‘Rudraksha' has its origin from the Sanskrit words, ‘Rudra' and ‘Aksha'. ‘Rudra' is another name for Lord Shiva, and ‘Aksha' means eye. As per the old mythological tale, the Rudraksha plant was born out of Lord Shiva's teardrops, hence the berry is called as Rudraksha. Rudraksha berry are produced by Rudraksha trees in Parts of Nepal, Indonesia & India. Ancient scriptures, such as ‘Shiva Purana', ‘Padma Purana' and ‘Srimad Bhagavad' mention the greatness and wonderful powers of the Rudraksha bead.
The botanical name for Rudraksha is Elaeocarpus granitrus. As per science, Rudraksha has a positive energy on the human body and relieves a person from stress, anxiety, depression, nervousness, lack of concentration and various other troubles. The effect of this bead varies from an individual to another, mainly depending on the faith they carry in the bead.
The Rudraksha beads are classified on the basis on the number of mukhis or faces - the clefts and furrows or lines running from the top to the bottom of the beads. Each bead represents a Lord according to Vedic texts and has a different effect, depending on the number of mukhis on it.
