Genuine Om on 9, 5 and 4 Mukhi Rudrakshas. From Pandit S.P.Tata’s collection.
The word Rudraksha is derived from the words Rudra + Aksha meaning tears of Rudra, i.e., Lord Shiva. Details about Rudrakshas and their effects are mentioned in various Hindu Puranas like Shiva Purana, Devi Purana, Padma Purana and Rudraksha Jabalopanishad. The following is the authentic information from Shiva Purana. The other Puranas say almost the same thing with a few minor variations.
According to Shiva Purana, the demon king Tripurasura became all powerful and became the scourge of the Gods. To kill him Lord Shiva decided to create a powerful divine weapon, called Aghora-astra, and went into meditation. After a long time when he opened his gaze, his eyes smarted and a few tears fell on earth. As nothing divine is ever wasted, the tears became seeds and from the seeds the Rudraksha tree was born. The Rudrakshas we get are the seeds of the Rudraksha fruits.The three eyes of Lord Shiva represent the Sun, Moon and Fire. The Rudrakshas born of the tears of his solar eye are brown in colour and are of twelve types. Those born of his lunar eye are fair and of sixteen types. The Rudrakshas related to his Fiery eye are black in colour and are of ten types. This gives us a total of thirty eight types of Rudrakshas.
The wearer of 108 Rudrakshas gets the results of performing Ashwamedha Yagya and his next 21 generations will get the good fortune of going to Shiva loka. The wearer of 1100 Rudrakshas becomes equal to Rudra. The one who wears 555 Rudrakshas as a crown becomes equal to lord Shiva. The one who wears
320 Rudrakshas in three rows across his body, like the sacred thread, becomes equal to lord Shiva.
