Rudrāksha

Rudrāksha · rudra-aksha, “the eye of Rudra”

Rudrāksha is a sacred seed, or berry, worn by devotees of Śiva (Mahādeva) as a japamālā (a string of beads for repeating a mantra) and as an ornament on the body. Its name is made of rudra (Śiva) and aksha (eye, or tear).

The beads are sorted by the number of natural lines, called mukhas or mukhīs (faces), that run from top to bottom on each bead. Wearing rudrāksha is held to destroy pāpa (wrongdoing) and to raise the power of japa.

Per Śiva Purāṇa

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā, the first part of the Śiva Purāṇa, tells that these beads came from tears Śiva shed during his deep tapas (austerity). The tears fell to the earth and became sacred trees that bear divine beads.

The text links the four colours of rudrāksha to the four varṇas (social groups). It describes fourteen mukha (face) types, each with its own presiding deity and bīja mantra (seed mantra), and three sizes, from beads the size of an āmalakī fruit (the best) down to the size of a ceṇaga (the lowest). A devotee who wears rudrāksha, bhasma (sacred ash) and tripuṇḍra (three lines of ash on the forehead) together is completely beyond the reach of the messengers of Yama, the deva of death.

Where Rudrāksha Comes From

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā tells that during a time of intense tapas by Śiva, tears fell from his eyes. These sacred tears, born of Śiva’s own divine feeling in deep meditation, fell to the earth and gave rise to the rudrāksha trees. So the beads of these trees are truly Śiva’s own tears, made solid in a form that devotees can wear as a direct, physical link to Śiva. The name says the same: rudra (Śiva) and aksha (eye, or tear) make rudrāksha, the teardrop of Rudra.

Colours and Varṇas

The rudrāksha trees bear beads in four colours, each linked with one of the four varṇas:

All colours of rudrāksha are sacred, and any devotee may wear any rudrāksha. The link simply shows a natural harmony between certain colours of bead and the nature of certain varṇas. Every devotee gains the full benefit of wearing rudrāksha, whatever its colour.

Sizes

Three sizes of rudrāksha are described, each with its own grade of merit:

Larger rudrākshas are thought more powerful, though every size is helpful.

The Fourteen Mukha Types

Rudrāksha beads are sorted by the number of natural lines running from top to bottom on their surface. These lines are called mukhas (faces or mouths). The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā lists fourteen mukha types, each with its own presiding deity, bīja mantra and fruit:

Each mukha is a complete sacred form in itself. Wearing the matching rudrāksha calls on the presence and protection of its presiding deity.

The Meaning of 1,100 Rudrākshas

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā states that one who wears 1,100 rudrākshas on the body becomes Rudra-rūpa, one who takes on the very form of Rudra. Wearing them fully, on the head, neck, arms, chest and wrists, means complete oneness with Śiva‘s form.

Rules for Wearing and Foods to Avoid

There are set rules for wearing rudrāksha.

Rules for wearing:

• Rudrāksha should be worn after it has been consecrated with mantras.
• It should not touch the ground or be left in unclean places.
• When it is taken off (for bathing, eating or sleeping), it should be put away with respect.
• Wearing it during pūjā, japa (mantra repetition) and meditation greatly increases the merit.

Foods to avoid while wearing rudrāksha: The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā says that one who wears rudrāksha should avoid certain foods and kinds of conduct. Wearing it creates a sacred field that calls for matching purity of body and behaviour.

The Threefold Protection

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā declares that a devotee who bears these three at the same time:

1. Tripuṇḍra: three lines of ash on the forehead
2. Bhasma: sacred ash on the body
3. Rudrāksha: worn on any part of the body

gains spiritual merit equal to bathing at the meeting place of three sacred rivers (Triveṇī snāna). Yama tells his messengers that such a person is beyond their reach and must not be approached. Together, these three outward marks are the fullest outward sign of belonging to Śiva.

