Talk:Scripts:Aksamala

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

In the word Rudrākṣa, akṣa means "eye." Thus, Rudrākṣa literally means "the eye of Rudra (Śiva)." A Rudrākṣa-mālā is therefore a rosary made of Rudrākṣa beads, traditionally regarded as representing the eyes of Rudra. The discourse notes that in Tamil the Rudrākṣa is called tirukkaṇmaṇi ("the sacred pupil of the eye").

In expressions such as akṣamālā or sphaṭikākṣamālā, however, the word akṣa does not denote the eye. Instead, it refers to the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, extending from a to kṣa. Since a is the first letter and kṣa the last, the expression a-kārādi kṣakārāntam ("from a to kṣa") signifies completeness, just as "A to Z" does in English.

According to the discourse, the Sanskrit alphabet consists of fifty letters from a to kṣa. Accordingly, an akṣamālā traditionally consists of fifty beads, each corresponding to one letter of the alphabet. In addition, there is a larger bead known as the Meru bead.

The Meru bead marks the completion of one round of recitation. The discourse compares it to Mount Meru, beyond which, according to traditional belief, the sun does not proceed during its daily course. During japa, one counts the beads up to the Meru bead and then reverses direction rather than crossing it. Thus, reciting a mantra once around the rosary to the Meru bead and then back again completes one hundred counts of the Divine Name or mantra.