 154. 7-15.
- 3) Ib. 158. 11-20.
- 4) Ib. 159. 13-17.
- 5) Ib. 169. 40-3.
- 6) Ib. 163. 98-103.
- 7) Ib. 179. 55-60.
- 8) Ib. 244. 12-34.
- 9) Ib. 245. 17-29.
- 10) Ib. 245. 67-80.
- 11) Ib. 248. 12. 56.
- 12) Ib. 249. 37-44.
1d) Of Viṣṇu by Prithivī;1 by Brahmā;2 by other Gods;3 by Dhruva;4 by Pracetasas;5 by Prahlāda;6 by Devas;7 by Brahmā;8 by Kāliya's wives (Kṛṣṇa);9 by Kāliya;10 by Nārada;11 by Akrūra;12 by Vāsudeva after Kaṃsa's fall;13 by Mucukunda;14 by Aditi after getting her kuṇḍala back.15
- 1) Viṣṇu-purāṇa I. 4. 12-24.
- 2) Ib. I. 9. 40. 57.
- 3) Ib. I. 9. 69-74.
- 4) Ib. I. 12. 51-74.
- 5) Ib. I. 15. 2{??}-43.
- 6) Ib. I. 19. 64-86; 20. 9-13.
- 7) Ib. III. 17. 11-34.
- 8) Ib. V. 1. 35-51, 55-9.
- 9) Ib. V. 7. 48-59.
- 10) Ib. V. 7. 61-76.
- 11) Ib. V. 16. 19-27.
- 12) Ib. V. 17. 3-17; 18. 48-58.
- 13) Ib. V. 20. 94-105.
- 14) Ib. V. 23. 29-47.
- 15) Ib. V. 30. 6-23.
1e) Of Lakṣmī, by Indra.*
- * Viṣṇu-purāṇa I. 9. 116-33.
1f) Of Sūrya, by Yājñavalkya.*
- * Viṣṇu-purāṇa III. 5. 16-25.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Stotra (स्तोत्र) [Ārya or Drāviḍa] refers to “chanting veda/ devāram” and represents one of the various upacāras (offerings), in pūjā (ritual worship), as defined in the Śaivāgamas.—Pūjā consists of offering hospitality, in the form of water to wash the feet, to drink, water for ablutions, offering a bath, new clothes, fragrant unguents, fragrant flowers and ornaments, food and so on. Each step in the pūjā process is called “saṃskāra” and each offering is called “upacāra” [viz., Stotra].
Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Stotra (स्तोत्र) refers to “(divine) lauds”, according to the Kularatnoddyota verse 2.21-27.—Accordingly, “[...] He worshipped the Great Transmission with hymns and excellent divine lauds (stotra—stutistotravarair divyaiḥ), by exhibiting the Great Gestures and with salutations and the waving of lamps along with divine words of praise and rites of adoration centered on the maṇḍala and the Krama. Taking up then the energizing (substances), O fair one, he who does all things, was conjoined with the goddess. O Supreme mistress, praised by the heroes, the Lord of the heroes and the universal Self took up the vessel with the meat and put it in (his) mouth along with the sacrificial pap. [...]”.
Stotra (स्तोत्र) refers to a “hymn”, according to Sāhib Kaul’s Śārikāstrotra.—Accordingly, “[...] When the marvelous sun of true devotion to you rises, the lotus of my heart is inflamed through true emotion. In it always resides, out of respect, the good fortune of liberation that is coveted by all. Having attained the strength of true intelligence through Jñānasvāmin, I know what there is to know and everywhere contemplate my own self . I, Sāhib Kaula, have composed this hymn (stotra) to the lineage deity Śārikā, which contains the construction of her Mantra. [...]”.
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
Yoga (school of philosophy)
Stotra (स्तोत्र) refers to a “hymn”, according to the Kulārṇavatantra 9.36.—Accordingly: “A hymn (stotra) is equal to ten million acts of worship; repeating a mantra is equal to ten million hymns; meditation is equal to ten million repetitions of a mantra, and absorption is equal to ten million meditations”.
Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
Stotra (स्तोत्र) refers to “hymns of praise”, as discussed in chapter 16 of the (first part of the) Śāṇḍilyasaṃhitā: a Pāñcarātra text comprising 3600 Sanskrit verses dealing with devotion towards Kṛṣṇa who is identified with the Supreme, as well as ethical behavior and pious practices to be observed by devotees (bhaktas).—Description of the chapter [stotra-nirūpaṇa]: Stotras, the use of which will lead to mokṣa, are given here to the Guru, to Hari, to the Lord as maṅgalāṣṭaka, and for accompanying the lamp-waving ceremony. [...]
Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Stotra (स्तोत्र) denotes the ‘song’ of the Udgātṛ and his assistant priests (see ṛtvij), just as Śastra denotes the ‘recitation’ of the Hotṛ and his assistants. The word has this technical sense quite frequently in the later Saṃhitās and the Brāhmaṇas.