Per Skanda Purāṇa

The rudrāksha is the seed of the Elaeocarpus ganitrus tree. Its name means “eye of Rudra” (Rudra-aksha), and it is held to be the holiest ornament a devotee of Śiva can wear. The Brahmottara Khaṇḍa gives a long Rudrāksha Māhātmya (glory of the rudrāksha).

It shows that even animals who wore rudrākshas were reborn in high human births. The power of the rudrāksha works whatever the wearer’s varṇa, knowledge or intention. Even a monkey and a rooster, dressed in rudrākshas as a costume, received the merit of wearing them and were reborn as a prince of Kāśmīra and the son of his minister.

The Rudrāksha Belongs to Śiva

The rudrāksha is Śaṅkarātmaka: it carries the very nature of Śiva. One who honours the rudrāksha with bhakti (devotion) every day gains rāja-rāja-śrī, royal prosperity, even if once poor. Japa (repeating a mantra) done with a rudrāksha mālā (string of beads) gives ananta-phala, endless fruit, while the same japa without rudrāksha gives only alpa-phala, a small fruit.

“A person on whose body not even one rudrāksha is found has wasted their birth.”

How Many to Wear, and Where

The ideal number of rudrākshas for each part of the body:

One who always wears 1,000 rudrākshas is honoured by all the devas as Rudra himself. Even wearing sixteen on each arm alone is thought to bring great merit.

When they are worn together with pearls, coral, crystal, silver, vaiḍūrya (cat’s-eye gem) or gold, the rudrākshas become even more auspicious, and the wearer takes on the nature of Śiva.

The Mukhī Types

Rudrākshas are sorted by the number of natural lines, called mukhīs or “faces”, that run from top to bottom on each bead:

• Eka-mukha (one face): the rarest and most powerful
• Pañca-mukha (five faces): the most common and most widely used
• Ekādaśa-mukha (eleven faces)
• Caturdaśa-mukha (fourteen faces)

All kinds are called loka-pūjita, honoured in all the worlds.

Rudrāksha in Japa and Bathing

• Japa done while holding a rudrāksha mālā gives ananta (endless) fruit.
• One who bathes with a rudrāksha tied on the head receives the fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā (gaṅgā-snāna-phala).
• Pūjā to a rudrāksha, even without abhisheka (a water offering), gives the same fruit as pūjā to a Śiva-liṅga.

The Fruits of Wearing Rudrāksha

• All pāpas fall away, like darkness before the sun.
• The wearer is protected from every dosha (fault or harm).
• With one thousand rudrākshas, the wearer is honoured by the devas as Rudra himself.
• At death, the wearer rises through the realms of all the lokapālas (guardians of the worlds) one by one, and finally reaches Śivaloka.
• Wearing rudrāksha in even one birth creates pūrvajñāna, a pull carried over from the past life, so that in later births the ātmā naturally reaches again for the rudrāksha.

Examples from the Stories

Mahānandā’s Monkey and Rooster

Mahānandā, a gaṇikā (courtesan and dancer) of Nandigrāma, dressed her pet monkey and rooster in rudrāksha ornaments for her dance performances. These animals wore the rudrākshas without any understanding or intention, yet they received the merit of wearing them. When they died (the monkey was lost in a fire, and the rooster too), they were reborn as Sudharmā, son of Bhadrasena, king of Kāśmīra, and Tāraka, son of the minister. In this new birth they naturally went back to wearing rudrākshas and refused all other ornaments, even when the royal court pressed them.

Sudharmā and Tāraka, the Boys of Kāśmīra

King Bhadrasena of Kāśmīra asked the ṛshi Parāśara why his son Sudharmā and the minister’s son Tāraka refused all gold ornaments and would wear only rudrākshas. Parāśara told him the story of their past life as the monkey and the rooster. He also said that these two boys, through their past rudrāksha merit and their present devotion, would reach Śivaloka in this very birth.

Per Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Rudrāksha is loved by Mahādeva (Śiva), and his devotees wear it as a japamālā and as an ornament on the body. Chapters 3 to 6 of Skandha 11 are given over to the greatness of rudrāksha.

