Talk:Rudraksha

Pseudoscientific Assertions, Weasel words, No citations, Advertisements
There are multiple instances. In general, this article seems to be either written in a factual voice that may be inappropriate given the local folk use of the plant, or use weasel words to avoid citations.

The section "Rudraksha Grading Standards" is a blatant piece of self-promotion. I'll be editing this shortly. The article already has multiple citations requests - so it might be a good candidate for a moderator review.

Some blatant examples:
 * "This is because they are claimed to create a cocoon made of the wearer's own energy"
 * "Rudraksha were held above the water on a string, it would turn clockwise if the water was good and drinkable."
 * "When worn on a mālā, Rudrakshas were also said to ward off and shield against "negative energies"."
 * "If the mālā lacks a bindu, the energy is said to become cyclical and wearers who are sensitive may become dizzy."

- Rshrinivas (talk) 06:49, 3 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Yes you are right! शिव साहिल (talk) 20:05, 15 July 2018 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately, it looks like these problems have persisted for years - maybe even gotten worse. I've tagged the article with some cleanup templates, but it'll require some major work to be truly encyclopedic (more than I'm willing to put in). V2Blast (talk) 18:24, 5 April 2019 (UTC)

HQ art-style pictures of Rudraksha
Friends!

I uploading some of my favorite photos of Rudraksha which we made during our research. Then camera was broken, means that gallery completed. You are welcome to use any of them, add to this or other pages, as well as visit our Rudraksha photo-stock to download-free more photos and use it on 3-rd party websites. I want to show the beauty of Rudraksha to awake the desire to receive it and wear, respect and even plant the Rudraksha tree!

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Rushtook (talk • contribs) 08:16, 24 October 2018 (UTC)

Removed text
CC-BY-SA declaration; text in this section removed from the article by me because it is off-topic and per WP:NOT; WP is not an instruction manual.  Baffle☿gab  02:06, 22 June 2019 (UTC)

Fake rudraksha
Most fake rudrakshas exhibit 1 mukhi due to its rarity. A variety of rudrakshas called 1 mukhi half-moon are thus sold in its place; these are genuine and more easily available versions of 1-mukhi rudrakshas.The 1-mukhi rudraksha is faked using berries and Areca nut. Also, some suppliers sell fake rudrakshas which have a serpent, trishula, Shiva-lingam, etc. carved on them. A real rudraksha does not have these markings. Fake rudrakshas are also made by carving extra lines on lower-mukhi rudrakshas to obtain the rare and higher-priced higher-mukhi rudrakshas or by hiding lines to make a rarer lower-mukhi rudraksha. A fake Gauri Shankar rudraksha is made by gluing together two rudraksha beads.

To recognize real rudrakshas, many techniques are used, such as sinking and floating of rudrakshas as well as revolving rudrakshas in between two copper coins. But these are not correct criteria. Some helpful techniques include:


 * 1) Using a magnifying glass and examining the rudraksha for artificially carved lines which are generally very sharp, or glued surfaces on the bead.
 * 2) Whenever checking the genuineness of a joint or of a line on a rudraksha, for example checking a Gauri Shankar for joints or lines in higher-mukhi beads, one must make sure to boil the rudraksha in water for 1 to 2 hours. Sharp discoloration will take place at the joint or at the artificially created line.
 * 3) Cut the bead horizontally. There should be the same number of compartments as lines on a rudraksha.
 * 4) Best of all is doing an x-ray of the rudraksha.   Baffle☿gab  02:06, 22 June 2019 (UTC)

