The Shiva sahasranama is a "list of a thousand names" of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, one of the most important deities in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. In Hindu tradition a

sahasranama ' 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 Univer ...

is a type of devotional hymn (Sanskrit: ''

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 ...

'') listing many names of a deity. The names provide an exhaustive catalog of the attributes, functions, and major mythology associated with the figure being praised. The Shiva Sahasranama is found in Shiv Mahapuran and many other scriptures such as Linga Purana.

Variations

There are at least eight different variations of the Shiva Sahasranama while the one appearing in the Book 13 ( Anushasana Parva) of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

is considered as the main version. Mahabharata 13.17
translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published between 1883 and 1896). This is the source for the version presented in Chidbhavananda, who refers to it being from the Mahabharata but does not explicitly clarify which of the two Mahabharata versions he is using. See Chidbhavananda, p.5. One version is contained in the Linga Purana while another version occurs in the

. The overlapping of names with the Vishnu sahasranama has led

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

to conclude that

and

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

are identical and both equal to monotheistic

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, a conclusion that is now a central tenet of the Advaita or Smarta tradition of

. Also other names of Shiva were told by Krishna himself to Yudhisthira in the

. Additionally, Krishna himself also recited another version of the Shiva Sahasranama, the 1008 names of Shiva, to him in the 17th chapter of ''Anushāsanaparva'' in the epic

, * ''Linga Purana'' (version 1, LP 1.65.54-168) is close to the Mahabharata Anushasanaparvan version. * ''Linga Purana'' (version 2, LP 1.98.27-159) has some passages in common with LP version 1, but also with other sources * ''Shivapurana'' 4.35.1-131. * ''Mahabharata'' ( Śāntiparvan version). The critical edition of the Mahabharata does not include this version; it is considered part of book 12 ( Śāntiparvan), but is relegated to Appendix 28 in the critical edition, representing a late addition to the text. The

Gita Press Gita Press is the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts.Encyclopædia Brita ...

edition restores it as part of the main text, as verses 12.284.68-180. * ''Vayu Purana'' (1.30.179-284) is almost the same as the Mahabharata Śāntiparvan version. * ''Brahmanda Purana'' (38.1.1-100) is almost the same as the Vayu Purana version. *''Mahābhāgavata Upapurana'' (67.1-125) appears to be of comparatively recent origin.

References

External links

Shiva Sahasranama
{{Shaivism Shaivism Sahasranama