Rudraksha Chikna Mala 9 mm 19/38 " RCM02 Start Price USD 39.99 Current Price USD 39.99 Time Left 11 days 30 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, October 04, 2008 End Time Wednesday, December 03, 2008 Location Tempe, AZ See more about 'Rudraksha Chikna Mala 9 mm 19/38 " RCM02' Description It is said that the rudraksh plant grew out of tears of Shiva, the patron god of spiritual, or yogic, development and discipline. The seeds of this plant form the most auspicious and powerful malas and necklaces.  Indonesian chikna is the rarest and the most powerful of all rudra beads. Rudraksha mala is associated with the fire energy, the element that purifies and transmutes the heavier and denser base materials into the light and warmth of pure spirit. This fierce spiritual movement is extremely helpful in focusing the mind and concentrating the spirit during meditation, prayer and mantra japas. Good quality beads when worn as a necklace or a bracelet impart the wearer with extra energy, power and clarity of thought. The are said to be beneficial in the control of stress, and offer many other health benefits This mala measures 19 inches (48 cm) in length and about 38 inches (95 cm) in circumference. The 108 large 9 mm beads, with an individual knot between all beads are perfect for mantra japa, or repetition of a prayer or a mantra. They can also be used on altars, in puja rooms or for general decoration. All of our beads come from either Nepal or Indonesia. The larger beads originate in Nepal and the smaller ones in Indonesia. Furthermore, we sell two qualities, Rava and Chikna. Of the two, Chikna beads, which are grown in Indonesia on a slightly different variety of rudraksha tree, are much rarer and hence much more expensive. They are harder and heavier; their energy more concentrated. Rava malas are made of the top quality standard, smooth rudraksha seeds. All beads are carefully inspected during stringing, have 5 mukhti and are uniform is size, down to 0.5mm. Since the process of harvesting smaller beads is complicated and labor intensive, the prices increase inversely to the size, with the 5mm beads being the most expensive and the 12mm beads the cheapest. Even though beads as small as 3mm and sometimes even 2mm are found, they are very fragile and commercially not viable. The smallest beads we carry are 5mm. The sizing of these beads is very exact, down to 0.5mm in case of small beads and chikna. The total length of the mala is always longer than the total measurement of the beads due to the knots between each bead. Though these malas are ready for immediate use, it is recommended to soak the new malas overnight in mustard oil and letting them dry. This process hardens the beads and insures uniformity of color as they age. A note about fake or modified rudraksha beads: To start with, unlike sandalwood, the rudraksha tree though sacred is not rare. It grows in great abundance and produces considerable harvests in Nepal, North India and other parts of the world. Due to the shear amount of good quality product available in the market it is safe to assume that 99.9% of rudraksha malas sold are real. Alteration and fakes come into play in the case of very small beads, usually 2 to 4mm, where at times seeds from different plants or even carvings are dyed or altered and sold as rudraksha malas. The other, even more prevalent example is the case of specialty beads. The most common forgery being the eka-mukhi rudraksha, which does not exist in nature, or is so rare that neither we nor any of our providers have seen one yet. What is sold as one-facet rudraksha is the standard 4 or 5 mukhi, the groves of which have been filled, sculpted and dyed so that only one groove remains. Beads with more than 8-mukhi due to their relative scarcity and price are also susceptible to forgery. One must exercise care when purchasing such products. The best way to ascertain the quality of the more expensive beads is careful visual inspection, preferably with a magnifying glass. Since dyes are often used to mask any modifications, one can also soak the beads in water, and in case of water soluble dyes discoloration of the bead will become apparent overnight. One word of caution about soaking beads: the presence of a small amount of coloration in water or on the surface of a wet cloth is normal in the case of brand new malas. A thin film of matter accumulates during the cleaning and processing of the rudraksha fruit as well as during the preparation and shipping of malas. It is a temporary phenomenon and simply indicates that the malas have not been used before. The beads that have been dyed to mask their real identity will release an intense, often chemical color into the liquid, which is akin to placing a few drops of red food coloring into a glass of water. These malas are made from the highest quality beads, grown in Indonesia, handpicked, strung and knotted in Varanasi, India.RCM02     Place a Bid!