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Rudraksha are available from 2 mukhi till 27 mukhis. The five faced Rudraksha are
found easily and abundantly. One faced Rudraksha (round variety) has never been
found till date and is thus a myth. A variety of Rudraksha called 1
mukhi half moon is thus sold in its place which is genuine and belongs to a family
tree of Rudraksha. This bead is found easily and the price is also not high. However,
there are suppliers who sell this half moon variety also at exorbitant prices, taking
advantage of the rarity of round 1 mukhi Rudraksha. Round 1 mukhi Rudraksha however,
is the most highly sold bead and is faked in many forms by unscrupulous suppliers.
Many of these beads are made from berries and betel nuts and Areca nuts. Some have
a stem implanted in them artificially to give the real look. Also, some suppliers
sell fake 1 mukhis which have a Serpent, Trishul, Lingam etc. carved on them. A
real Rudraksha does not have these markings. Rudraksha having 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 faces
are found abundantly and hence their prices are not high. Fake Rudraksha are made
by carving extra lines in these lower mukhi beads to obtain the rare and higher
priced higher mukhi beads. Also, some scrupulous people fake Gauri Shankar Rudraksha
by gluing together two Rudraksha Beads. But these can be again detected by little
experience and awareness. Please note that the idea of informing you about fake
Rudraksha is not to scare people away, but to make them aware.
Genuine Rudraksha sold are also available in plenty naturally. But it is the greed
of suppliers to make more money that forces them to deal in fake beads. Also, in
the case of rare Rudraksha beads of higher mukhis, fakes are sold by such suppliers
to satisfy the increasing demand of these beads.
It is not very difficult to recognize a real Rudraksha. On account of its increasing
importance and price, it is made artificially also and these artificial Rudrakshas
are also being sold in market. Artificial Rudraksha used to be made long ago by
using wild berry seeds or nuts or wood. But now this is an outdated technique and
the Nepal suppliers of today are making these by carving out extra lines in a lower
mukhi bead to get a higher mukhi bead, or hiding extra lines to obtain a rare lower
mukhi bead and even by gluing together parts of Rudraksha Beads to obtain another
Rudraksha. Thus, these fake Rudraksha look externally like Real rudraksha and therefore
have to be examined more carefully. But in these artificial Rudraksha, no facet
can be made as real as the ones that are in the genuine ones and this can easily
be detected by an experienced eye. Here, the facet (Mukh) means the deep lining
from the upper part to the lower part of the Rudraksha. Looking at these deep linings
facets one can recognize a real Rudraksha. One needs to use a magnifying glass for
this purpose and examine for artifically carved lines (which are generally very
sharp) and glued surfaces on the bead.
There are many other criteria written to recognize Rudraksha, such as the sinking
and floating of Rudraksha in water and revolving between two coins. But there
are not a correct criterion. Even an unripe but genuine Rudraksha
may float in the water, and a non-genuine one made out of wood impregnated with
lead or by tampering a real Rudraksha may sink. Therefore, we should not bother
about these suspicions and false notions. The Rudraksha should be brought from a
genuine supplier who is accountable to the people, and who would accept returns.
Buying Rudraksha is like buying Gems in which buyers buy from a trusted supplier
only and thus buyers need to consult other previous buyers regarding genuine suppliers
and their experience of dealing with them, before taking a decision to purchase
these beads.
Another thing to be noted is that Rudraksha being a natural product, it is available
in many qualities from low, medium, high to collector. A buyer should avoid low
quality beads which are light-weight, have broken surfaces, are unshapely and have
an extremely dry surface. These beads rarely produce any effect. One should
go for Rudraksha which are heavy, bright, lustrous, shapely and emit a positive
vibration.
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