Short answers, pulled from the story.
A japamala is a loop of prayer beads used for counting recitations of mantras, prayers, or sacred phrases in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It is also worn to ward off evil, to mark religious identity, and in some traditions carries talismanic qualities believed to purify karma or attract good fortune.
The number 108 carries special religious significance across Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. In traditional Buddhist thought, 108 corresponds to the number of human afflictions known as kleshas; in East Asian Buddhism it can also represent 108 meditations or the 108 deities of the Diamond Realm Mandala. Despite the varying explanations, the bead count has remained consistent over centuries of practice.
The earliest literary reference to using a mala for mantra recitation appears in the Mu Huanzi Jing, a Mahayana Buddhist text preserved in the Taishō Tripiṭaka as volume 17, number 786. It was purported to have been translated into Chinese during the Eastern Jin era, sometime in the 4th-5th century CE, though an 8th-century independent translation suggests it originated as a Sanskrit text from Central Asia.
Traditionally, japamala beads have been made from wood, seeds, stone, bone, precious metals, and gems. Rudraksha seeds from the Elaeocarpus ganitrus tree are sacred to Shaivites, while tulsi wood beads are favoured by Vaishnavas. Tibetan Buddhists value precious stones such as agate, sapphire, and lapis lazuli, while in Nepal malas are made from seeds of Ziziphus budhensis, a plant endemic to the Kavrepalanchok district.
The guru bead, also called the mother bead, parent bead, Buddha bead, Sumeru bead, or bindu bead, is a distinctive 109th bead present on most malas. It is typically larger, more elaborate, or of a different material than the main beads, and it is never used for counting recitations. In some Buddhist traditions it represents the Buddha, Buddha Amitabha, or Avalokitesvara.
In the 7th century CE, malas were primarily associated with Chinese monastic practice, and monks who used them publicly during alms rounds were criticized for doing so. By the Ming dynasty, malas had shifted toward aesthetic and social use among royals and officials. In the Qing dynasty, court portraits routinely depicted officials wearing malas as markers of status, and sumptuary laws regulated which materials different ranks of wives and concubines were permitted to wear.