The Rudraksha bead is known to almost all Indians and many others interested in Hinduism all over the world. It is a bead worn around the neck as a chain of beads or as a single bead. The Rudraksha bead is normally worn by males and those who are spiritually inclined and have overcome the desires of the flesh.
Wearing the Rudraksha is believed to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva. The Rudraksha is got from the Rudraksha tree which is usually seen in the states of Himachal Pradesh , Assam , Bihar, and the country of Nepal
The Rudraksha bead has a lot of medicinal properties and is used in the cure for mental illness, blood pressure, small pox and chicken pox, poisons, cough, fever, breathlessness and fits.
Stories on the origin of Rudraksha and its divine nature are explained in the Devi Bhagavatham in the 11th Skanda. An asura named Tripurasura was very strong and he was able to defeat even Lord MahaVishnu and all the other devas. Devas assembled before Lord Shiva and pleaded for his help.
Lord Shiva sat and thought about the problem for a long time and because of that tears came out of his eyes and fell as rudrakshas on the ground. Out of his eye which represents the Sun, 12 deep red rudrakshas fell on the ground. Out of his another eye which represents the moon, 16 white colored rudrakshas fell on the ground and out of his fiery third eye known for destructing evil which and which represents fire, fell 10 black colored rudrakshas.
The white colored rudraksha represents the Brahmin, the deep red represents the Kshatriyas, the mixed color represents the Vaishyas or traders and the black represents the Shudras.
The rudraksha can be capped with gold or silver and worn. The Devi Bhagavatham points out that those who wear rudraksha bead will attain Brahmajnana or supreme realization of God. All sins will be washed away if one wears the rudraksha. But if a person wears a rudraksha and commits sins, then he will have to take countless births to pay for it. One should not involve in gossip or backbiting if one wears the rudraksha. If one gives food and clothes to a person wearing the rudraksha, then all sins will be removed and one will attain heaven because of the good deed.
There are several types of rudrakshas ranging from one faced to fourteen faced rudraksha. The one faced represents Lord Shiva and even the sin of murder will be washed away on wearing it. The two faced represents the goddess and the fourteen faced is extremely pure and if one wears it one will be considered equal to God because the purity of he rudraksha transforms the individual. Even seeing a person who is adorned with the rudraksha is divine and purifying.
