' is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

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 that may be worshipped. Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854) coined the word, and Friedrich Welcker (1784–1868) ...

equivalence and/or that they may be attributes rather than personal

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

s. Thus the

Ganesha Sahasranama The Ganesha Sahasranama () is a list of the names of Hindu deity Ganesha (). A sahasranama is a Hindu hymn of praise in which a deity is referred to by 1,000 or more different names. Ganesha Sahasranamas are recited in many temples today as a liv ...

list of one thousand names includes

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Rudra Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". 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 The ''Lalita Sahasranama'' () is a Hindu religious text that enumerates the thousand names of Mother Goddess Lalita, which are held sacred in Hinduism particularly in Shaktism, the tradition focused on the worship of the Divine Feminine (''Sh ...

'', 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 Samhita (IAST: ''Saṃhitā'') literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodical, rule-based combination of text or verses".

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: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...

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, ''Bhashyas'' are also found in other Indian languages such as Tamil. Bhashyas are found in vario ...

'' (commentary) by 12th-century

Parasara Bhattar Parasara Bhattar (), also called Periya Bhattar and Parashara Bhattarya, was a follower of Ramanuja, a 12th-century Sri Vaishnava teacher (1062-1174 CE). He was the son of Koorathalvar. His works include the ''Srirangarajastavam''. He wrote a ...

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

Some well-known sahasranāmas include: *The Vishnu Sahasranama, of which the most popular version is found in the

Anushasana Parva The Anushasana Parva (, IAST: Anuśāsanaparva) ("Book of Instructions") is the thirteenth of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. It traditionally has 2 parts and 168 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Anusasana Parv ...

(13.135) of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. Other versions are found in many

Purana Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

s linked to Vaishnavism. *The Shiva Sahasranama, which is also found in the

(13.17) of the

. Seven other versions also exist. 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

, which is a Shaktist stotra. This

Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

-related work is found in the . *The

, 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 ...

. *The Hanuman Sahasranama, is a

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

stotra told by

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

. Its origin is unknown, but it is often attributed to the deity

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

. Tantrikas chant the Bhavani Nāma Sahasra Stuti and the Kali Sahasranāma. While the Vishnu and Shiva Sahasranāmas are popular amongst all Hindus, the

is mostly chanted in South India. The

is mainly chanted by

Ganapatya Ganapatya is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha (also called Ganapati) as the Parabrahman, 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 ...

text of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

, with thousand names of

Jinasena Acharya Jinasena II (c. 9th century CE) was a monk and scholar in the ''Digambara'' tradition of Jainism. He was patronized by the Rashtrakuta Emperor Amoghavarsha I. He was the author of ''Adipurana'' and '' Mahapurana''.

, Ashadhara and

Banarasidas Banarasidas (1586–1643) 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 a ...

, Arhannamasahasrasamuccaya by Acarya Hemacandra.Jain Journal, Volumes 2-3, Jain Bhawan., 1967, p. 125

Sikhism

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expande ...

of Sikhism, along with his associates, are credited with Sukhmani Sahasranama, composed in ''gauri'' raga, based on Hindu

Puranic Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

literature, and dedicated to

Waheguru ''Waheguru'' (, pronunciation: , literally meaning "Wow Guru", figuratively translated to mean "Wonderful God" or "Wonderful Lord") is a term used in Sikhism to refer to God as described in ''Guru Granth Sahib''. It is the most common term to re ...

. This 17th-century Sikh text is entirely dedicated to

bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

themes.

References

External links

SahasranAma stotras (160+) at sanskritdocuments.org
.
SahasranAmAvalIs (110+) at sanskritdocuments.org
. * {{Names of God Bhakti movement Hindu philosophical concepts