What is Rudraksh ?
Rudraksh as per Hindu mythology is formed by the association of two words, ‘RUDRA’ and ‘AKSHA’.
‘RUDRA’ is the name of ‘Lord Shiva’ and ‘AKSHA’ means ‘tear’. It is said that the plant of Rudraksh is originated from the teardrops of Lord Shiva. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva used a fire weapon to kill Tripurasur, the troublesome demon. The weapon killed the demon. After killing Tripurasur Lord Shiva shut his eyes. When Shiva opened his eyes, they were watery. Places on earth where the teardrops fell sprouted Rudraksha trees. Means, the merits of Rudraksh beads were realized first by the Lord Shiva himself and he forwarded the same to the benefit of the later generations.
It is believed that ‘Rudraksha’ of any mukhis or faces can never do any harm to the user unlike other navratnas or coloured stones which have to be worn with the consultation.
Rudraksh is often believed to symbolize the link between the earth and the heaven. These beads are the seeds of the Rudraksh fruit obtained from Rudraksh trees. The Rudraksh tree is botanically known as ELAEOCARPUS GANITRUS ROXB. Its English name is UTRASUM BEAD TREE. These trees are found in Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia & some parts of Himalaya forest. Rudraksh is the fruit of a tree which grows in bunches. They bloom in May / June and ripe in September to November. Its fruit is light green in colour. Its pulp is hard and remains stuck to its seed. It is like blackberry. It is kept in water for number of days. After that, Rudraksh is taken out after peeling off the pulp.
The original white colour of Rudraksh is dyed into orange/turmeric colour that is a symbolic of the saints. Orange colour Rudraksh becomes useful to all kinds of people of any age, caste, sect, religion and sex.
According to the number of mukhi Rudraksh bead ranges from 1 to 38 mukhis but normally 1 to 14 mukhis used for astrological benefits. Each bead has different effect on you depending on the number of mukhis it has. It is believed that wearing rudraksh can help achieving wonders in life.
