Prayer beads are a fascinating object found in traditions across the globe. As the name suggests, they are typically used for prayer and meditation. While the concept is roughly the same, marking a prayer with a knot or bead, the prayers and construction vary. So even though a Buddhist, a Sikh, and a Christian may all use prayer beads, they won’t use them the same way. They won’t always look the same either. This article will be a brief overview of the types of prayer beads found in Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Vedic traditions, and Baha’i.

So what exactly are prayer beads?  Prayer beads are a string of beads or knots that are used to mark a prayer. One may use a set of beads for a repetition of the same prayer, or one may perform a different prayer on different beads. There’s a diversity of uses and the practice is ancient. Prayer beads are so old that a statue from Assyrian Nineveh (now Mosul) depicted the use of prayer beads 1. Another example is the Adorants fresco in Akrotiri, Greece circa 1613 BCE. The English term bead, meaning a “material pierced for threading on a string or wire,” comes from the earlier Old English “bed,” or “gebed,” which means “prayer”2. Suffice to say, such garlands have been around for a long time. So how do different faiths use them?

Hinduism

Hinduism is widely considered to have the longest use of prayer beads. Within their tradition(s), these are called japa mala. Mala refers to a garland or necklace. Japa is the repetition of a mantra. Mantras can be a single word or a longer prayer like the Gayatri Mantra. This is their most common use, but are also used for other sadhana (spiritual exercises) and tantric exercises. Hindu traditions are incredibly diverse in terms of methodology, but japa is a fairly common exercise.

Hindu mala are often 108 beads, however there are different materials. Worshipers of Vishnu (Vaishnavites) will often have mala made with beads of tulsi stems, as tulsi is a sacred manifestation of Vishnu’s consort Lakshmi3. Worshipers of Siva (Shaivites) have malas often made with rudraksha seeds that are 32 or 64 beads long. Many Hindu japa mala are closed with a head bead adorned with saffron thread.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, we see the mala used within Mahayana (Great Wheel) schools of teaching. 108 bead malas are common, but so are smaller malas that can multiply to 108. For instance, a 27 bead mala could be used for four rotations. These are used to help keep track of specific mantras or simply speaking the Buddha’s name as a mindfulness practice. Buddhist beads often are capped with a head bead, sometimes called a guru bead.

Theravada (Elder School) Buddhists do not often use mala. One exception is Burmese Budhhists who refer to these as seikbadi and assist in samatha (calm-mind) meditation.

Jainism

Jain Dharma comes from the same Vedic background as Hinduism and Buddhism. It’s a diverse tradition with many schools of thought. Within this tradition, many meditation and prayer practices exist. Some Jains use mala for recitation and meditation. The most common of these is the Navkar Mantra, in which an adherent bows to the five supreme souls, the religious hierarchy. Through this, their karmas are destroyed. They end with a wish for the well being of all living things.

Sikhism

Sikh followers use a mala of 108 beads to assist them in shabad; reciting verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, the major religious text of Sikhism. Sikhs will also use a mala to assist with Naam Japo, which is meditation on the names/titles of God. While many Sikhs use mala, it is not required. There are even portions of the Adi Granth Sahib in which the Guru Arjan Dev and Kabir note the mala and tasbih as outward displays of faith which can distract from the true nature of God4.

Christianity

Christianity has a wide range of forms of prayer beads and methods of prayer and meditation that go along with them. In a short format, Christians have been using knotted ropes and beaded ropes for counting prayers all the way back to the Desert Fathers and Mothers in the 3rd century. These were often used for the Lord’s Prayer or the Jesus Prayer. This is why these forms of prayer beads are called paternosters; “pater noster” being Latin for “Our Father.”

Orthodox, Coptic, and Ethiopian churches still use these styles of prayer ropes with various forms such as the komboskini and levstoka5. The Roman Catholic church more commonly uses the rosary. The Catholic rosary holds 59 beads with a trailing crucifix, which acts as both the beginning and end of the practice. Catholics also have special prayer beads for saintly chaplets and may use a prayer rope as well, depending on their ethnic origin. 

In the late 20th century, some Protestant churches began developing their own styles of prayer beads, modeled on the Catholic rosary. These prayer beads are usually a bit smaller, still holding a cross, and have their own tradition of prayer attached. For example, the Anglican/Episcopal church uses a rosary of 33 beads, one bead for each year of Jesus’ earthly life.

Islam

In Islam, prayer beads are called misbaha or subha. They may also be called tasbih, after a practice with which they are used. Tasbih is the glorification of the God by uttering the phrase “Subhanallah.” A misbaha consists of 99 beads, sometimes broken into three sets of 33. It can be used for tasbih, for reciting the 99 names of God, and other such prayers. Misbaha may also have 100 beads or 33 beads6.

Baha’i

Baha’i’s are told to repeat the phrase “Allah-u-Abha,” meaning God is most Glorious, 95 times a day. The instruction is found in the Kitab i Aqdas, the major book of Baha’i faith. To assist with this, some Baha’i use a set of 95 beads or 19 beads (which are used for 5 sets).


So that’s a rough overview of prayer beads. Looking at the Vedic traditions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and arguably even Sikhism, there’s a common numbering system, rooted in Indian cosmology and mathematics. The beads are often for the repetition of mantras. When we go further West and look at Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity, Islam, and Baha’i we see similar practices in glorifying their deity, while the numbering and shape of their beads differs. However, many of these traditions still perform repetitions of a single saying or phrase, much like the Vedic faiths. There are small complexities and details to each tradition, so if you want to hear more about a particular faith, please let me know. 



Bibliography

Baha’u’allah. Kitab-i-Aqdas. 1st ed., Bahai Pub Trust, 1993. 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Subḥah”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Sep. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/subhah. Accessed 26 February 2021.

Kasten, Patricia Ann. Linking Your Beads: The Rosary’s History, Mysteries, Prayers. Our Sunday Visitor, 2011.

Merriam-Webster. “Bead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bead. Accessed 24 February 2021.

Petruzzello, Melissa. “Holy basil”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Sep. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/plant/holy-basil. Accessed 26 February 2021.

Sahib, Guru Granth. Guru Granth Sahib.

Susan, Ferrence, and Bendersky Gordon. “Therapy with Saffron and the Goddess at Thera.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, vol. 47, no. 2, 2004, pp. 199-226. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/pbm.2004.0026.

Winston, Kimberly. Bead One, Pray, Too : a Guide to Making and Using Prayer Beads. Morehouse Publishing, 2008.

  1. Kasten 6
  2. Merriam-Webster
  3. Petruzello
  4. Sahib 888, 1158, 1353
  5. Winston 28
  6. Brittanica