A stotra is a complex of melodic mantras of Samaveda sung only in the Soma-type of śrauta ritual by three priests of Samavedin, who inherit Sāmavedic texts and its ritualistic tradition. The Soma sacrifices belonging to this type have as many stotras as its own samsthā-style requires. For example, in agniṣṭoma-samsthā-styled Soma rituals there are 12 stotras on the main day (sutyam ahan), when cups of juice extracted from Soma stalks (it has been recognized as Ephedra today) are poured into the āhavanīyafire as an oblation, and in ukthya-styled Soma rituals 15 stotras.
There are several elements that constitute a stotra such as melodies (sāman), verses (ṛc), etc. Among them, stoma is a technical term attached to the number of melodic verses in one stotra.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
stōtra (स्तोत्र).—n (S) Praise, panegyric, eulogium. 2 A book or writing in celebration of the praises of: also a hymn.
stōtra (स्तोत्र).—n Praise. A hymn.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Stotra (स्तोत्र).—[stu-ṣṭran]
1) Praise, eulogium.
2) A hymn of praise, panegyric; सकलगणवरिष्ठः पुष्पदन्ताभिधानो रुचिर- मलघुवृत्तैः स्तोत्रमेतच्चकार (sakalagaṇavariṣṭhaḥ puṣpadantābhidhāno rucira- malaghuvṛttaiḥ stotrametaccakāra) Śiva-mahimna.33.
Derivable forms: stotram (स्तोत्रम्).
Stotra (स्तोत्र).—n.
(-traṃ) Praise, eulogium. E. ṣṭu to praise, aff. ṣṭran .
Stotra (स्तोत्र).—i. e. stu + tra, n. Praise, [Lassen, Anthologia Sanskritica.] 53, 17; [Rājataraṅgiṇī] 5, 351.
Stotra (स्तोत्र).—[neuter] praise, hymn; a cert. kind of recitations ([ritual or religion]).
1) Stotra (स्तोत्र):—[from stu] n. praise, eulogium, a hymn of praise, ode, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
2) [v.s. ...] (in ritual) Name of the texts or verses which are sung (in contradistinction to the Śastras [q.v.] which are recited), [Taittirīya-saṃhitā; Brāhmaṇa; ???]
Stotra (स्तोत्र):—(traṃ) 1. n. Praise.
Stotra (स्तोत्र):—(wie eben) n. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 2, 182] (parox.).
1) Lobgesang, Preis, Lob [Amarakoṣa 1, 1, 5, 12.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 269.] [Halāyudha 1, 145.] [Ṛgveda 1, 30, 5.] sto.ramasya.na tandate [138, 1. 3, 33, 14. 5, 55, 9.] indrasya sto.raṃ ma.ibhiravāci [?6, 34, 5. 9, 72, 9. 105, 1.Atharvavedasaṃhitā 5, 11, 8. 9. Mahābhārata 1, 812. 8426. 3, 165. 4, 1255.] durgā [?6,794. Harivaṃśa 329. 10231. Rājataraṅgiṇī.3,62. Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 85,39. 97,2. WEBER, KṚṢṆAJ. 301. fgg. Brahmapurāṇa in Lassen’s Anthologie (III) 52,19. Bhāgavatapurāṇa.3,9,38. 40.4,7,19. 15,23. 25,2.6,8,27. 19,9.8,3,31. PAÑCAR.1,3,88.4,22.9,9.4,1,16. Weber’s Verzeichniss No. 496. 1274. Oxforder Handschriften 94,a,36. fgg.] kuryāccaturvidhaṃ stotraṃ pakṣayorubhayorapi [KĀM. NĪTIS. 12, 11.] satyaṃ priyaṃ ca [17, 16.] [BURNOUF, Intr. 542. 557.] svavikramakathā [Rājataraṅgiṇī 5, 351.] anyathā [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 2, 204.] mithyā [Spr. (II) 7596.] imaṃ stotram [Harivaṃśa 15022] wohl nur fehlerhaft für idaṃ sto . —
2) im Ritual die in singender Recitation vorgetragenen, den Śastra parallelen Abschnitte. Auf die Schöpfung des Soma folgt dieser Gesang des Udgātar und seiner Genossen, dann das Śastra durch den Hotar und Opferung des Tranks. Der Agniṣṭoma z. B. zählt an den drei Savana zwölf Stotra mit 190 Versen (stotriyā). Nach [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 3, 23] und [Sāyaṇa] zu d. St. besteht ein Stotra aus fünf Gliedern: hiṃkāra (des Udgātar), prastāva (des Prastotar), udgītha (des Udgātar), pratihāra (des Pratihartar) und nidhana (sämmtlicher). Ueber Einzelnes vgl. [Sāyaṇa] zu [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 3, 41.] [Scholiast] zu [Śāṅkhāyana’s Brāhmaṇa 16, 9.] [Taittirīyasaṃhitā Comm. 3, 16.] [Taittirīyabrāhmaṇa Comm. 1, 99.] [Weber’s Indische Studien 10, 353. fg. -] [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 4, 1, 1, 7.] yadvāva stotraṃ tacchastraṃ yāsu hyeva stuvate tā evānuśaṃsati [8, 1, 3, 4.] ṛcā vai stotrāya gṛhyate yajuṣā śastrāya [Kāṭhaka-Recension 29, 2.] grahaṃ vā gṛhī.vā cama.aṃ vo.nīya sto.ramu.