False etymology.
I'm no Sanskrit scholar, but the etymology in the first paragraph is simply false, as someone was trying to make clear in the second paragraph. The etymology appears to be a misreading/poetic licence from the Rudrakshajabala Upanishad. But अक्ष (akṣa) means either 'eyes' (plural!), 'dice' or a 'organs of sense'. At Combined Sanskrit Dictionary Search at Digital Dictionaries of South Asia there are 337 entries for the word अक्ष, Control+F search for 'tear' gives one absolutely nothing. Searching for the word 'tear' in Sanskrit, I get अब्बिन्दु (abbinduḥ, used in the Bhagavad Gita), आश्रम् (āśram), उष्ण (uṣṇa), दृश् (dṛś, a plural word), नयनगोचर (nayanagocara, a plural word) ... I could go on, but no akṣa or अक्ष anywhere. In the Rudrakshajabala Upanishad there is no confusion in word usage either, as far as I can tell. Note, as this article makes clear, that the concept of rudraksha is mentioned numerous times in the Hindu tradition, and only using a single source to call an 'eye' a 'tear' is pushing it. The false etymology is seen on many (often commercial) websites, but it appears that this may have been taken from Wikipedia. For some odd reason I cannot see the specific page of the reference given, by one Margaret Stutley, but the page number 119 given was clearly nonsense... As I cannot verify that Margaret is feeding us misinformation (which I doubt, the book looks kosher enough), I will simply remove the offending info. 2A02:A45D:25BD:1:E045:852D:ECB5:5755 (talk) 13:55, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Correct taxonomy
Another thing, Elaeocarpus ganitrus is now called E. angustifolius. The name E. ganitrus has been demonstrated to be invalid in 1980, but most non-botanical people haven't caught on. India Biodiversity Portal has though. It's a bit technical, but I've explained the whole taxonomy thing at the E. angustifolius article. 2A02:A45D:25BD:1:E045:852D:ECB5:5755 (talk) 14:11, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Origin Of Rudraksha
Shrimad Bhagwat Purana says that there was a trio of demon brothers named Tripurasur, sons of Tarakasur ruling indestructible towns constructed by them out of Gold, Silver & Iron known as Tripur. This trio meditated for thousand years and practiced hard penance and severe austerity. One day while they were in deep meditation Lord Brahma appeared before them and asked about their desire. The trio asked for divine powers to rule these towns which were then granted to them.

Soon the trio felt proud of themselves and started suppressing & stamping out deities and sages. As a consequence, lord Indra, the king of all deities rushed to lord Brahma for his help. Lord Brahma asked lord Indra to seek protection under lord Vishnu, who also advised Lord Brahma & Indra to go to the lord Shiva. They all went & explained their misery, pain and suffering to the lord Shiva, who agreed to protect them against the trio. At that time Lord Shiva became so ferocious that his face turned red and he showed his “Rudra Roop” (The most dreadful pose in the universe). He made a chariot out of the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon. Lord Vishnu became his arrow and lord Brahma drove the chariot. Very soon Lord Shiva killed Tripurasur and destroyed the towns which they ruled.

After killing Tripurasur, the Trimurti (Lord Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh) reached the Himalayas to take a rest. Lord Shiva closed his eyes and went into deep meditation, when he opened his lotus-shaped eyes teardrops fell on the earth and grew into a Rudraksha tree.

According to the Shiva Purana, when goddess Parvati asked about the origin of Rudraksha.

Then Lord Shiva Says-

"DIVYA VARSHA SAHASRAM TU CHAKSHURUNMEELITMAYAA,

PASCHANMAAKULAKSHIBHYAH PATITA JALBINDAVAH"

"TATRASHRUBINDTO JAATA MAHARUDRAKSH VRISKSHKAH

MAMAAGYAYAA MAHASEN SARVESHAM HITKAMYAYAA"

For one thousand divine years my eyes were closed, so when I opened them, teardrops fell from my eyes.

Those drops of tears gave birth to the tree of Maha Rudraksha on my command for the benefit of all.

The two references mentioned in the religious literature of Hinduism help us to understand the origin & importance of Rudraksha. It grows in the Himalayas as an inedible blue-colored berry that is considered the most powerful and sacred fruit on the earth. It is a highly revered and worshipped seed fruit in India. To know more click here RudraTree Rudraksha (talk) 11:34, 18 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I suggest you delete this section, this is a talk page, not a promotional space. Chronikhiles (talk) 16:40, 21 January 2024 (UTC)