Stotra
Sanskrit hymns of praise, often more elaborate and philosophically dense than a chalisa or mantra.
Shiva Tandava Stotram
A powerful hymn attributed to Ravana, praising Lord Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction.
Read more →StotraBajrang Baan
An intense, urgent hymn invoking Hanuman for immediate protection from fear, evil forces and danger.
Read more →StotraSankat Mochan Hanuman Ashtak
An eight-verse hymn recounting Hanuman's greatest deeds, recited specifically to resolve serious difficulty.
Read more →How a stotra differs from a chalisa
A stotra is a Sanskrit hymn of praise addressed to a deity, similar in purpose to a chalisa but generally older, composed entirely in Sanskrit rather than a vernacular language, and often more elaborate in its imagery and philosophical content. Where a chalisa is typically a fixed, folk-accessible form of forty verses, stotra length and structure vary considerably by text.
Examples on this site
The Shiva Tandava Stotram and the Hanuman Ashtak are two examples — each includes the Sanskrit, a transliteration, and an explanation of its meaning and traditional use.
Who typically recites a stotra
Because stotras are often more textually demanding than a chalisa, they're commonly recited by those already comfortable with Sanskrit pronunciation, or read alongside a transliteration and translation until the wording becomes familiar.