286 THE TEMPLE. 



being suggestive of boue, is used in worship of Yaoia. The real 

 material, howev^er, being extremely scarce and expensive, a substi- 

 tute is usually had in beads made from the fibrous root of the bow- 

 bambu (Zhu-shiiig) which has on section a structure very like the 

 stomach-stone, and its name also means "stomach or digestion" as 

 well as " bow." 



The rak-sha rosary,^ vide fig. 4, formed of the large brown warty 

 seeds of the EUeoearpiis Janitrus, is s^jecially used by 

 * "^ *" the nyingmapa lamas in the worship of the fierce 



deities and demons. The seeds of this tree are normally five-lobed, 

 and it is interesting, from a botanical point of view, to find how 

 relatively frequent is the occurrence of six lobes. Such abnormal 

 seeds are highly prized by the Tibetans as being the offspring of 

 the miraculous seeds of Padma Sanibhava's rosary — the legend stating 

 that the saint's rosary string broke while at his Halashi hermitage, 

 near the Kusi river in Nepal, and several of the detached beads 

 remained unpicked up ; and from these have resulted the six-lobed 

 seeds. The demand for such uncommon seeds being great, it is 

 astonishing how many of them are forthcoming to diligent search. 

 This rosary is also commonly used by the indigenous Bon-po priests, 

 and it is identical with the rosary of the Shivaic Hindus — the 

 rudrAksha (*,'<T^ = Rudra's [/.e., fierce Shiva's] eyes), from which the 

 Tibetan name of rak-sha is sujiposed to be derived. 



The nawj-ga im-ni rosary is only used for the worship of Nam-s^, 

 the God of Wealth (Skt. Kuvcra); and by the 



J. an-ga p.mi. ngak-pa or wizards in their mystical incantations. 

 It consists of glossy jet-black nuts about the size of a hazel, but of 

 the shape of small horse-chestnuts. These are the seeds of the lung- 

 thang tree, which grows in the sub-tropical forests of the south-eastern 

 Himalayas. They are emblematic of the eyes of the Garuda bird, 

 the chief assistant of Vajra-paiii (Jupiter) and the great enemy of 

 snakes — hence is supposed to be derived the Sanskritic name of the 

 beads, from udga^ a sei'pent. Its use in the worship of the God of 

 Wealth is noteworthy in the association of snakes — the mythological 

 guardians of treasure — with the idea of wealth. 



The rosary of snake-spines (vertebra3), vide fig. 7, is only used 

 by the (ngak-pa) sorcerers for purposes of sorcery 



Snake-spines. ^^^^ divination. The string contains about fifty 

 vertebrae. 



The complexion of the god or goddess to be worshipped also 



determines sometimes the colour of the rosary- 



Kosanes and com- beads. Thus a turquoise rosary is Occasionally used 



'^ * ' ' in the worship of the popular goddess Dbl-ma, who 



' rag sha. 



