The one question that comes to a persons mind before buying a Rudraksha is
“How does one check the authenticity of a Rudraksha?
Unlike most of the Rudraksha traders we do have an answer for this.
First
of all let us bring to your knowledge that we are the proud traders of
Rudraksha to find & disclose the closest authenticity test of
Rudraksha beads.
This authenticity test founded by us shall bring about lot of awareness & help people in not getting cheated anymore.
Rudraksha Authenticity test.
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“The
number of seeds in internal of each non manipulated Rudraksha bead
should be equal to the number of mukhis/ facets that it has on its
external structure.” If the number of seeds is not equal to the number
of mukhis then there are chances of external manipulation taken place on
the outer surface of Rudraksha which further can be detected by an
expert. There are certain exceptions to the test which are as follows
1) In
a few varieties of Rudrakshas the number of seeds is more than the
number of mukhis for example, if one or more mukhis of a Rudraksha have
not developed naturally, then the number of seeds in the internal of the
Rudraksha will be more than the number of mukhis it has on its outer
surface, one can assume that the mukhis have not developed naturally
only if the analyst is certain that there is no external manipulation.
2) The above test is sounder for Rudrakshas of Nepalese & Indonesian Origin.
3) This
is the closest test to find out the genuinety of a Rudraksha, this test
also has some limitations. At times when the Rudrakshas are cut open we
have noticed that the seeds are not well developed & hence appear
like a very minute cavity or like a dot. Well, now every time to test a
Rudraksha one wouldn’t want to cut open the bead & would rather
prefer to get the x ray of the Rudraksha done, in such a case the seeds
which are not well developed may not be well exposed in the x-ray or
could be difficult for a lay person to interpret the x ray, further it
may also be difficult to conclude on basis of a blur x-ray. This is the
only close test that could prove the authenticity of a Rudraksha berry.
If you wish to know how to check the genuinety of Rudrakshas
Most of the other common tests existing are misleading or incomplete.
Tests like 1) Floating in water test 2) milk changing colour test 3) Copper coin test
4) Boiling test.
All the above mentioned tests are incomplete & hence very misleading.
RudraBlessings
takes deep effort to bring about the awareness of Rudraksha &
protect Rudraksha lovers from getting misleaded.
1. Floating in water Test
a. A test like ‘Rudraksha that sinks in water is original and the Rudraksha that floats in water is a duplicate’ is just a myth.
A genuine
Rudraksha could either float or sink in water depending upon the
density / specfic gravity or moisture trapped in the bead. A genuine
Rudraksha that is not oiled, very dry & light in weight will float.
Similarly, a bead that is heavy or oiled or kept in water for some time
will sink because of the moisture in it; a recently plucked bead might
sink because of moisture in it & same bead if lying in your
collection box for a couple of days / months / years might float due to
its dryness. Further, the same dry bead if kept in water for a few hours
or days shall absorb water & start sinking slowly, but again this
may not happen for all the beads. So a original rudraksha may sink or float in water. It is a myth that original Rudraksha has to completely sink in water.
b.
When a bead is dipped in a glass of water, it will find its own
buoyancy level from the bottom to the top of the glass depending upon
the level of moisture in it. It is proved that any authentic bead could
either float or sink just depending upon the dryness or moisture in that
bead. It also so happens that a original Rudraksha bead finds it
buoyancy level in the centre of the glass (that it neither completely
dips iin water nor it floats at the uppermost level of water, matter of
fact it floats in the centre of the water level)
c. At
the same time a so called Rudraksha bead carved out of some other
material might sink in water which doesn’t mean that it is an original
Rudraksha bead.
d.
Even if some stand by the water test, one needs to just ask a simple
question to them; the Rudraksha might be original but how does the water
test prove the genuinety of the mukhi (facets) it has on it. The faces
can be carved on a genuine heavy Rudraksha that sinks in water. After
all, we are paying the price for an original Rudraksha bead with
original (mukhis) facets.
Therefore,
in either case, it cannot be proved whether the Rudraksha bead is an
original or a fake one. It just proves whether it is a dry or a moist
bead, nothing else.
2. Milk Test
It is
often claimed by many cheats or ignorant vendors that a genuine
Rudraksha when put in a jar of milk; changes the colour of the milk.
Many a times what happens is that the Rudraksha beads are coated with
mud by the farmers to protect it from insects. So once the Rudraksha
coated with mud is put in milk it starts loosing its coating &
brings about a change in the colour of the milk. This coating can be
done even on a fake bead which will bring about the same change on the
milk.
Further,
even if some believe that there is some sense or logic it, this test
again does not prove the authenticity of the mukhis / facets that the
Rudraksha has on it. This is usually done to promote the sale of a fake
Rudraksha.
3. Copper Coin Test*
There are
many other criteria written to prove the authenticity of a Rudraksha
bead like revolving between two coins & the milk changing colour
after the bead is soaked in it for a night. But all these are not a
correct criterion because a bead with magnetic field will rotate &
if the bead is coloured with mud for protection it will loose its
colour. Therefore, we should not bother about these suspicions and false
notions.
Duplicate
Rudrakshas are to be found in different places all over the world but
easily found in places like Rishikesh & Haridwar in Uttaranchal,
India & all over Nepal.
Moreover nowadays Rudraksha beads are not fake but the mukhis on them are fake.
A
skillful artisan can increase the mukhis (facets) of a low priced
Rudraksha bead by neatly giving extra cuts & converting it to a
higher mukhi (facets) Rudraksha bead that will fetch him a higher price.
Similarly, he could also hide or block a few mukhis (facets) on a low
priced Rudraksha bead converting it to a lower Mukhi bead that would
fetch him a higher price. Only an experienced eye can detect this.
These
artisans also use superfine glue to attach or join two or three Lower
priced beads together converting them to a highly priced Gaurishanker or
an exorbitantly priced Trijudi Rudraksha. Nevertheless, these glued
beads can be detected by dipping them completely in boiled (not boiling)
water. There are chances that the glue could give in and loose the
strength, further two or three beads artificially attached may get
separated from each other on its own. But Nowadays due to the usage of
superfine glue by the artisans there are chances that the beads may not
get separated, So ultimately it is the experienced eye that can detect
the same.
Many other trees that do not belong to the Elaeocarpacae Granitrus family
bear fruits that look very similar to the Rudraksha bead. This could be
very misleading, as a normal eye might not realize the difference
immediately.
