Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 29, 1918.djvu/269

 The Rosary in Magic and Religion. 259

means of its beads a certain number of prayers, or mantras, may be counted. The operation of thus counting is resorted to by Ascetics to promote contemplation and mental abstraction.

The rosary differs according to the sect to which it belongs, and the number of the beads also varies. Devotees of Siva are supposed to use a rosary of thirty-two beads, or that number doubled ; on the other hand, worshippers of Vishnu are said to use one with 108 beads. This rule does not seem to be very strict, as the number 108 is also some- times found on Saivite rosaries ; and indeed the beads may run into several hundred irrespective of the sect. To each rosary there are generally one or more terminal beads which are not usually counted in with those on the main string.

Materials. The materials of which the beads are made play a very important part in Hindu rosaries ; they also are of great variety, each having a specific purpose.

A favourite bead of the worshippers of Siva is that known as Rudraksha ("eye of the god Rudra or Siva"). These seeds, according to a Siva legend, are said to be the tears of Rudra (or Siva), which he let fall in a rage (some say in grief, some in ecstasy), and became crystallised into this form. In the Punjab importance is attached to the number of facets on the seeds. These slits, which run from end to end of each seed, are called " mouths " {munh). A one-mouthed rudraksha affords a very valuable amulet, and, if the owner cannot be induced to part with it, it must be stolen from him and thereafter encased in gold and carefully preserved as a family relic. Such beads can only be obtained from the most accomplished Jogis, and the would-be owner of such a treasure must be prepared to pay any price that is demanded of him. Rudraksha seeds with eleven facets are worn by celibate Jogis, while the married ones wear those with two ; the five-faceted seeds being sacred to the monkey god, Hanuman.^ The five

^ W. Crooke, Things Indian, p. 408. •