World religions have their own individual attributes. However, some accessories are the same and do not depend on creed. These include the rosary. They are present in many religions, varying slightly in appearance, materials, and the number of beads.
The purpose of the rosary
Prayer beads are beads strung on a ribbon / cord. As a rule, the ends are fastened together, which makes the accessory look like a decorative piece. Beads or grains are made from a wide variety of materials: wood (cypress, date, juniper, etc.), natural stones, pearls, ceramics, seeds, berries, etc.
The rosary is a special item to help maintain the concentration and attention of the person praying. India is considered the birthplace of a popular religious attribute today. Since ancient times, fingering beads helped to distract from worldly concerns and pay attention to your inner, spiritual world. The beads in the rosary, most often, symbolize the number of prayers said.
It should be noted that fingering the rosary is characteristic not only of religious adepts, but also, for example, of the shamans of Central Asia. With the help of an accessory, they guess: predict troubles or benefits.
Rosary beads are used in many religions today. They can be found in Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Old Believers, etc. You can distinguish the rosary of one religion from another by the number of beads and decoration.
How many beads are in the rosary of different religions
The number of beads in a rosary varies according to religion. For Orthodoxy, this number should be a multiple of 10. Most often, there are beads of 100 beads + 3 from the central knot down. The accessory used in Orthodoxy ends with a thread brush or a cross. It should be noted that the number of beads may vary. According to the rules, segments of 10 pieces can be from one to sixteen.
In another Christian teaching - Catholicism - a different number of beads is accepted. Catholic rosary beads have 33 or 50 grains. The first number symbolizes the earthly years of Jesus, and the second - the number of years from the date of his death to the writing of the first book about his life. Later in Catholicism, rosary beads appeared, containing 150 beads (or 15 dozen). Every dozen is a tribute to the memory of the main event in the life of Christ and his Mother.
The main rosary in Buddhism has 108 beads. This figure symbolizes the number of brahmanas present at the birth of the Buddha. Such rosary beads are equipped with dividers - beads of a larger size. Also in Buddhism, accessories are often found with 18 (the number of Buddha's disciples), 21 (the number of forms of the goddess Tara) and 32 grains (signs / dignity of the Buddha).
In Buddhism, there is also a rosary with 27 and 54 beads. This attribute represents ½ and ¼ of the classic 108-grain tape.
In Hinduism, there are two types of rosary. The first "belong" to Shiva and contain 64 or 32 beads made from Rudraksha berries. The latter symbolize the Divine Absolute and have 108 grains. According to the rules, a rosary with a sacred number of links should be made of tulsi wood.
The Islamic rosary has 99 beads. This number is cyclical and corresponds to the Divine names. Typically, the rosary is divided into three equal parts. There is also a shortened version of the attribute called "tasbih" and consisting of 33 beads.