ākuryāt [Taittirīyasaṃhitā 3, 1, 2, 4.] [Śāṅkhāyana’s Brāhmaṇa 17, 7.] [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 2, 37. 3, 46. 4, 12.] nividā stotramatiśastaṃ bhavati [3, 11.] [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 9, 14, 4. 12, 4, 16.] prasava [Śāṅkhāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 8, 15, 4.] stotramagre śastrāt [Aśvalāyana’s Śrautasūtrāni 5, 10, 1.] [LĀṬY. 1, 11, 23. 2, 7, 4. 11, 1.] stotravatprastāvāḥ [4, 10, 7.] yaddevatyāsu stuvate sā stotradevatā [?6, 9, 4. Scholiast zu 1. Mahābhārata 14, 742.] — Vgl. ālamandāra, dhanada, nitya, parā, priya, bhaktāmara, marut, rāma, lakṣmī, vākyasiddhānta, śivapañcākṣara, śrīgurusahasranāma, śrīhari, saptabuddha, sarasvatī, sūrya .
Stotra (स्तोत्र) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Thutta, Thotta.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Stotra (स्तोत्र):—(nm) a hymn (of praise); eulogism, doxology; ~[triya] pertaining to a ~[tra].
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Stōtra (ಸ್ತೋತ್ರ):—
1) [noun] the act of praising or extolling.
2) [noun] a hymn, verse in praise of.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Stotra (स्तोत्र):—n. 1. series of mantras; recitation; 2. a hymn of praise; eulogy;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): The, The, Te, Stotra.
Starts with (+7): Stotra-adhyayan, Stotra-adhyayana, Stotrabhashya, Stotradipatha, Stotragrantha, Stotragranthamala, Stotragranthamala, Stotrajala, Stotrakarin, Stotrakavaca, Stotrakavacanirupana, Stotrakoti, Stotram, Stotramantra, Stotramgey, Stotranirupana, Stotrapatam, Stotrapath, Stotrapatha, Stotraprakarana.
Full-text (+1760): Kalyanamandirastotra, Shivastotra, Ganapatistotra, Anyathastotra, Lakshmistotra, Kakshyastotra, Anustotra, Sarasvatistotra, Prishthastotra, Gunaratnakoshastotra, Parastotra, Dinakrandanastotra, Candistotra, Aparadhabhanjanastotra, Dhanadastotra, Sahasranamastotra, Devistotra, Stotrapatha, Durgastotra, Suryastotra.
Relevant text
Search found 181 books and stories containing Stotra, Stōtra, The stotra; (plurals include: Stotras, Stōtras, The stotras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Ethical and Spiritual thought of ancient India (by Kaberi Sarkar)
4. Mention of the God of worship in Stotra < [Chapter 1]
3. Place of poetry (Kavya) and devotion in Stotra < [Chapter 1]
1. Appearence Of Philosophical Thoughts In Stotra < [Chapter 2]
Saura-purana (analytical study) (by Priyanku Chakraborty)
Part 8 - Description of Stotras found in the Saurapurāṇa < [Chapter 2 - A Brief Discourse on the Saura-purāṇa]
Part 2.6.1 - Concept of Śiva-bhakti in the Saura-purāṇa < [Chapter 4 - The Vedic and other Elements as Reflected in the Saura-purāṇa]
Part 11 - Literary aspects of the Saura-purāṇa < [Chapter 2 - A Brief Discourse on the Saura-purāṇa]
The Agnistoma Somayaga in the Shukla Yajurveda (by Madan Haloi)
Part 1.2: The common peculiarities of the Saṃsthās < [Chapter 3 - The Somayāga]
Somasaṃsthā (1): Agniṣṭoma < [Chapter 3 - The Somayāga]
Somasaṃsthā (7): Aptoryāma < [Chapter 3 - The Somayāga]
Bharadvaja-srauta-sutra (by C. G. Kashikar)
Satapatha-brahmana (by Julius Eggeling)
Introduction to volume 3 (kāṇḍa 5-7) < [Introductions]
Kanda XIII, adhyaya 2, brahmana 3 < [Thirteenth Kanda]
Kanda XIII, adhyaya 5, brahmana 1 < [Thirteenth Kanda]
Brahma Sutras (Shankaracharya) (by George Thibaut)
III, 3, 65 < [Third Adhyāya, Third Pāda]
III, 3, 26 < [Third Adhyāya, Third Pāda]
III, 3, 62 < [Third Adhyāya, Third Pāda]