What is a mukhi?
Look closely at a Rudraksha bead and you will see natural lines running from its top to its bottom. Each line marks a face, a mukhi. A bead with five lines is a 5 Mukhi Rudraksha. In tradition, each number is associated with a deity.
How to count the mukhis on a bead
- Hold the bead with its natural opening, where the stalk joined, at the top.
- Find the deep natural lines that run all the way from the top to the bottom. Ignore shallow cracks and lines that stop half way.
- Turn the bead slowly and count each full line once. That number is its mukhi.
Beads with many mukhis can be hard to count by eye. Experienced sellers count them under good light, and an X-ray shows the seed chambers inside, one for each mukhi.
Choosing a mukhi
Many people choose by family tradition, by the deity a mukhi is associated with, or on the advice of their priest. The 5 Mukhi is the most common and the bead usually strung into malas for japa. Rare mukhis are rare because the tree produces few of them.
We describe tradition as tradition. We do not promise health, wealth or any other outcome from wearing a Rudraksha, and we would be wary of anyone who does.
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