# Rudraksha: Mukhis, Planets, and How to Wear One > Which rudraksha suits you: the 1 to 14 mukhi with their deities and planets, how to wear and consecrate a bead, and how to tell a genuine rudraksha. Source: https://astroshala.com/rudraksha/ --- ![Rudraksha beads from 1 to 14 mukhi with Ganesha and Gauri Shankar beads, before Śiva in meditation](https://i0.wp.com/astroshala.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Rudraksha_astroshala.jpg?fit=1600%2C893&ssl=1) Remedies · Rudraksha # Rudraksha: Mukhis, Planets, and How to Wear One A rudraksha is the hard, dried stone inside the fruit of the rudraksha tree (*Elaeocarpus ganitrus*), worn or strung as a rosary in the worship of Śiva. Natural grooves divide its surface into faces (*mukhī*), from one to fourteen in the classical lists, and each number has its own presiding deity. In Vedic astrology, practitioners pair most of these numbers with a planet, so the bead you wear should come from your birth chart, not from a list of benefits. **1 to 14** mukhi in the texts**5 mukhi** for everyday wearChosen by **your chart** See the mukhi guide[Book a consultation](https://astroshala.com/product/30-min-tele-talk-consultation/) Origin ## Shiva’s Tears: Where the Rudraksha Comes From The name says it: *rudra* and *akṣa*, the eye of Rudra. Two texts tell how the bead came to be. In the *Śiva Purāṇa*, Śiva, deep in penance, opens his half-closed eyes, and the tears that fall become rudraksha trees, which he gives to the world for the good of his devotees. In the *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad*, Kālāgni Rudra tells the sage Bhusuṇḍa a sterner version: Śiva held his eyes shut for a thousand years while preparing to destroy the three cities of the demons (Tripura), and when he opened them, the tears that fell became the seeds. Both texts judge the bead the same way. A bead the size of an amla fruit is best, one the size of a jujube is middling, and one the size of a gram is the least. The *Śiva Purāṇa* adds that a bead should be even, firm, and thorny on its surface, and that a hole formed by nature is better than one drilled by hand. Beads that are cracked, broken, or eaten by worms are set aside. Four beads ## Popular Rudraksha Beads ![5 mukhi rudraksha, the general-purpose bead, on a temple stone](https://i0.wp.com/astroshala.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/5_Mukhi_Rudraksha_in_Golden_Temple_Light.png?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1) 5 Mukhi Rudraksha Jupiter Deity: Kālāgni Rudra The *Śiva Purāṇa* gives the five-faced bead to Rudra as Kālāgni, and the *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad* to the five faces of Sadāśiva (*Pañcabrahman*). It is the bead most households start with, and the usual choice when a chart gives no clear reason for another. Practitioners pair it with Jupiter. ![1 mukhi rudraksha, the half-moon one-faced bead](https://i0.wp.com/astroshala.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1_Mukhi_Rudraksha_in_Golden_Temple_Glow.png?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1) 1 Mukhi Rudraksha Sun Deity: Śiva The *Śiva Purāṇa* calls the one-faced bead Śiva himself. It is also among the rarest beads, which is why it attracts so many forgeries. Buy one only with a report from a qualified independent laboratory, and treat it as an object of worship rather than everyday wear. ![5 mukhi rudraksha mala of 108 beads with an orange tassel](https://i0.wp.com/astroshala.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Golden_5_Mukhi_Rudraksha_Mala.png?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1) Rudraksha Mala (108 Beads) All nine planets Used with Śiva mantras and any planetary mantra A string of 108 five-faced beads with a larger meru bead, used to count mantras. The *Śāradā Tilaka Tantra* lists rudraksha first among the materials for a rosary. Choosing, consecrating, and using a mala are covered in our [Japa Mala guide](https://astroshala.com/japa-mala/). ![Gauri Shankar rudraksha, two beads grown joined](https://i0.wp.com/astroshala.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Gauri_Shankar_Rudraksha_in_Temple_Glow.png?