Types of Rudraksha : Rudraksh varieties based on Faces / Mukhi

What are different types of Rudraksha? How to identify them? These are the basic questions for a beginner. He gets confused with the innumerable varieties of Rudraksha. Today I'm going to explain this topic in detail.

What is the Face of a Rudraksh?

Rudraksha is the nut of Rudraksha fruit. It generally contains 5 compartments with a single seed in each compartment. The joining wall between two compartments is represented by a grove / line on the surface of the nut. It is called as Face (Mukhi), key to identify different Rudraksha beads. Rudrakshas are normally categorized and named based on these Mukhi. For example, Panch mukhi Rudraksha is the one with five lines on it.

How many types of Rudraksh are present?

Many. But, all of them are not available equally. I'll list the varieties in the order of availability.

1. Panchmukhi Rudraksh : Five face Rudraksha
   
2. Charmukhi Rudraksh : Four face Rudraksha
   
3. Chemukhi Rudraksh : Six face Rudraksha
   
4. Teenmukhi Rudraksh : Three face Rudraksha
5. Sathmukhi Rudraksh : Seven face Rudraksha
6. Domukhi Rudraksh : Two face Rudraksha
7. Athmukhi Rudraksh : Eight face Rudraksha
8. Naumukhi Rudraksh : Nine face Rudraksha
9. Dasmukhi Rudraksh : Ten face Rudraksha
10. Ekadasmukhi Rudraksh : Eleven face Rudraksha
    
11. Dwadasmukhi Rudraksh : Twelve face Rudraksha
    
12. Ekmukhi Rudraksh : One face Rudraksha
13. Trayodasmukhi Rudraksh : Thirteen face Rudraksha
    
14. Chaturdasmukhi Rudraksh : Fourteen face Rudraksha

Remaining Rudraksha described bellow are present in the nature but are very very rare.

1. Fifteen mukhi
   
2. Sixteen mukhi
   
3. Seventeen mukhi
4. Eighteen mukhi
5. Nineteen mukhi
6. Twenty mukhi
7. Twenty one mukhi

There were descriptions of Twenty four mukhi(!) and Twenty seven mukhi(?) Rudrakshas in some village tales. But, Puranas and Tantras don't even mention them.

Sometimes, due to anomalies in the development, two or three Rudrakshas join together to form Rare Rudrakshas like Gauri Shankar or Trijuti.

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Types of Rudraksh based on color, size and quality