Hindu Prayers
Which Form Are You Holding?
“Knowing which form you are holding is most of knowing how to read it.”
About Hindu Prayers
Mantra, stotra, chalisa, sahasranama, aarti, bhajan, suktam, shloka. English-language sources use these words more or less interchangeably, and they are not interchangeable — they name different forms, in different languages, from different centuries, doing different jobs. A mantra is a formula whose sound is held to be efficacious in itself, usually Sanskrit and usually short. A stotra is a composed hymn of praise, often by a named author working in an elaborate metre. A chalisa is forty verses in a spoken vernacular, medieval or later, and almost always narrative in feel. A sahasranama is a list of a thousand names, recited as a list. An aarti is a song sung while lamps are circled — across most of North India at the close of worship, though the position is regional, and in Maharashtra a Ganesha aarti opens a puja as well as ending it. This page sets out what each form is, when it emerged, what language it is in, and where it sits in an actual sequence of worship — which is the fastest way to make sense of a text you have been handed.
Capabilities
Tell you which form a given text belongs to, and what follows from that
Explain how mantra, stotra, chalisa, sahasranama and aarti differ
Say what language and roughly what century a form comes from
Place each form in the actual sequence of a puja
Distinguish bhajan from kirtan, shloka from mantra, stuti from stotra
Point you to the specific text you are trying to understand
Core Teachings
Mantra — the Sound Is the Point
A formula, usually Sanskrit and usually short, whose efficacy the tradition locates in the sound itself rather than only in its sense. Vedic mantras come from the samhitas; beej mantras are single seed-syllables; nama mantras attach a name to a salutation. Traditionally received from a teacher rather than picked up from a page.
Stotra — a Composed Hymn, With an Author
Sanskrit praise poetry, often by a named poet — Shankara, Vedanta Desika, Ravana in tradition — and frequently in elaborate metre. Length is named in the title: ashtakam is eight verses, panchakam five, shatakam a hundred. Read as literature, they are the most technically accomplished material in this section.
Chalisa — Forty Verses in a Spoken Language
A vernacular devotional poem of forty verses, medieval or later — Awadhi, Braj or Hindi rather than Sanskrit. The form is defined by its count and its language, and its vernacular character is exactly why chalisas are memorised by people who never studied Sanskrit.
Sahasranama — a List of Names
A thousand names of a deity, recited as a list, usually drawn from an epic or a purana. A namavali is the same idea at 108. The form is not narrative and not argumentative: it is enumeration, and its effect comes from the accumulation rather than from any single name.
Aarti — a Song for a Lamp
Sung while lamps are circled before an image — in most of North India at the close of worship, though where it falls is a regional matter: in Maharashtra a Ganesha aarti is commonly sung to open a puja too, since Ganesha is invoked before any undertaking. Almost always vernacular — Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati — and almost always congregational. An aarti is the one form here that is a song before it is a text.
Sukta — a Vedic Hymn
A complete hymn from the Vedic samhitas, such as the Purusha Sukta or the Sri Sukta. Older than everything else on this page by a wide margin, in Vedic Sanskrit, and recited with pitch accent that later Sanskrit does not carry.
Bhajan and Kirtan Are Music
A bhajan is a devotional song; a kirtan is congregational and call-and-response, with a leader and a room answering. Both are performed rather than recited, and both belong to the bhakti movement's deliberate turn toward the vernacular and the participatory.
The Forms Sit in a Sequence
In an actual puja the order is roughly: invocation and mantras, then offerings, then a stotra or chalisa, then the aarti with lamps, then prasad. Knowing that a text is an aarti usually tells you it comes near the end — which is a fact about the text as much as about the ritual. Usually, not always: Maharashtra opens with a Ganesha aarti as well as closing with one.
Sacred Practices
Japa
Counted repetition of a mantra, usually 108 times on a mala, silently or under the breath. The characteristic practice of the mantra form specifically — you do not do japa of a chalisa.
Pāṭh — Recitation of a Whole Text
Reading a complete text start to finish: a chalisa, a sahasranama, the Sunderkand. Done aloud, often at a fixed time, and often on a particular weekday associated with the deity.
Aarti With Lamps
A lit lamp circled clockwise before the image while the aarti is sung, usually by everyone present, often with a bell. Generally the close of worship, after which prasad is distributed — though in Maharashtra a Ganesha aarti also opens the sequence.
Namavali — 108 Names
Recitation of a list of names, each preceded by oṃ and followed by namaḥ, often with an offering of flowers or water at each name. The archanā, and the reason temples can perform a personalised rite quickly.
Kirtan
Call and response, led and answered, with drum and cymbals, sustained for a long time. Congregational by design, and the form in which most people first encounter devotional material as participants rather than listeners.
Vrat Kathā
The narrative recited during a fast — the Satyanarayan katha is the best known. Neither hymn nor mantra: a story, read aloud to a gathered household, with the fast as its frame.
Sacred Symbols
The Circling Lamp
Light moved clockwise before an image, then passed around so each person draws the warmth toward themselves. The gesture that gives aarti its name and its shape.
The Mala
One hundred and eight beads plus a head bead that is never crossed — you turn back rather than passing it. The physical form of japa, and a boundary as much as a counter.
