Hindu Prayer Beads
A Japa mala or mala (Sanskrit:माला; mālā, meaning garland) is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, usually made from 108 beads, though other numbers, usually divisible by 9, are also used. Malas are used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity. This practice is known in Sanskrit as japa.
Read more about Hindu Prayer Beads: Usage, In Hinduism, Materials, Exact Usage
Famous quotes containing the words prayer and/or beads:
“We have wasted our spirit in the regions of the abstract and general just as the monks let it wither in the world of prayer and contemplation.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage,
And beads and prayer-books are the toys of age:
Pleased with this bauble still, as that before;
‘Till tired he sleeps, and life’s poor play is o’er.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)