Mudra | Hinduism, Buddhism & Jainism

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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="http://www.buddhanet.net/mudras.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Buddhist Studies - Hand Mudras</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/mudras.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Kundalini Yoga - Mudras</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/south-asia/south-asia-intro/a/mudras-in-buddhist-art" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Khan Academy - Mudras in Buddhist art</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.indianetzone.com/mudra" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">IndiaNetzone - Mudra - Hand Signs</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="http://lotussculpture.com/mudras.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Lotus Sculpture - Mudras, Hand Positions of the Buddha</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://web.stanford.edu/class/history11sc/pdfs/mudras.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Stanford University - Mudras of the Great Buddha: Symbolic Gestures and Postures</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: mudrā</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written and fact-checked by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-11T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 11, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/mudra/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Sanskrit: </dt> <dd>Mudrā</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/symbolism" topicid="577751">symbolism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/anjali-mudra" topicid="25950">añjali-mudra</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/mudra"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref228232"></span>mudra</strong>, (“seal,” “mark,” or “gesture”), in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Buddhism</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Hinduism</a>, a symbolic gesture of the hands and fingers used either in ceremonies and dance or in sculpture and painting. Mudras used in ceremony and dance tend to be numerous, complicated, and often <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="esoteric" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/esoteric" data-type="MW">esoteric</a> (the <em>hasta-mudrā</em>s of Hindu classical dance can express about 500 different meanings, involving not only the hands and fingers but also the wrists, elbows, and shoulders, all in movement). Mudras in sculpture and other visual arts, being necessarily immobile, are relatively restricted in number.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In ceremonies, especially in <span id="ref228233"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Buddha-founder-of-Buddhism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"></a>Buddhism, a mudra acts as a kind of visual “seal,” affirming a mystical or magical vow or utterance, such as a supplication to ward off evil. A mudra often accompanies the spiritual utterance known as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/mantra" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mantra</a> (<em>q.v.</em>).</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Sculptural and other pictorial renderings of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Buddha-founder-of-Buddhism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Buddha</a> show him in four basic postures—reclining, standing, walking, and sitting. The two most traditional seated postures are the <em>vīrāsana</em> posture (the right leg bent and positioned over the left leg) and the <em>vajrāsana</em> posture (the legs tightly crossed so that the soles of both feet are visible, the feet sometimes resting on the opposing thighs). Different mudras, or hand gestures, may appear in any of the postures. (The accompanying <span class="link-blue media-overlay-link asmref" data-href="/media/1/396017/6656">figure</span> illustrates some of the major mudras.) Although pictorial mudras are used most commonly in portraying the Buddha, they can also appear in representations of lesser personages. The <span id="ref228234"></span><em>añjali</em> (“reverence”) mudra, for example, which has the suppliant or worshiper joining his two hands before him, palm to palm, slightly cupped, in a gesture of respectful adoration (comparable to the Western gesture of prayer), would appear only in representations of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="deities" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/deities" data-type="EB">deities</a> or persons other than the Buddha; it would never be shown for the Buddha.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The hundreds of mudras of <span id="ref228235"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"></a>Hindu and other related Asian dances are described in technical manuals, but, in practice, performers usually limit their gestures or “phrases” (sequences of mudras) to those familiar and meaningful to their audiences. The selection may differ from region to region.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":396017,"pageLength":334,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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