This year in late March and early April 2023 I was fortunate to be able to visit Nepal for my third Buddhist Pilgrimage. Along the way, I hand-picked this item along with other select practice supplies and supports. I will be posting items in the days and weeks ahead.
This is a 108 bead Yak Bone skull carved mala with a Yak Bone Guru Bead. This style of mala are rare, high quality, and difficult to find. I picked this up from a dealer in the Swayambhunath Stupa area of Kathmandu also known as “The Monkey Temple.” The skull beads are hand carved, elegantly detailed, and very unique with a medium brown to beige/tan coloring. The dark brown Guru Bead is also yak bone and compliments this mala quite well. One side of the lower part of the guru bead has some unique striated markings.
This mala is more on the smaller size. The perfect mala for practice and to wear. The skull beads vary a bit in color, size, and form. However, all 108 beads are carved into small human skulls from Yak Bone. Excellent for Tantra Ceremony, wrathful mantra practice, or as a gift to you dharma teacher or friend.
The total length of the mala laid flat from the top to the bottom of the guru bead is about 19.5 inches or about 49.53.cm. On average the skull beads are about 10mm to 10.5mm long, about 9mm width, and about 8mm thick. I have very few of these mala in this smaller size. This one is laced with a double strand of black nylon cord and has a sliding knot to adjust for the tension of the skull beads.
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