# श्लोक (śloka)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/shloka

श्लोक (śloka) is a Sanskrit word meaning sound or noise, a call or voice of the gods, fame, glory, praise, a proverb or maxim, a stanza, especially a particular kind of common epic metre, name of a Saman. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them Multiple Core Meanings (Polysemy), Verse, Stanza, or Metrical Form, Sound, Noise, or Call.

- **Roots:** 1. श्रु (1. śru), श्रु (śru)
- **Etymology:** E. श्लोक to compose, (as verses,) aff. अच्; according to the Rāmāyaṇa, irr. derived from शोक sorrow: the first verse ever composed, having been the involuntary expression of VĀLMĪKI'S grief at beholding a bird killed by a fowler — E. śloka to compose, (as verses,) aff. ac; according to the Rāmāyaṇa, irr. derived from śoka sorrow: the first verse ever composed, having been the involuntary expression of VĀLMĪKI'S grief at beholding a bird killed by a fowler
- **SLP1:** `Sloka`  **IAST:** śloka  **Devanagari:** श्लोक
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shloka
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/shloka/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Multiple Core Meanings (Polysemy) (7 definitions)
- 1. Song. 2. Sound or noise. 3. Reputation or fame. 4. A couplet, stanza, or epic verse.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 323-1 ] श्लोक (śloka) śló-ka, m. [thing heard: √ 1. śru] song, sound, noise ( V. ); reputation, fame ( V., P. ); couplet, stanza ( Br., S., C. ), sp. Anuṣṭubh or epic stanza, Śloka ( C. ): -tva, n. state or form of a Śloka; -dvaya, n. couple of stanzas; -baddha, pp. composed in Ślokas. [ ID=18349 ]
- 1. A stanza. 2. Specifically, a stanza in the Anushtubh metre. 3. Praise. 4. An object of praise. 5. Fame or renown. 6. A proverb.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 735-13 ] श्लोक (śloka) m. 1. A stanza in general; 2. a stanza, written in the Anushtubh metre; 3. praising, praise; 4. an object of praise; 5. celebrity, fame, renown, e.g. पुण्यश्लोक (śloka) ो नलो राजा पुण्यश्लोक (śloka) ो युधिष्ठिरः (puṇyaśloko nalo rājā puṇyaśloko yudhiṣṭhiraḥ); 6. a proverb, a saying. [ ID=38709 ]
- 1. A verse or stanza. 2. A stanza in the Anushtubh metre. 3. Praise. 4. An object of praise. 5. A proverb or saying. 6. Fame.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 737-a ] श्लोक (śloka) m. ( - कः (-kaḥ) ) 1. A verse, a stanza. 2. A stanza written in Anush- Page737-b+ 60 ṭubh metre. 3. Praising, praise. 4. An object of praise. 5. A proverb, a saying. 6. Fame, celebrity. E. श्लोक (śloka) ् (ślok) to compose, (as verses,) aff. अच्; (ac;) according to the Rāmāyaṇa, irrly. derived from शोक (śoka) sorrow: the first verse ever composed, having been the involuntary expression of VĀLMĪKI'S grief at beholding a bird killed by a fowler. [ ID=41235 ]
- 1. Fame. 2. A verse or saying.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 0976-a ] श्लोक (śloka) śloka, i. e. śru + ka, m. 1. Fame. 2. A verse, Pañc. 106, 8; a saying, Chr. 22, 24. — Comp. Puṇya-, I. adj. well-famed, Bhāg. P. 1, 12, 18. II. m. 1. a name of Nala, Nal. 7, 18. 2. epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira and Viṣṇu. III. f. kā, a name of Damayantī and Sītā. [ ID=15072 ]
- 1. Sound, noise, or report. 2. Fame. 3. A strophe or stanza, especially the epic Shloka.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 564 ] श्लोक (śloka) m. sound, noise, report, fame; strophe, stanza, esp. the epic Śloka. [ ID=33513 ]
- 1. Sound. 2. Fame. 3. A strophe, especially the epic anustubh verse.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 262-a ] ślóka, m. —1. (thing heard, i. e. ) sound; —2. fame, for mg, cf. √śru; —3. strophe; Page262-b+ 48 later, esp. the anuṣṭubh -strophe, the epic śloka, in which, for example, the story of Nala is composed. [ √śru, 1186 2.] [ ID=4303 ]
- 1. A hymn of praise. 2. Celebrity, renown, or fame. 3. A particular kind of common epic meter, the Anushtubh. 4. Any verse or stanza. 5. A proverb or saying.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 1029-c ] Śloka, as, m. (probably connected with rt. 1. śru; according to Rāmāyaṇa I. 2, 33. fr. śoka, ‘sorrow,’ the first Śloka having resulted from the involuntary expression of Vālmīki's grief at be- holding a bird killed by a fowler), praising or hymning in verse, a hymn of praise; an object of praise; celebrity, renown, fame, reputation; a par- ticular kind of common epic metre (also called Anu- ṣṭubh, consisting of four Pādas or quarter verses of eight syllables each, or two lines of sixteen syllables each; the following is the usual scheme applicable Page1030-a+ 74 to both lines....˘˘˘. |....˘¯˘., the mark. denoting either long or short, and the sixth syllable being either short or long, but if short, then requiring the seventh to be short also, and if long, then long); any verse or stanza; a proverb, saying; = vāc (Naigh. I. 11). —Śloka-tā, f. or śloka-tva, am, n. versification; celebrity in verse. —Śloka- dvaya, am, n. a couple of Ślokas, two verses. —Śloka-baddha, as, ā, am, composed in Ślokas. —Śloka-mātra, am, n. a single Śloka. [ ID=47558 ]

