Tudu Hommie at 09:52, 9 February 2025

2025-02-09T09:52:02Z

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[[File:Hansadutta.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Hansadutta Swami]] of [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|ISKCON]] wearing a [[Ocimum tenuiflorum|tulasi]] ''kanthi mala''.]]{{Short description|String or necklace worn by some Hindus}}
A '''''kanthi mala''''', or simply '''''kanthi''''' ({{langx|sa|कण्ठी}}, ''kaṇṭhī'', <small>{{abbr|lit|literally}}.</small> "necklace"), is a necklace made of beads from the [[tulasi]] (basil) plant,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chaturvedi |first=Vinayak |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Peasant_Pasts/MzPlZSOjCpsC?hl=en&gbpv=1 |title=Peasant Pasts: History and Memory in Western India |date=2007 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25076-5 |pages=89 |language=en}}</ref> threaded on a string worn, and worn by some adherents of [[Hinduism]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Vaishnavism==
Followers of [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] wear ''kanthi malas'' made of ''[[Ocimum tenuiflorum]]'' (known in Hinduism as [[Tulasi in Hinduism|tulasi]]).<ref name="z">{{cite book|title=Plants of life, plants of death|first=Frederick J. |last=Simoons|year=1998|page=14|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press |isbn=9780299159047 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KEUAbrBoeBAC&dq=kanthi+mala+krishna&pg=PA14}}</ref> Most Vaishnavas of this sect are given their ''kanthi'' by their [[guru]] at the time of [[diksha]], or spiritual initiation.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

It is said [[Krishna]] – who is revered as [[Svayam Bhagavan|S''vayam Bhagavan'']], or the "Self-Existent Lord," in Gaudiya Vaishnavism – was very fond of tulasi, and as such the plant is worshipped as ''"Tulasi [[devi]]"'' by followers of Krishna.<ref name="z" /> Tulasi devi is considered to be "one of Krishna's most intimate servants"<ref name="K">{{cite web|last=devi dasi|first=Govinda|title=Tulasi Devi, Beloved of Krishna|url=http://www.krishna.com/tulasi-devi-beloved-krishna|access-date=2014-02-24|archive-date=2023-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110151752/https://www.krishna.com/tulasi-devi-beloved-krishna|url-status=dead}}</ref> and provide protection to his devotees, and as such, Gaudiya Vaishnavas try to avoid removing their tulasi ''kanthis'' under any circumstances.

==Shaivism==
[[Shaivism|Shaivite]]s wear a ''kanthi'' made of [[rudraksha]].<ref name="z" /> The name "rudraksha" is derived from the Sanskrit ''rudrākṣa'', meaning "Eye of [[Rudra]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Subramuniyaswami |first=Sivaya |url=https://archive.org/details/dancingwithsivah00subr_0 |title=Dancing with Siva |year=1997 |isbn=9780945497974 |location=USA |page=799 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

==Other traditions==
''Kanthi malas'' are also worn by followers of the [[Swaminarayan Sampraday|Swaminarayan Sampradaya]] and the [[Kabir panth]]. [[Swaminarayan]] instructed his followers to wear a double-stranded ''kanthi'' made of [[tulsi|tulasi]], symbolising [[Radha Krishna|Radha–Krishna]], while [[Kabir]] instructed his disciples to wear triple-stranded ''kanthis'' – symbolising the Hindu trinity of [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], and [[Shiva]] – with one large bead made from either tulasi or rudraksha for ''Satya Purusha'', the "supreme lord who dwells within, who is above all else."<ref name="isbn8120606515">{{cite book |author1=Behramji Merwanji Malabari |author2=Krishnalal M. Jhaveri |author3=Malabari M. B | title=Gujarat and the Gujaratis | publisher=Asian Educational Services | year=1997 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lyd8jPbN218C&q=muktanand+swami |isbn=81-206-0651-5 |access-date=May 7, 2009}} Page 264</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Hindu symbols]]
[[Category:Hindu traditions]]
[[Category:Vaishnavism]]
[[Category:International Society for Krishna Consciousness]]
[[Category:Necklaces]]
[[Category:Shaivism]]

Kanthi mala - Revision history

Tudu Hommie at 09:52, 9 February 2025