Botanically Rudraksha is the seed of trees of the family Elaeocarpus. The term Rudraksha means tears of lord Shiva. There is a Hindu legend that states that lord Shiva is suppose to have shed a tear, and the place where the tear landed on earth, the Elaeocarpus tree grew up. It is since then that the Elaeocarpus tree is regarded as sacred in the Hindu religion, and the seed of the Elaeocarpus tree is used to make rosaries and necklaces. Depending on the number of faces (number of grooves on the seed) that the Elaeocarpus seed has the Rudraksha is termed as Pachamukhi (5 faces), Dwi Mukhi (2 faces), Eka mukhi (1 face) and so on, the rarest form of the Rudraksha is the 14 faced (Chaturdasha mukhi) Himalayan Rudraksha.



For thousands of years the Rudraksha has been worn by Hindu sages for its calming and soothing influence on the wearer, the Rudraksha is supposed to actually absorb the energy of its wearer and have a calming and positive effect on the wearer. Sages have claimed that the Rudraksha has allowed them to brave even the harshest climates while continuing their penance. The Rudraksha is made into a a necklace of 108 beads and then either worn by the wearer, or wrapped around the hand as a rosary. Due to the rareness of some Rudraksha especially the Himalayan Rudraksha, more and more people have started wearing a single bead of Rudraksha on a necklace.

Not all seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree are chosen for making the Rudraksha necklace, depending on the quality and the intactness of the seed, the seeds are carefully chosen and then they are sanctified and purified as per Hindu rituals to make them fit to be used in a Rudraksha necklace, many people believe that without the proper rituals the effects of the Rudraksha necklace are nullified and it just as good as any other ornament, its properties and effects lost forever.

Effects of Rudraksha

Depending on the wearer, It is believed that the Rudraksha has different effect on different people, the Rudraksha senses the problems that the wearer is experiencing and has a calming and de stressing effect. Also it is believed that the Rudraksha is supposed to improve conditions like high BP and sugar problems like diabetes etc. Among younger wearers the Rudraksha is used to improve concentration, decrease stress, and improve the attention span. The rare 14 faced Rudraksha is supposed to awaken the inner powers of a person and if the person is suffering from any kind of ill effects from the lord Saturn then he or she gets immediate relief from those astrological side effects. Similarly the 5 faced Rudraksha is recommended for people who are short tempered or easily excited, the Rudraksha has a calming influence on such individuals.

The reason for the above mentioned effects is the supposedly electromagnetic and inductive properties that the Rudraksha is said to possess. In general the Rudraksha is associated with helping problems related to stress, mental distress, depression, short tempered and excitability. The extent of the effect of the Rudraksha varies from person to person.