Leh: Monuments and Historic Buildings

The Prayer Wheels, locally known as Mani Wheels, are a Buddhist tradition. Monks often employ these wheels in monasteries, libraries, temples and at other public places.

They turn these wheels at any opportune moment to invoke the message of blessing, harmony and protection as well as to promote the message of peace in the world.

These wheels are made of hollow cylinder and are usually embossed with beautiful designs. A scroll of prayer (mantra) is tightly wound over the wheels and the whole cylinder is mounted on a rod.

A lead weight attached with a chain is connected to the cylinder that facilitates the rotation. Often, all the wheels contain the mantra of “Ohm Mani Padme Hom” which is either etched or printed on the cylinder.

The correct way to meditate using these wheels is by rotating the cylinder clockwise with correct wrist movement. The Ohm Mani Padme mantra etched on the scroll should get repeated fifty times. Wooden versions of these wheels can also be seen at some places.