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1) Gauri Shankar Rudraksha No fixed planet Deity: Śiva and Pārvatī Two beads grown joined together, worshipped as Śiva and Pārvatī in one. Both texts count single beads from one to fourteen faces; the Gauri Shankar is a later favourite of household worship, kept on the shrine or worn for harmony in marriage. Joined beads are easy to fake with glue, so check the join under a lens. One to fourteen ## Rudraksha Mukhi Guide: 1 to 14 Faces The *Śiva Purāṇa* (*Vidyeśvara Saṁhitā*, Ch. 25) names a deity for each number of faces. The planet pairings come later: practitioners join each bead to a planet, sometimes through the bead’s deity and more often by a modern convention. The last column shows which. | Mukhi | Presiding deity (*Śiva Purāṇa*) | Planet usually paired | Basis of the pairing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 mukhi | Śiva | Sun | Common convention | | 2 mukhi | Devadeveśa (Śiva, lord of the gods) | Moon | Common convention | | 3 mukhi | No deity named | Mars | Common convention, through fire | | 4 mukhi | Brahmā | Mercury | Common convention, through Brahmā as lord of speech | | 5 mukhi | Kālāgni Rudra | Jupiter | Common convention; also the all-purpose bead | | 6 mukhi | Kārttikeya | Mars, or Venus in many modern lists | Deity link for Mars: Parāśara names Kārttikeya as Mars’s deity | | 7 mukhi | Anaṅga (Kāmadeva) | Saturn | Common convention | | 8 mukhi | Vasumūrti and Bhairava | Rahu | Common convention | | 9 mukhi | Bhairava | Ketu | Common convention | | 10 mukhi | Janārdana (Viṣṇu) | No fixed planet | | | 11 mukhi | Rudra | No fixed planet | | | 12 mukhi | The twelve Ādityas | Sun | Deity link: the Ādityas are the Sun’s twelve monthly forms | | 13 mukhi | Viśvedeva | Venus | Common convention | | 14 mukhi | Śiva, the highest | Saturn in many modern lists | Common convention | The *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad* gives a partly different list: Ardhanārīśvara, Śiva and Pārvatī in one body, for the two-faced bead; the three sacred fires for three; the five faces of Sadāśiva for five; the seven and the eight Mothers (*Mātṛkās*) for seven and eight; the nine Śaktis for nine; Yama for ten; the eleven Rudras for eleven; Mahāviṣṇu and the twelve Ādityas for twelve; Kāmadeva for thirteen; and, for fourteen, a bead born of Rudra’s own eye. Where the two texts differ, neither is the “correct” one; your teacher’s lineage decides which you follow. Rudraksha With 15 to 21 Mukhi Beads with more than fourteen faces do grow, and beads of up to 21 faces are sold today. Both classical lists stop at fourteen, so the deities and benefits now attached to the 15 to 21 mukhi come from modern sellers and practitioners, and their lists often disagree. These beads are rare and costly, which makes them a favourite target for carved lines and glued joins: buy one only with a report from a qualified independent laboratory. Special Rudraksha Beads: Ganesha, Trijuti, and Garbha Gauri Beside the Gauri Shankar, the market offers a few beads valued for their shape rather than their face count. None appears in the two classical lists; each comes from later devotional practice, and each is easy to fake. **Ganesha Rudraksha**A bead with a natural raised ridge shaped like an elephant’s trunk, worshipped as Gaṇeśa and kept for beginnings and the removal of obstacles. Check that the trunk grows from the bead itself and has not been carved or stuck on. **Trijuti Rudraksha**Three beads grown joined, worshipped by many households as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva together. It is among the rarest shapes, so insist on a laboratory report. **Garbha Gauri Rudraksha**A joined pair in which one bead is markedly smaller, read as Pārvatī with her child. Families keep it on the shrine when praying for children; it is not a medical aid for conception. These beads carry no fixed planet. Practitioners treat them as objects of worship, kept on the shrine more often than worn. Before you buy ## Choose a Rudraksha by Your Chart, Not Your Moon Sign Practitioners hold that a gemstone gathers its planet’s light and strengthens that planet