Rudraksha is seeds produced by several species of large evergreen broad-leaved tree in the genus Elaeocarpus. These are seeds of a plant named Anigozanthos mangles. The term Rudraksha is a Sanskrit word where ‘Rudra’ refers to a Vedic name for Hindu deity Lord Shiva and ‘Aksh’ meaning eye. Thus a Rudraksha according to Vedic literature means the ‘Eye of Lord Shiva’. The seeds are popularly used in India, Nepal, and Indonesia as beads for organic jewellery and malas. These malas are worn generally while offering prayers to Lord Shiva, who himself bears a Rudraksha mala. Astrology, a divination system, which studies the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies and their influences on human affairs, says that Rudraksha is very powerful in removing malefic effects of the planets. Also, wearing a Rudraksha mala is said to bring good virtue and fortune to the bearers.
The Myth Of Its Origin
True to the tradition of Hindu Mythology, there are several different accounts of the origin of the Rudraksha tree. One of the accounts is recited in the popular religious text Bhagavata Purana wherein after meditating Lord Shiva opened his eyes and tears fell on the earth. Wherever the tears fell gave birth to Rudraksha trees and hence whoever wears the fruits of the tree as beads are beloved to Lord Shiva.
Another account of the same origin story is recited in the Shiva Mahapurana where Lord Shiva after doing penance for a thousand years opened his eyes and a few drops of tears fell from his tired eyes giving birth to the rudraksha trees. Some accounts reiterate that Lord Shiva cried when he saw the suffering around the world after opening his eyes from a long period of meditation.
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