Forty
The number that names the chalisa form. Long enough to say something substantial, short enough to hold in memory and recite in four minutes.
The Thousand Names
Enumeration as devotion. No argument, no narrative — a thousand ways of pointing at the same thing, on the view that no single one of them will do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a mantra and a stotra?
A mantra is a formula, usually short and usually Sanskrit, whose efficacy the tradition locates in the sound itself; it is repeated, often counted, and traditionally received from a teacher. A stotra is a composed hymn of praise, often long, usually by a named author, in a literary metre, and recited straight through rather than repeated. You do japa of a mantra; you do paath of a stotra.
What is a chalisa?
A devotional poem of forty verses — chālīs means forty — composed in a spoken vernacular such as Awadhi, Braj or Hindi rather than in Sanskrit. The form is medieval or later. The Hanuman Chalisa of Tulsidas is by far the best known, and its vernacular language is precisely why it is memorised by hundreds of millions of people who never studied Sanskrit.
What is an aarti and when is it sung?
A song sung while lamps are circled before an image. Across most of North India it comes at the close of worship, but where it falls is regional rather than fixed: in Maharashtra a Ganesha aarti is commonly sung to open a puja as well as to end it, because Ganesha is invoked before any undertaking. Aartis are almost always vernacular — Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati — and almost always sung by everyone present rather than by a specialist. Om Jai Jagdish Hare is the most widely known.
What is a sahasranama?
A litany of a thousand names of a deity, recited as a list. The Vishnu Sahasranama comes from the Mahabharata and the Lalita Sahasranama from the Brahmanda Purana. A namavali is the same form at 108 names, each preceded by oṃ and followed by namaḥ, often recited with an offering at each name. The effect is cumulative — no individual name carries the weight.
What is the difference between a shloka and a mantra?
Shloka is a formal term: a Sanskrit verse, most often in the anuṣṭubh metre of thirty-two syllables. It describes the shape of a verse, not its function. A mantra describes function — a formula used ritually or repetitively. So a shloka can be used as a mantra, many mantras are not shlokas, and calling something a shloka tells you about its metre rather than about what it is for.
What is the difference between a bhajan and a kirtan?
A bhajan is a devotional song, which one person or a small group may sing. A kirtan is congregational and call-and-response: a leader sings a line and the room answers, usually with drum and cymbals, often sustained for a long time. Kirtan is participatory by design. Both belong to the bhakti movement's turn toward vernacular languages and toward practice that requires no specialist.
What is a suktam?
A complete hymn from the Vedic samhitas — the Purusha Sukta from the Rigveda, or the Sri Sukta, an appendix to it. Suktas are older than everything else on this page by a wide margin, are in Vedic Sanskrit, and are recited with pitch accent that later Sanskrit does not carry. When a suktam appears in modern worship it is generally the oldest thing in the room.
In what order do these come in a puja?
Broadly: invocation and seating of the deity, then mantras and offerings — water, flowers, incense, food — then a stotra or chalisa recited in full, then the aarti with circling lamps, then the distribution of prasad. Practice varies enormously by region, sect and household, and no single order is normative — Maharashtra, for instance, sings a Ganesha aarti at the opening as well as at the close. But knowing that mantras generally open and that aarti generally sits near the end is enough to place most texts.
Which form should I start with?
A short mantra if you want to understand something completely — the Gayatri is twenty-four syllables and can be taken apart word by word in an evening. A chalisa if you want something with narrative and momentum that rewards a verse a day. Avoid starting with a sahasranama; a thousand names is a great deal of Sanskrit before anything becomes familiar.
Do these have to be recited in Sanskrit?
It depends on the form. Mantras, stotras and suktas are Sanskrit by definition, and the tradition places real weight on their sound. Chalisas, aartis and bhajans are vernacular by definition — being in a spoken language is what makes them what they are. So the question answers itself once you know which form you are holding, which is the point of this page.
Who wrote these texts?
It varies more than most people expect. Vedic mantras are attributed to named rishis and treated as seen rather than composed. Stotras frequently have known authors — Shankara is credited with a great many. Chalisas are medieval and later, with Tulsidas the most famous author. Sahasranamas sit inside epics and puranas without individual attribution. Aartis are often anonymous, though Sukhkarta Dukhharta is attributed to Samarth Ramdas.
Are these prayers or are they meditation?
Both categories apply, and the tradition does not draw the line where English does. Japa of a mantra is a repetition practice that any contemplative tradition would recognise as meditative. Reciting a chalisa is closer to what English calls prayer. An aarti is closer to congregational worship. The Hindu term that covers all of them is not prayer but upāsanā — approach, or attendance on — which is a more accurate description of what is going on.
Sources & Citations
- Mantra (Encyclopaedia Britannica) (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction, Kim Knott (Oxford University Press, 2016)
- The Hindus: An Alternative History, Wendy Doniger (Penguin, 2009)
- Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey, Philip Lutgendorf (Oxford University Press, 2007)
- The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India, Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton (Oxford University Press, 2014)
Further Reading
- Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction — Kim Knottbook
- Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey — Philip Lutgendorfbook
- Mantra — Harvey P. Alper (ed.)book
- Darśan: Seeing the Divine Image in India — Diana L. Eckbook
- The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India — Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Breretonbook
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