Remedies
Rudraksha in Vedic astrology
A rudraksha is the dried seed of a tree linked with Shiva, worn as a bead. Its mukhi is the number of natural faces, or lines, on the bead. Tradition links each mukhi with one planet, so a chart can point to a bead.
Updated
Rudraksha: how the API computes it
POST /v1/remedies/rudraksha names the beads a chart points to, each with its reason. A chart chooses a bead three ways (RM-07). The ruler of the rising sign gives a bead for life.
The ruler of the main period (mahadasha) running on as_of gives a bead for that period. The ruler of the birth star gives another bead for life. When two of these name the same planet, the bead is listed once with both reasons.
The API uses one table of mukhis, returned in scheme (RM-06). It runs 1 for the Sun, 2 Moon, 3 Mars, 4 Mercury, 5 Jupiter, 6 Venus, 7 Saturn, 8 Rahu and 9 Ketu. For the Sun, the 12-mukhi bead comes back as an alternative.
The guidance covers only the day to start, the thread color, the metal if capped and the planet's mantra (RM-08). It is not a health claim or a guarantee, and not_claimed says so. For John Doe, the beads are a 4-mukhi for Mercury, a 5-mukhi for Jupiter and a 3-mukhi for Mars.
Get it from the API
Rudraksha recommendation: which bead, and why. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.
POST /v1/remedies/rudraksha
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/remedies/rudraksha?as_of=2026-10-01" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK
{
"recommended": [
{
"mukhi": 4,
"graha": "Mercury",
"deity": "Brahma",
"wearing": {
"day": "Wednesday",
"thread": {
"colors": [
"green",
"yellow"
]
},
"metal": "silver or gold",
"beeja": "Om Braam Breem Braum Sah Budhaya Namah",
"beeja_devanagari": "ॐ ब्रां ब्रीं ब्रौं सः बुधाय नमः",
"recitations": 108,
"title": "How to wear it",
"text": [
"Start on a Wednesday, after a bath. String the bead on green or yellow thread, or have it capped in silver or gold if you prefer. Before you put it on for the first time, recite the mantra of Mercury over it 108 times: Om Braam Breem Braum…",
"Take it off to sleep if it gets in the way, and keep the thread clean."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"selected_by": [
"ascendant_lord"
],
"reasons": [
{
"basis": "ascendant_lord",
"graha": "Mercury",
"ascendant_sign": "Virgo",
"text": [
"Your rising sign is Virgo, and its ruler is Mercury. This bead is for the whole of life, because your rising sign does not change."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
],
"notes": [
"Mercury stands in the 12th house, a house of effort."
],
"title": "Four-mukhi rudraksha",
"reading": {
"text": [
"The four-mukhi bead is linked with Brahma, and its four faces stand for the four Vedas. Its planet is Mercury, which looks after speech, study, trade and clear thinking.",
"Students and people who work with words or numbers often choose it. The bead is worn in the hope of clearer speech and a more orderly mind."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
},
{
"mukhi": 5,
"graha": "Jupiter",
"deity": "Kalagni Rudra",
"wearing": {
"day": "Thursday",
"thread": {
"colors": [
"yellow"
]
},
"metal": "silver or gold",
"beeja": "Om Graam Greem Graum Sah Gurave Namah",
"beeja_devanagari": "ॐ ग्रां ग्रीं ग्रौं सः गुरवे नमः",
"recitations": 108,
"title": "How to wear it",
"text": [
"Start on a Thursday, after a bath. String the bead on yellow thread, or have it capped in silver or gold if you prefer. Before you put it on for the first time, recite the mantra of Jupiter over it 108 times: Om Graam Greem Graum Sah…",
"Take it off to sleep if it gets in the way, and keep the thread clean."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"selected_by": [
"mahadasha_lord"
],
"reasons": [
{
"basis": "mahadasha_lord",
"graha": "Jupiter",
"period": {
"start": "2014-12-20T19:27:09.380502",
"end": "2030-12-20T19:27:09.380502"
},
"text": [
"You are in the main period of Jupiter, which runs from December 2014 to December 2030. This bead is for that period, and the choice changes when the next period begins."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
],
"notes": [
"Jupiter rules the 7th house. The old texts differ on whether to strengthen the lord of this house.",
"Jupiter is already strong here (exalted). A stone adds least where the planet is already strongest."