### Verse, Stanza, or Metrical Form (4 definitions)
- A stanza, especially a particular kind of common epic metre.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a stanza, ( esp. ) a partic. kind of common epic metre (also called Anu-ṣṭubh q.v.; consisting of 4 Pādas or quarter verses of 8 syllables each, or 2 lines of 16 syllables each, each line allowing great liberty except in the 5th, 13th, 14th and 15th syllables which should be unchangeable as in the following scheme, 8. 1. 8-8., the dots denoting either long or short; but the 6th and 7th syllables should be long; or if the 6th is short the 7th should be short also), Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title); Kauṣītaki-upaniṣad (Title); Mahābhārata (Title) &c. [ ID=224155 ]
- 1. A verse or stanza. 2. Fame or celebrity.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) m. ( - कः (-kaḥ) ) 1 A verse, a stanza. 2 Fame, celebrity. E. श्लोक (śloka) to compose, (as verses,) aff. अच् (ac); according to the Rāmāyaṇa, irr. derived from शोक (śoka) sorrow: the first verse ever composed, having been the involuntary expression of VĀLMĪKI'S grief at beholding a bird killed by a fowler. [ ID=39329 ]
- 1. A verse or stanza. 2. Fame.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) ( कः ) ((kaḥ)) 1. m. A verse, stanza; fame. [ ID=38990 ]
- 1. A type of verse. 2. A poet.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 2-405 ] Śloka, in the plural, is found enumerated after the Upaniṣads, and before the Sūtras, in the list of literary types given in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. 1 In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2 the Śloka-kṛt appears: he is rather the ‘poet,’ as Max Müller 3 renders it, than merely one who ‘calls aloud,’ as the St. Peters- burg Dictionary explains the term. 4 Exactly what is meant cannot be said: ‘verses’ generally may be intended, several kinds being preserved in the Brāhmaṇas and called Ślokas. 5 [ Footnote: 1) ii. 4, 10; iv. 1, 6 (Mādhyaṃdina = iv. 1, 2 Kāṇva); 5, 11.] [ Footnote: 2) iii. 10, 6.] [ Footnote: 3) Sacred Books of the East, 15, 69] [ Footnote: 4) In Av. v. 20, 7, the word has the sense assigned to it by the Dictionary.] [ Footnote: 5) E.g., Satapatha Brāhmaṇa, xi. 3, 1, 5; 5, 4, 12; xiii. 7, 1, 15; Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, viii. 22, 3: Aitareya Āraṇ- yaka, ii. 3, 8; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, xxiv. 18, 4; Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, viii. 1; Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad, i. 6, etc.] [ ID=3391 ]

### Sound, Noise, or Call (2 definitions)
- sound or noise  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1104,3] श्लोक (śloka) m. ( prob. connected with √ 1. श्रु (śru), Rāmāyaṇa (Title) i, 2, 33 gives a fanciful derivation fr. शोक (śoka), ‘sorrow’, the first श्लोक (śloka) having been composed by Vālmīki grieved at seeing a bird killed) sound, noise (as of the wheels of a carriage or the grinding of stones &c.), Ṛg-veda (Title) [ ID=224151 ]
- a call or voice of the gods  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a call or voice (of the gods), in the same place [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=224152 ]

### Verb Root: To Compose (2 definitions)
- 1. To compose verses. 2. To be composed.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 866 ] श्लोक (śloka) ( ऋ (ṛ) ) श्लोक (śloka) ृ (ślokṛ) r. 1st cl. ( श्लोक (śloka) ते (ślokate) ) 1 To put together, to compose, as verses. 2 To be put together or composed. [ ID=39328 ]
- To compose verses or be composed.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > श्लोक (śloka) [Printed book page 786-a ] श्लोक (śloka) ( ॡ, ङ ) श्लोक (śloka) ते ((ḹ, ṅa) ślokate) 1. d. To put together, to compose verses; to be composed. [ ID=38989 ]

### Fame, Renown, or Praise (1 definition)
- fame, glory, praise  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > fame renown, glory, praise, hymn of praise, in the same place [Cologne Addition] (Title); Atharva-veda (Title); Taittirīya-saṃhitā (Title); Brāhmaṇa (Literary category); Bhāgavata-purāṇa (Title) [ ID=224153 ]

### Proverb or Maxim (1 definition)
- a proverb or maxim  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a proverb, maxim, Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1st edition with marginal notes (Title) [ ID=224154 ]

### Specific Name (Proper Noun) (1 definition)
- name of a Saman  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a Sāman, Ārṣeya-brāhmaṇa (Title) [ ID=224156 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546