mala
- noun
- /ˈmɑːlə/
- It was an old style for devout women, one hundred eight braids, one hundred eight beads, the number of beads in a mala.
Examples
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Not surprisingly, the men who do this work, which is often tied through debt indenture to particular landlords for many years, are poor and mainly of the Mala and Madiga castes.
Academic text (2004) -
She definitely has some good karma, calm, and equanimity coming her way in the form of the beautiful Amazonite 108 bead mala.
Blog text (34) -
She's thrilled to be the creator of Yoga for the Single Girl workshops, located at Mala Yoga and throughout New York City.
Blog text (32) -
I'm not saying that any of this stuff is inherently bad, and my argument is not against having nice things, including fancy mats and malas.
Blog text (1) -
He pulled his mala, his rosary, from his belt, and his fingers began reflexively to work the beads.
Fiction book (2002) -
It was not the khampa who was watching him now, but an older man, the only prisoner with a genuine rosary, an ancient mala of jade beads that had materialized months earlier.
Fiction book (2001) -
During his meditation, he recited mantras while counting the beads on his mala.
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She held the mala in her hands, each bead representing a prayer she had whispered.
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The monk carried a mala made of sandalwood beads, using it to keep track of his meditation repetitions.
Synonyms
A string of beads used to count prayers or the prayers said with them
A string of small round objects that people use to count religious words
A string of beads used by Muslims to count prayers
Surface Forms
Etymology
Mala comes from the Sanskrit word mālā meaning 'garland' or 'necklace', so a mala is a 'garland' of beads used to count prayers or mantras.