Different Types of Prayer Beads
Timothy Baron

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By Timothy Baron, eHow Contributor

A Holy Rosary is used by some Catholtics to facilitate prayer.

Prayer beads facilitate meditation in several major religions. They act as foci for the prayer, so that you can more easily keep track of how long you've been at it, like an analogue stop watch of devotion. When praying, the string of beads will be pushed through the fingers and counted one at a time. Once the user has made it through a complete cycle, he might stop or change to a new mantra or chant.

Japamala

Hindus were the first religion ascribed with the use of prayer of beads. These beads, known as japamala, typically come in a row of 108, though this number varies depending on the sect. In addition, each deity of the Hindu religion has a distinct set of beads associated with him. Finally, the string of beads is typically tied together to make a circle, the knot wound in on itself three times as an expression of the siddhis or divine power .

The Holy Rosary

Catholics have their own prayer beads which come in the form of the Holy Rosary. Unlike japamala, which are composed of beads of identical size, the Holy Rosary has two sizes of bead. For each of the smaller beads, the user is suppose to say a Hail Mary. The small beads typically come in a sequence of three, followed by a larger bead and then more small beads. For each large bead, a particular prayer is to be given, such as Glory Be to the Father or the Fatima Prayer. Depending on the day of the week, the user is intended to meditate on one of the divine mysteries, such as sorrow or light.

Misbaha

Islam has yet another form of prayer beads known as misbaha, or worry beads. Beads come in sets of either 33 or 99, and although they can be used simply as something to toy with during contemplation or non-religious meditation, for religious purposes they're often accompanied by repetitions of holy phrases, such as "Subhan'allah" or "Alhamdulillah." Misbaha first appeared in Islamic practice in the 9th century, while the Holy Rosary made its Catholic appearance during the 13th century, in the midst of a crusade.

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