Shlok

What does Shlok mean?

Shlok means ‘verse’ or ‘stanza’, from Sanskrit śloka. Wiktionary records a history of senses from sound or call to praise and a specific verse form. Hindi uses the word particularly for a verse of a sacred text. The name draws on this literary and devotional vocabulary. The longer form Shloka retains the Sanskrit final vowel, while the shorter Hindi form gives the one-syllable name Shlok.

Source: Wiktionary, श्लोक. How we use sources.

Spelling and pronunciation

श्लोक is read shlok in one Hindi syllable, with a long o. Shloka retains a final vowel, and Sloka is another Roman rendering. Keep sh and l together at the beginning; adding a vowel there changes the syllable pattern. The o is a steady vowel rather than a short ‘lock’ sound.

Also spelled Shloka, Sloka.

Shlok in tradition and story

The śloka is a verse form used in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, conventionally arranged as two lines of sixteen syllables. Its use for sacred verses also makes the word familiar in devotional recitation.