DOMINIK HAAS
University of Vienna dominik.haas@univie.ac.at
DEVOTIONAL BEAD STRINGS AND THEIR WEARERS IN THE SANSKRIT EPICS
This study examines the history of devotional bead strings and telling beads in ancient South Asia. Through a philological-historical analysis of passages from the Sanskrit Epics, the study traces the development of terms denoting such bead strings (such as akṣamālā and gaṇitra) and reconstructs the functions of their referents, as well as the social identities and traditional affiliations of their wearers and users. The inquiry highlights the interrelation of wilderness settings, fruitstones as bead materials, and ascetic practice, and situates these findings within the broader history of post-Vedic, pre-medieval mantra culture. Particular attention is given to the emergence of mantra repetition and the development of “rosaries” or telling beads.