Mostly found in the South Eastern Asian islands of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Bali, Iran, Timor (Indonesia) and parts of the South Asian Kingdom of Nepal, Rudraksha beads are considered the most potent healing beads and belong to the tree family Elaeocarpus Ganitrus. Around 70% of the Rudraksha trees are found in Indonesia, 25% in Nepal and 5% in India. They were first spotted in Indonesia and now grow in Nepal, Haridwar, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.
Nepal beads are larger in size and thorny with several projections and have deep clear mukhis. The size of Nepalese beads varies from 14mm–40mm with an average size of 24 mm, whereas Java beads are much smaller in size with a smoother surface and mukhi lines are visible as white lines from one hole to the other very close to the surface and not etched very deep. Java bead sizes vary from 4 mm to 25 mm, with an average size of 12 mm.
Both varieties of Nepal and Java beads range from 1 to 21 mukhi, inclusive of Ganesh, Gauri Shankar, Savar, and Trijuti Rudraksha. In both varieties, the number of seeds inside is equal to the number of mukhi lines on them. So 2 mukhi Rudraksha has 2 seeds, 8 mukhi will have 8 seeds, 14 mukhi will have 14 seeds and so on.
Both have a natural hole, which is a hollow cavity in the center of the bead that can be easily cleared manually without drilling.
Effect-wise, both varieties work on balancing chakras and healing the mind, body, and spirit in all aspects. While some people love the Nepal beads for their beauty, some find the Java beads more convenient to wear on a daily basis. Nepal beads start resonating with the body in a period of 4-5 days, while Java beads take about 8–10 days to align with the body due to their smaller surface area. But as they are worn regularly on the body, they both show similar healing properties over a longer period of time.
At Chakra Yog, we follow a strict selection procedure wherein each bead is tested for genuineness, completeness of mukhis, health, high quality, energy levels, and uniformity. Beads go through energizing rituals using Vedic mantras. Light sandal paste and sandal oil are applied to them in this process. The energized beads combination is then ready to be shipped to the client.
On the other hand, Rudraksha trees in Haridwar or South India/Sri Lanka are not similar to those in Indonesia and Nepal. Beads there are found to have no natural holes and also have a very limited variety of mukhis, which range from 1 mukhi to 8 mukhi as visible in the outer structure. Internally, they show only one seed and thus are not attributed to being true Rudraksha beads.