Buddha chitta mala

Buddha chitta mala commonly referred as 'Bodhi mala', 'bodhi chitta mala' or 'buddha mala' is a string of mala beads that are made from the natural seeds from Buddha chitta plant. Ziziphus budhensis, the scientific name for buddha chitta plant is a species of plant in the Rhamnaceae family endemic to the Timal region of Kavreplanchok in Central Nepal.[1] 'Buddha chitta' or 'Ziziphus Budhensis' is clearly different from the species of 'Ziziphus' already known to grow in Nepal, and it did not match with the Ziziphus species reported to be found in India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and China.[2]

Natural buddha chitta seed malas are light brown skin in color and have grip like texture. All Buddha chitta mala seeds have distinctive innate symbolic face (mukhi) pattern embedded in them. These symbolic mukhi pattern also comes in various forms for example most common ones are two mukhi pattern, they also come in three, four, five and six mukhi patterns. Buddha chitta mala seed varies in size also. The standard size is 12– 14 mm. There are larger Buddha chitta seeds which can go up to as large as 18 mm and as small as 6 mm which are very hard to find even in Nepal. Smaller seeds are more highly prized than larger ones. The more eye pattern Buddha chitta seeds have and more the size of the mala vary from the standard size, more scarce they are.[3]

Buddha chitta mala garlands are used by Buddhist people for worship to ‘delight Lord Buddha’ and for spiritual peace. As Buddha chitta garlands are of high value and better for the local farmers The Government of Nepal's Ministry of Forestry has established a committee and has begun to distribute the seedling of the plant so as to uplift the economic status of the people living in this area.[4][5][6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ziziphus budhensis Bhattarai & M.L.Pathak". IPNI . Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  2. ↑ Chaudhary, Sanjib (2015-08-06). "Buddha’s Beads Fetch Millions for Farmers in Central Nepal". Global Voices. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  3. ↑ Bhattarai, Khem Raj; Pathak, Mitra Lal (2015). "A New Species of Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae) from Nepal Himalayas" (PDF). Indian Journal of Plant Sciences. Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech). 22 (2): 71–77. ISSN 2319-3824. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  4. ↑ Chaudhary, Sanjib (2015-08-06). "Buddha’s Beads Fetch Millions for Farmers in Central Nepal". Global Voices. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  5. ↑ "Ziziphus budhensis Bhattarai & M.L.Pathak". IPNI . Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  6. ↑ Bhattarai, Khem Raj; Pathak, Mitra Lal (2015). "A New Species of Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae) from Nepal Himalayas" (PDF). Indian Journal of Plant Sciences. Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech). 22 (2): 71–77. ISSN 2319-3824. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  7. ↑ Chaudhary, Sanjib (2015-08-06). "Buddha’s Beads Fetch Millions for Farmers in Central Nepal". Global Voices. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
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