The text declares that wearing rudrāksha is one of the highest forms of Śiva-bhakti (devotion to Śiva). It cleanses the wearer of all pāpa (wrongdoing) built up over time, raises the power of daily japa (mantra repetition) of any mantra, and is itself Śiva’s teardrops fallen to earth. The text describes the kinds of rudrāksha with one to fourteen faces (mukhī), along with the deity, mantra and particular blessing linked to each.

Where Rudrāksha Comes From

The name rudrāksha comes from Rudra (Śiva) and aksha (eye, or tear). The text explains that when Śiva closed his eyes for a thousand years in deep samādhi (absorbed meditation), aśru (tears) fell from his eyes to the earth. These drops took root and became the rudrāksha trees. So every rudrāksha bead is truly Śiva’s tear: a physical form of Mahādeva’s compassion for the moksha of all beings.

The Power of Wearing Rudrāksha

The text speaks very clearly about the power of rudrāksha to change a person:

• A person who wears rudrāksha on the body is Śiva himself. All the pāpa gathered over many births is destroyed the moment it is put on.
• Even a person who has committed the five mahāpātakas (the five greatest wrongs: killing a brāhmaṇa, drinking liquor, theft, violating the guru’s wife, and keeping company with those who do these things) is purified by wearing rudrāksha.
• When a brāhmaṇa wears rudrāksha while doing japa, the merit of each repetition is multiplied. One repetition with rudrāksha equals a hundred thousand without it.
• Simply seeing a person who wears rudrāksha destroys the pāpa of the one who sees.
• Rudrāksha should be worn on the head, the ear, the neck, the wrist or around the body. The text describes the particular benefits of each place.

The Fourteen Kinds (Mukhīs)

The text describes rudrāksha beads with one to fourteen faces (mukhīs). Each is ruled by a particular deity and gives particular blessings:

Rudrāksha as a Japamālā

Skandha 11 also describes the use of rudrāksha as a japamālā. A mālā of 108 rudrāksha beads (or 54, or 27), with a bindu bead (the central bead that stands for Śiva), is the highest form of japamālā. The text gives all the rules for making, consecrating, caring for and using the rudrāksha mālā:

• it should be made from good berries of even size
• it should be strung on red thread or silk
• it should be consecrated with particular mantras
• it should be kept in a cloth bag when not in use
• it should never be left on the ground

Per Agni Purāṇa

In the Agni Purāṇa, Parameśvara teaches Skanda about the rudrāksha in two places.

The rudrāksha bracelet

One should wear a rudrāksha-kaṭaka, a bracelet of rudrākshas. The number of beads should be odd, and they should be uniform and firm. One may wear, as they are available, the one-faced (ekamukha), the three-faced (trimukha) or the five-faced (pañcamukha); the two-faced, four-faced and six-faced are also praised. The beads must not be cracked or holed by worms, and they should have kaṇṭakas, thorn-like points, on them.

The four-faced rudrāksha is worn on the right arm, on the śikhā (the tuft of hair) and the like. By wearing it so, one who is not a brahmacārī becomes a brahmacārī, and one who is not a snātaka becomes a snātaka. Or, having worshipped it with the Śiva mantra, one wears a golden ring on the right hand.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 325

The rudrāksha-mālā in japa

Among the japa-mālās, each has its own fruit: a mālā of arishṭa beads for quieting ill omens, of gold and gems for auspiciousness, of conch for śānti, of pearls for sons, of crystal for wealth. The rudrāksha-mālā gives mukti (moksha). A rudrāksha the size of an āmalaka (the Indian gooseberry) is the best.

A mālā with a meru (the head bead) or without one may be used in japa. In mental japa the beads are moved with the ring finger and the thumb; in whispered japa they are counted with the index finger and the thumb. During japa one must never cross the meru. If by carelessness the mālā slips and falls, one does japa two hundred times.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 327

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā (Book 1), Chapter 13
• Skanda Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 20
• Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapters 3–6
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 325, 327