- The Mala is a rosary containing 108 beads.
- It is used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or name/s of a particular deity, a practice known in Sanskrit as japa.Hindu tradition holds that the correct way to use a mala is with the right hand, with the thumb flicking one bead to the next, and with the mala draped over the middle finger. The index finger represents ego, the greatest impediment to Self-Realization, so it is considered best avoided (as with the ego) when chanting on a mala.