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Rudraksha
The Bead Divine
Genuine
Om on 9 mukhi, 5 mukhi and 4 mukhi Rudrakshas. From authors
collection.
Photos by: Rakesh Rati Kapoor
The
word Rudraksha is derived from the words Rudra + Aksha meaning tears
of Rudra, i.e., Lord Shiva. Details about Rudrakshas and their effects
are mentioned in various Hindu Puranas like Shiva Purana, Devi Purana,
Padma Purana and Rudraksha Jabalopanishad. The following is the
authentic information from Shiva Purana. The other Puranas say almost
the same thing with a few minor variations.
According
to Shiva Purana, the demon king Tripurasura became all powerful and
became the scourge of the Gods. To kill him Lord Shiva decided to
create a powerful divine weapon, called Aghora-astra, and went into
meditation. After a long time when he opened his gaze, his eyes
smarted and a few tears fell on earth. As nothing divine is ever
wasted, the tears became seeds and from the seeds the Rudraksha tree
was born. The Rudrakshas we get are the seeds of the Rudraksha fruits.
The
three eyes of Lord Shiva represent the Sun, Moon and Fire. The
Rudrakshas born of the tears of his solar eye are brown in colour and
are of twelve types. Those born of his lunar eye are fair and of
sixteen types. The Rudrakshas related to his Fiery eye are black in
colour and are of ten types. This gives us a total of thirty eight
types of Rudrakshas.
The
wearer of 108 Rudrakshas gets the results of performing Ashwamedha
Yagya and his next 21 generations will get the good fortune of going
to Shiva loka. The wearer of 1100 Rudrakshas becomes equal to Rudra.
The one who wears 555 Rudrakshas as a crown becomes equal to lord
Shiva. The one who wears 320 Rudrakshas in three rows across his body,
like the sacred thread, becomes equal to lord Shiva.
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