A Japamala (mala) or rosary is a string of prayer beads that people of various religious traditions use to count mantras or the number of recitations of the name of God. Most of the Hindus use a Japa mala with 108 beads. But why are there 108 beads on a mala?

Actually, there are not 108 but 109 beads in a mala. The extra bead serves as a start point and endpoint for counting the repetitions of the mantra or the name of God. This bead is called the Meru/guru bead. It is often larger than counting beads.

Most people chant mantras or the names of gods for a spiritual or astrological reason. A mala helps them concentrate on chanting (sound, vibration, and meaning) instead of counting the numbers.

Why are there 108 beads on a mala?

1. The number 108 has great importance in Vedic astrology.

In Vedic astrology, an orbit of the Earth around the Sun is divided into 27 segments called Nakshatras. Each Nakshatra is further divided into four Padas or steps. Thus, the Earth takes 108 (27*4) steps to complete a cycle around the Sun.

Therefore, 108 beads in a rosary or a Japa mala signify the completion of a cycle.

2. According to Vedic astrology, there are 9 planets and 12 constellations. If you multiply 9 by 12, it comes out to be 108. Therefore, there are 108 different positions of the 9 planets.

3. If you go to any astrologer for help, he would advise you to chant a particular mantra in multiples of 9 because 9 is the most sacred in Hinduism. For a mantra to be fruitful, it needs to be chanted more than 100 times, and 108 is the next multiple of 9 after 100. Therefore, there are 108 beads on a mala.

4. The sum of the individual digits of 108 is 9 (1+0+8=9), the last number in the decimal system. Therefore, it signifies the completion of a cycle.

5. The average distance between the Sun and the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun. Did ancient Hindu sages know of it? It is hard to tell, but we cannot rule it out.

6. It is also possible that before using a mala, ancient sages might have used finger creases for counting. We have five fingers, and the crease counting is done with the thumb. Therefore, there are 12 (4*3) creases in a go. The number 9 was considered sacred so that they might have done 12 repetitions. That gives us a total count of 108.

There could be many more reasons, but in this article, we are discussing only the astrological significance of the number 108.

If you know more reasons behind “Why are there 108 beads on a mala?”, please use the comment section to mention them.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japamala