A string of beads, usually 108 of them, used in Hinduism and Buddhism for counting prayers and meditations.
From Sanskrit 'mala' meaning 'garland' or 'wreath.' The beads have been used since ancient Hindu and Buddhist practices to track repetitions of mantras and prayers.
The number 108 appears across Hindu cosmology—there are 108 Upanishads, 108 names of gods, and even in yoga there's a 108-sun-salutation practice, making the mala bead count deeply symbolic rather than arbitrary.
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