whatever it means for you. A rudraksha, in the same tradition, works through worship: you wear it in honour of the deity who presides over its faces, so a poorly chosen bead is regarded as far less likely to do harm than a poorly chosen gem. That is why the 5 mukhi is commonly used as a general-purpose bead, and why a rudraksha is often suggested before a costly gem. A planet-specific bead still deserves a reason. Two questions give a starting point, which a full reading of the chart then refines: Question one Strengthen or Calm? A planet that rules the ascendant, the fifth, or the ninth house is an ally; if it is weak, its bead supports it (*puṣṭi*). A planet that rules the sixth, eighth, or twelfth house is calmed instead (*śānti*), usually through the neutral 5 mukhi or through the deity’s worship rather than through a bead that amplifies it. Question two Which Period Are You Running? The planetary period (*daśā*) shows which planet needs attention now. A 7 mukhi worn for Saturn means most during Saturn’s own period or its seven-and-a-half-year transit over the Moon (*sāḍe sātī*). For the same reasoning applied to rosaries, and the full strengthen-or-calm method, see the [Japa Mala guide](https://astroshala.com/japa-mala/). For gems, see [Gemstones in Vedic Astrology](https://astroshala.com/gemstones/). Practice ## How to Wear a Rudraksha The *Śiva Purāṇa* (25.42) asks that a rudraksha be put on with a mantra, and allows the root mantra (*mūlamantra*), which J. L. Shastri identifies as Śiva’s five-syllable mantra (*pañcākṣara*). The *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad* names silk thread. The other steps below are common household practice; your teacher’s procedure, where you have one, comes first. 1. Choose a Monday, or the weekday of the planet the bead serves, in the bright half of the lunar month (*śukla pakṣa*). 2. Bathe the bead in raw milk or Gaṅgā water, rinse it in clean water, and let it dry. 3. String it on silk or cotton thread, or set it in silver or gold caps. The *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad* names silk thread. 4. Touch it with sandalwood paste, offer a lamp and incense, and recite the mantra below 108 times over it. 5. Wear it at the neck, so that it rests near the heart, or on the right arm. Pañcākṣara mantra: Śiva Purāṇa 25.42, as identified by J. L. Shastri नमः शिवाय namaḥ śivāya **Meaning:** Salutation to Śiva. Most people add Oṁ at the start, which gives the six-syllable form, *oṁ namaḥ śivāya*. The *Śiva Purāṇa* also describes devotees wearing beads by the hundred, with 32 at the neck and 108 on the chest. In households today, a single bead or one 108-bead mala is the usual practice. The texts ## What the Texts Say About Wearing It - **Who may wear it:** the *Śiva Purāṇa* (25.45 to 47) opens the rudraksha to people of every order and station of life, and names women among them. Nothing in it reserves the bead for men, for priests, or for one sign of the zodiac. - **Food and conduct:** the same chapter (25.43) asks the wearer to avoid meat, onion, garlic, and liquor. Practice varies: some wearers keep these rules for as long as they wear the bead, and others take the bead off for meals or occasions where they do not. - **Colour and caste:** the *Śiva Purāṇa* and the *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad* sort beads by colour into four classes matched to the four *varṇas*. Few practitioners follow that scheme today; beads are chosen by face count and soundness, not by colour. Care ## Caring for Your Rudraksha - Rub a drop of sesame or almond oil into the bead every few months, so the dry shell does not crack. - Take it off before swimming, and keep it away from soap, shampoo, and perfume. - Common practice removes it before attending a cremation, and keeps it on the home shrine overnight if you do not sleep in it. - Restring it as soon as the thread frays. A bead lost to a worn thread is lost for good. Authenticity ## How to Tell a Genuine Rudraksha - **Faces run unbroken from end to end.** A natural face is a groove that runs from one end of the bead to the other. Extra lines that stop short, or look sharper than the rest, have been carved. - **An X-ray helps.