Why 108 beads?

A japa mala has 108 beads, and the number appears in many Hindu and Buddhist practices: 108 names of a deity, 108 sacred places, 108 repetitions. Nobody knows for certain why. Here are the reasons that people give.

• Astronomy: the distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 108 times the diameter of the Sun, and the same is true for the Moon, as the ancients may have noticed. This is an interesting fact but it is not clear that it was the reason.
• Mathematics: 108 is 1 to the power of 1, times 2 to the power of 2, times 3 to the power of 3 (1 x 4 x 27); and it can be divided by many numbers.
• Sanskrit alphabet: there are 54 letters in Sanskrit, each with a masculine and a feminine form, which makes 108.
• Breath and body: some yoga texts count the nadis or energy channels as 108 meeting at the heart.

None of these is known to be the historical reason. The practical answer is that 108 is a good, round number for a sitting of a few minutes, and the same number is used by many traditions, which means that a mala can be shared between them. If you cannot do 108, repeat a smaller number such as 27 or 54, which are quarters and halves of the circle.

The meanings and notes are our own words and not an authorised translation. Mantras belong to living traditions, and families and teachers differ in how they chant and use them; please ask yours. We make no claim that any mantra brings any result.