],
"title": "Five-mukhi rudraksha",
"reading": {
"text": [
"The five-mukhi bead is linked with Kalagni Rudra, a fierce form of Shiva, and with Jupiter. Jupiter looks after wisdom, teachers, children and good advice.",
"The five-mukhi is the most common bead, the plain bead of a prayer mala, and it is easy to find. People wear it in the hope of good judgment and a calmer way of making decisions."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
},
{
"mukhi": 3,
"graha": "Mars",
"deity": "Agni",
"wearing": {
"day": "Tuesday",
"thread": {
"colors": [
"red"
]
},
"metal": "silver or gold",
"beeja": "Om Kraam Kreem Kraum Sah Bhaumaya Namah",
"beeja_devanagari": "ॐ क्रां क्रीं क्रौं सः भौमाय नमः",
"recitations": 108,
"title": "How to wear it",
"text": [
"Start on a Tuesday, after a bath. String the bead on red thread, or have it capped in silver or gold if you prefer. Before you put it on for the first time, recite the mantra of Mars over it 108 times: Om Kraam Kreem Kraum Sah Bhaumaya…",
"Take it off to sleep if it gets in the way, and keep the thread clean."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"selected_by": [
"nakshatra_lord"
],
"reasons": [
{
"basis": "nakshatra_lord",
"graha": "Mars",
"nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
"text": [
"You were born with the Moon in Mrigashira, a birth star ruled by Mars. Like your rising sign, this does not change."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
],
"notes": [
"Mars stands in the 8th house, a house of effort.",
"Mars is already strong here (own sign). A stone adds least where the planet is already strongest."
],
"title": "Three-mukhi rudraksha",
"reading": {
"text": [
"The three-mukhi bead is linked with Agni, the god of fire, and with Mars. Mars looks after your drive, your courage and the energy to begin.",
"The fire it stands for is the kind that clears away what is used up. People who want to start again after a setback often choose it. The bead is worn in the hope of steadier drive, not a hotter temper."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
}
],
"dasha_lord": "Jupiter",
"scheme": {
"provenance": "school",
"table": [
{
"mukhi": 1,
"graha": "Sun",
"deity": "Shiva"
},
{
"mukhi": 2,
"graha": "Moon",
"deity": "Ardhanarishvara"
},
{
"mukhi": 3,
"graha": "Mars",
"deity": "Agni"
}
],
"note": "texts differ on which bead serves which graha. This is the commonly used scheme, one bead per graha in the classical order. It is the same table the period remedy reads, so the two cannot disagree."
},
"not_claimed": [
"a cure or treatment for any illness; a health concern needs a doctor",
"a guarantee of any outcome; a bead is a traditional support, not a promise",
"a ranking of beads; no mukhi is said to be stronger than another"
],
"not_computed": [
"whether a particular bead is genuine or how many faces it truly has; that is a matter of the bead, not the chart",
"beads of ten or more faces, and the joined forms such as Gauri Shankar. This scheme maps one bead to each of the nine grahas and no further"
],
"as_of": "2026-10-01",
"framing": {
"title": "Your rudraksha",
"text": [
"A rudraksha is the dried seed of a tree linked with Shiva, worn as a bead. The natural lines that run down it are called its faces, or mukhi. Each number of faces is linked with one planet. Your chart points to a bead in up to three ways.…",
"When two of these point to the same planet, the bead is listed once with both reasons. Texts do not all agree on which bead goes with which planet. The table used here is the common one. It gives one bead for each of the nine planets, from…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"not_a_guarantee": {
"title": "Not a guarantee",
"text": [
"**A rudraksha is a traditional support, not a guarantee.** The bead is not a treatment for any illness. It does not replace a doctor, a lawyer or your own effort. Wear it as a reminder of what you are working on. Judge it by how you live,…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"gaps": [],
"meta": {
"ayanamsa": "lahiri",
"ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
"julian_day": 2448119.10483,
"ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
"node": "true",
"timezone": {
"source": "zone",
"offset_hours": -4,
"zone": "America/New_York",
"abbreviation": "EDT",
"dst": true,
"dst_hours": 1,
"ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
"note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
}
}
}Where the API returns it
| POST | /v1/remedies/rudraksha | Rudraksha recommendation: which bead, and why |
| POST | /v1/reading/section/{section_id} | One section of a reading |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/remedies/rudraksha · Rudraksha recommendation: which bead, and whyReturns the rudraksha beads this chart points to, each with the reason it was chosen.
- remedies endpoints
topic:remedy-rudrakshagives the rudraksha reading, andtopic:remedy-lucky-mantrathe lucky mantra. - POST /v1/remedies/rudraksha · Rudraksha recommendation: which bead, and whyA rudraksha is the seed of a tree linked with Shiva, worn as a bead.
Feature page: Remedies. Who uses it: Puja and spiritual stores. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.
How we check the numbers
Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.
Related terms
Astrology API
Get these values from the API
Create a free test key and call any endpoint on this page. Or try a request in the API reference first.
Your first answer
John Doe, New York
POST /v1/planets200 OK
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
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