Śiva Triśatī: Three Hundred Names of Śiva

The Śiva Triśatī is the stotra of three hundred names of Bhagavān Śiva. Tri means three and śatī means a hundred. Śukrācārya composed it. It is found in Chapter 47 of the Matsya Purāṇa, in the context of his great tapas to please Bhagavān Śiva.

The Triśatī is one of the most detailed stotras of names of Bhagavān Śiva in the Purāṇas. The Matsya Purāṇa presents it as a stotra of great power.

The setting

The Triśatī appears in the Matsya Purāṇa in the account of the twelve wars between the devas and the asuras, and of the great tapas of Śukrācārya.

Śukrācārya wanted a power from Bhagavān Śiva that would give the asuras a lasting advantage over the devas. For this he did the ūrdhvamukha tapas. He stood upright on one foot with his arms raised and his face turned to the sky. He lived on smoke alone. He did this for one thousand years.

Bhagavān Śiva was deeply pleased with this tapas. When the thousand years were complete, Bhagavān Śiva appeared and gave Śukrācārya his vara (boon). In thanks and devotion, Śukrācārya then composed the Triśatī, the stotra of three hundred names. In his own experience he saw the endless sides of the nature of Bhagavān Śiva.

The stotra

The Triśatī lists exactly three hundred names of Bhagavān Śiva. The names cover the whole range of his nature:

His roles in the cosmos: creator, sustainer and destroyer, as the Śaiva understanding has it.
His body and the forms in which he is shown.
His names as master of living beings (Paśupati), master of time (Mahākāla) and master of yoga (Mahāyogī).
His kind forms (Śaṃbhu, Śaṅkara, Śivā) and his fearful forms (Bhairava, Ugra, Rudra).
His family ties: husband of Pārvatī (Umāpati), father of Kārtikeya and Gaṇeśa, and master of the Gaṇas (Gaṇādhipa).
His nature beyond all qualities: beyond the guṇas (Nirguṇa), the highest witness, pure consciousness.

How the Matsya Purāṇa presents it

The Matsya Purāṇa presents the Śiva Triśatī as a stotra of very great power. It came out of the tapas of Śukrācārya, and it is a prayer of single-minded devotion aimed at the highest vara. For this reason it is held to be especially helpful for those who seek the grace of Bhagavān Śiva in hard times.

Reciting the Triśatī is recommended for those who want protection, for those who do the pūjā of Bhagavān Śiva, and for those who wish to please Bhagavān Śiva so that obstacles are removed and particular varas are given.

Sources

Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 47