a rosary made of 108 grains, used for the mental repetition of a mantra ( japa -litanies- practices). Being one the Ganesh emblems, the mâlâ has only 50 grains, as many as sanskrit letters, since Ganesh is, among other functions, the Protector of literature. Used grains are those of the rudraksha fruit (a shrub, Eleocarpus ganitras), known to be auspicious for Shiva worship (Rudra is one of the Shiva names). In the Vishnu worship, one uses tulsi (basil) grains