1 Mukhi Rudraksha - Half Moon, Lab Certified

• The rarest count — A genuinely single-faced bead is the scarcest of all mukhis, which is why an Ek Mukhi is treated as a collector's piece rather than as daily jewellery.
• Half-moon form — This is the Ardha-Chandra shape, flatter and crescent-like, which is the form most authentic single-faced beads actually take; the perfectly round Nepali Ek Mukhi is rarer still and far more often imitated.
• Surya's bead — The Sun rules the one-faced bead, and it has traditionally been taken up by those carrying sole responsibility for something.
• Kept for practice — Advanced practitioners more often keep an Ek Mukhi on the altar and touch it during japa than wear it at the neck.
• Certified single face — One clean cleft is easy to fake by polishing a second line away, so a lab report on a one-faced bead is not optional.

1. Begin on a Sunday morning at sunrise, after a bath.
2. Wash the bead in clean water, then in Ganga jal or water with a pinch of turmeric, and dry it fully.
3. Hold it facing the rising sun and set your intention for the responsibility you are carrying alone.
4. Chant Om Hreem Namah eleven times, then put it on.
5. Most owners keep this bead on the altar rather than wearing it out; if you do wear it, use a plain thread and keep it under your clothing.
6. Do not pass it to another person to wear, and offer water before it on Sundays.

If you wear it, a single knotted thread and nothing else is the convention, since an Ek Mukhi is never layered with other beads. Many owners keep it wrapped in red cloth in the puja space and take it out only for practice.

Sunday is Surya's day and the Sun rules the one-faced bead, so that is the traditional start. Amavasya and Mahashivratri are the other occasions on which an Ek Mukhi is customarily taken up, the bead being Shiva's as well. A sunrise start is preferred to any later hour.

The Ek Mukhi is the bead every Rudraksha text opens with and the one most buyers never see genuine. The half-moon or Ardha-Chandra form is the shape it usually grows in: a flattened crescent with a single cleft running its length, rather than the round bead people picture. Round single-faced beads from Nepal do exist but are vanishingly rare, and the great majority sold as such are shaped from other seeds altogether, which is why the certificate matters more on this mukhi than on any other.

• Mukhi1 (Ek Mukhi, single-faced)
• ShapeHalf-moon, Ardha-Chandra, the natural form most genuine Ek Mukhi beads take
• Presiding deityLord Shiva, with the Sun as ruling graha
• OriginNatural Elaeocarpus bead, untreated and undyed
• FormLoose collector bead, supplied uncapped
• CertificationLab certificate confirming genuine single-faced status
• CareKeep dry and wrapped in cloth; handle with clean hands

Colour and texture vary slightly from piece to piece — every bead and stone is natural and one of a kind.

Keep away from water, perfume and harsh chemicals. Wipe gently with a soft dry cloth. Store in the pouch or box provided when not in use.

Presented in a sturdy gift box with protective foam, made for safe delivery and for gifting.

7-day returns. Contact us with your order number and we will guide you through it. Please keep the product in its original condition.