Content Types
From eight-verse ashtakams to thousand-name sahasranamams, Vedic suktams, kavachams and keerthanas. A text can belong to more than one type.
Stotram स्तोत्रम्
Hymns of praise addressed to a deity.
Ashtakam अष्टकम्
Hymns of eight verses.
Sahasranamam सहस्रनाम
The thousand names of a deity.
Ashtottaram (108 Names) अष्टोत्तरशतनाम
The 108 names of a deity, as a namavali or a stotram.
Namavali नामावलिः
Lists of divine names chanted with “Om … namah”.
Chalisa चालीसा
Devotional hymns of forty verses.
Mantra मन्त्र
Sacred formulas for chanting and meditation.
Sutra सूत्र
Aphoristic texts.
Slokam श्लोक
Individual verses or verse collections.
Kavacham कवचम्
Protective “armour” hymns.
Suktam सूक्तम्
Vedic hymns.
Suprabhatam सुप्रभातम्
Morning hymns to awaken the deity.
Keerthana & Bhajan कीर्तन
Devotional songs — keerthanas, kritis and bhajans.
Carnatic Lessons & Compositions कर्णाटक सङ्गीत
Carnatic music lessons, geethams and svarajathis.
Shatakam शतकम्
Compositions of (about) a hundred verses.
Panchakam & Pancharatnam पञ्चकम्
Five-verse hymns.
Dandakam दण्डकम्
Long prose-poem hymns.
Hrudayam हृदयम्
“Heart” hymns.
Lahari लहरी
“Wave” poems of praise.
Arati & Mangalam आरती
Hymns sung while waving lamps, and closing benedictions.
Dhyanam ध्यानम्
Meditation verses describing the deity.
Puja Vidhi पूजा विधि
Procedures for worship.
Mahatmyam माहात्म्यम्
Glorifications of a deity, place or text.
Gita गीता
Philosophical songs (Gitas).
Upanishad उपनिषद्
Vedantic scriptures.
Scripture Chapter ग्रन्थ
Chapters of structured scriptures (Ramayana, Gita, Vedas …).
Other अन्य
Other devotional and cultural texts.