Category:Hindu prayer beads

Hindu prayer beads' or Japa mala or mala (Sanskrit:माला; mālā, meaning 'garland') is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, usually made from 108 beads, though other numbers, usually divisible by 9, are also used. Malas are used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity. This practice is known in Sanskrit as japa.