Mahakala and Banana Leaf Knots - for re-stringing a tenga (mala, rosary)

Practice in the Vajrayana tradition includes mantra accumulation. The completion of a mantra accumulation is the recitation of one ’bum (100,000) for each syllable of the mantra. Most practitioners use a tenga (phreng ba, Skt. mala) for this practice, and inevitably it will need re-stringing occasionally.

Ngakma Nor’dzin was taught two beautiful and functional knots to use when restringing a tenga: the Mahakala knot and the Banana Leaf knot. She was taught these knots by Dharmendra of Hello Handicrafts in Kathmandu, Nepal.

At the Aro Ling Cardiff YouTube channel, Ngakma Nor’dzin has posted two videos explaining how to tie these knots.

The Mahakala Knot

The Banana Leaf Knot