** An X-ray shows the seed chambers inside a bead, which in a natural bead match its faces, and it exposes fillers and glued joins. For a 1 mukhi, a Gauri Shankar, or any costly bead, ask a qualified independent laboratory for a report. - **Check the joins.** Gauri Shankar and other joined beads are often two beads glued together. Look at the join under a 10x lens for a line of glue. - **Ignore the home tests.** Floating a bead in water, or watching it turn between two copper coins, tells you nothing about whether it is genuine. - **Know where it comes from.** As a market tendency, Nepal beads run larger, about 20 to 35 mm, and Indonesian beads smaller, about 5 to 25 mm. Both are genuine rudraksha. Consultation ## Not Sure Which Rudraksha Suits You? A bead serves a deity, and through that deity a planet your chart actually calls for. If you are unsure which planet needs attention in your current dasha, or whether to strengthen it or calm it, AstroShala consultations read the whole chart before suggesting any remedy. [Book a 30-Minute Consultation](https://astroshala.com/product/30-min-tele-talk-consultation/)[Ask 3 Detailed Questions](https://astroshala.com/product/detailed-3-questions-online-astrology-consultation/) At a glance ## Quick Insights: Rudraksha at a Glance - The word rudraksha joins *rudra* and *akṣa*: “the eye of Rudra”, after the tears Śiva shed. - An amla-sized bead is rated best and a gram-sized bead least, in both the *Śiva Purāṇa* and the *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad*. - A hole formed by nature is preferred to one drilled by hand. - The 6 mukhi reaches Mars through its deity, Kārttikeya, though many modern lists give it to Venus. - In the market, Nepal beads tend to run about 20 to 35 mm and Indonesian beads about 5 to 25 mm; both are genuine. Related ## Other Remedies on AstroShala - [Gemstones](https://astroshala.com/gemstones/): the nine planetary gems, how a chart decides which to wear, and how to test a stone. - [Yantras](https://astroshala.com/yantras/): planetary and deity yantras, and how to install and keep one. - [Japa Mala](https://astroshala.com/japa-mala/): the rosary for each planet and how to use it in mantra practice. - [Nakshatra Trees and Jadi](https://astroshala.com/nakshatra-trees/): the tree of your birth star, and the roots worn for the nine planets. Questions ## Rudraksha FAQs **Can women wear rudraksha?** **Yes.** The *Śiva Purāṇa* (*Vidyeśvara Saṁhitā* 25.47) names women among those who may wear it, together with people of every order of life. **Which rudraksha is best for beginners?** **The 5 mukhi.** It is the bead most households start with, and practitioners commonly use it as a general-purpose bead while a planet-specific one is being chosen. **Which rudraksha is worn for Saturn?** **The 7 mukhi, by common convention.** Whether Saturn needs strengthening or calming depends on the houses it rules in your chart, so check that before choosing. **Can I wear a rudraksha and a gemstone together?** **Yes, if the gemstone itself suits your chart.** Practitioners commonly wear both; the rudraksha does not change what the gem does, good or bad. **Can I eat non-vegetarian food while wearing rudraksha?** **The *Śiva Purāṇa* asks wearers to avoid meat, onion, garlic, and liquor.** Many wearers who do not keep that rule take the bead off for those meals. **What if my rudraksha cracks?** **Retire it with respect.** The *Śiva Purāṇa* sets cracked and broken beads aside for wearing. Keep it on the shrine or follow your family’s custom for retiring sacred objects, without dropping it into rivers or ponds, and consecrate a fresh bead. Rudraksha is worn in traditional devotional and astrological practice. It is not a treatment for any illness; for any health concern, consult a qualified doctor. ## Texts Referred To - *Śiva Purāṇa*, *Vidyeśvara Saṁhitā*, Ch. 25, trans. J. L. Shastri, Motilal Banarsidass - *Rudrākṣa Jābāla Upaniṣad* - Parāśara, *Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra*, Ranjan Publications, trans. R. Santhanam, Vol. 1, Ch. 3 - Lakṣmaṇa Deśikendra, *Śāradā Tilaka Tantra*, Ch. 2