' is a
Sanskrit term which means "a thousand names".
[Sir Monier Monier-Williams, ''sahasranAman'', A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), ] It is also a genre of
stotra
''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...
literature,
usually found as a title of the text named after a deity, such as Vishnu Sahasranāma, wherein the deity is remembered by 1,000 names, attributes or epithets.[
As stotras, Sahasra-namas are songs of praise, a type of devotional literature.] The word is a compound of ' "thousand" and ' "name". A Sahasranāma often includes the names of other deities, suggesting henotheistic
Henotheism is the worship of a single, supreme god that does not deny the existence or possible existence of other deities. Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854) coined the word, and Friedrich Welcker (1784–1868) used it to depict primit ...
equivalence and/or that they may be attributes rather than personal names. Thus the Ganesha Sahasranama list of one thousand names includes Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
, Vishnu, Shakti, Shiva, Rudra, SadaShiva and others.[ It also includes epithets such as Jiva (life force), Satya (truth), Param (highest), Jnana (knowledge) and others.][श्रीगणपतिसहस्रनामावली]
Sri Ganapati Sahasranama, Shree Sharada SahasraNama/श्री शारदा सहस्रनाम dedicated to Sharda Devi,The presiding deity of Kashmir now in Sharada Valley, Muzaffarabad POK SanskritDocuments.Org Archive The Vishnu Sahasranama includes in its list ''work'' and ''jñāna-yājna'' (offering of knowledge) as two attributes of Vishnu. The '' Lalita Sahasranama'', similarly, includes the energies of a goddess that manifest in an individual as desire, wisdom and action.
A sahasranama provides a terse list of attributes, virtues and legends symbolized by a deity. There are also many shorter stotras, containing only 108 names ( 108 being a sacred number in Dharmic religions) and accordingly called ''ashtottara-shata-nāma''.
Chronology
The sahasranamas such as the Vishnu Sahasranama, are not found in early Samhita manuscripts, rather found in medieval and later versions of various Samhitas. One of the significant works on Sahasranama is from the sub-school of Ramanuja
Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...
and the ''Vishnu Sahasra-namam Bhasya Bhashya () is a "commentary" or "exposition" of any primary or secondary text in ancient or medieval Indian literature. Common in Sanskrit literature, ''Bhashya'' is also found in other Indian languages. Bhashya are found in various fields, ranging ...
'' (commentary) by 12th-century Parasara Bhattar.
Type
Sahasranamas are used for recitals, in ways such as:
*sravana, listening to recitals of names and glories of God
*nama-sankirtana (), reciting the names of God either set to music or not
*smarana, recalling divine deeds and teaching of divine deeds.
*archana (), worshipping the divine with ritual repetition of divine names.
Hinduism
The most well-known sahasranāmas are:
* Vishnu sahasranama, is a Vaishnavism stotra, and is found in section 13.135 ( Anushasana Parva) of the Mahabharata, and all Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s linked to Vaishnavism.
* Shiva sahasranama, is a Shaivism stotra, also found in 13.17 of the Mahabharata. It exists in eight different versions.[ Includes ''Śivasahasranāmakoṣa'', a dictionary of names. This work compares eight versions of the ''Śivasahasranāmāstotra''. The preface and introduction (in English) by Ram Karan Sharma provide an analysis of how the eight versions compare with one another. The text of the eight versions is given in Sanskrit.] The best-known version is from Book 13 of the Mahabharata.
* Lalita sahasranama, is a Shaktism
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti (Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all ...
stotra. This Devi-related work is found in the .
* Ganesha sahasranama, is a Ganeshism stotra. One version is found in the Ganesha Purana
The Ganesha Purana (Sanskrit:; ) is a Sanskrit text that deals with the Hindu deity Ganesha (). It is an (minor Purana) that includes mythology, cosmogony, genealogy, metaphors, yoga, theology and philosophy relating to Ganesha.
The text is or ...
.
*Hanuman Sahasranama, is a Hanuman stotra told by Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...
. Its origin is unknown and it is attributed to Ramachandra who is the seer for this stotra.
Tantrikas chant the Bhavani Nāma Sahasra Stuti and the Kali Sahasranāma. While the Vishnu and Shiva Sahāsranamas are popular amongst all Hindus, the Lalita Sahasranama is mostly chanted in South India. The Ganesha Sahasranama is mainly chanted by Ganapatya
Ganapatya is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha (also called Ganapati) as the Saguna Brahman.[stotra
''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...](_blank)
text of Jainism, with thousand names of Jinasena, Ashadhara and Banarasidas
Banarasidas (15861643) was a Shrimal Jain businessman and poet of Mughal India. He is known for his poetic autobiography - ''Ardhakathānaka'', (The Half Story), composed in Braj Bhasa, an early dialect of Hindi linked with the region around ...
, Arhannamasahasrasamuccaya by Acarya Hemacandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gai ...
.[Jain Journal, Volumes 2-3, Jain Bhawan., 1967, p. 125]
Sikhism
Guru Arjan of Sikhism, along with his associates, are credited with Sukhmani Sahasranama, composed in ''gauri'' raga, based on Hindu Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
literature, and dedicated to Waheguru. This 17th-century Sikh text is entirely dedicated to bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
themes.
See also
* Bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
* Names of God
* Bhadrakalpikasutra (thousand names of Buddha, a Buddhist text)
References
Further reading
* C. Ramanujachari. ''The Spiritual heritage of Thiagaraja''. Ramakrishna Students Home, Mylapore, Chennai, 1957.
External links
SahasranAma stotras (160+) at sanskritdocuments.org
.
SahasranAmAvalIs (110+) at sanskritdocuments.org
.
*
{{Names of God
Bhakti movement
Hindu philosophical concepts