Mudras

History glossary

Also called: Hand gestures · Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

A mudra is a fixed hand gesture with a set meaning. Sculptors and painters used mudras in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain images, and dancers use them in classical dance. In an image, the mudra tells the viewer what the figure is doing, for example teaching, meditating or giving blessing. In dance, mudras let the dancer tell a story and show feelings without words.

Explanation

Background: from symbols to human images

Early Buddhist art at Sanchi and Bharhut did not show the Buddha as a human. He was shown by symbols such as a wheel, footprints, an empty seat or a tree.
Human images of the Buddha came later. Under the Kushanas, the Mathura and Gandhara schools made them.
Once the Buddha was shown in human form, artists needed a way to show which moment of his life an image stood for. The hands did this job. The mudra became the main "label" of an image.

The six main Buddha mudras

Abhaya mudra (fearlessness): the right hand is raised with the palm facing outward. It means "do not fear" and gives protection. Early Mathura Buddhas often show it.
Bhumisparsha mudra (earth-touching): the right hand reaches down and touches the ground. The Buddha calls the earth to witness his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
Dhyana mudra (meditation): both hands rest in the lap, palms up, one on top of the other. It shows deep meditation.
Dharmachakra mudra (turning the wheel of the Law): both hands are held at the chest, and the fingers form circles. It stands for the first sermon at Sarnath.
Varada mudra (boon-giving): the hand is lowered, palm outward, fingers pointing down. It means giving gifts or granting wishes.
Vitarka mudra (discussion or teaching): the thumb and index finger touch to form a circle, and the other fingers point up. It stands for explaining the teaching.

The high point: the Sarnath preaching Buddha

The seated preaching Buddha in the Sarnath Museum shows the Dharmachakrapravartana mudra (the hand pose of "turning the wheel of the Law", the pose of the first teaching). [1]
Mudra and pedestal tell the same story:
The hands show the act of teaching.
The base shows the five monks (Pancha-vargiya bhikkhus), who heard the first sermon, with a wheel between them. [1]
The calm face with a soft smile and the halo with fine flower patterns complete the image. [1]
The museum's Tathagata gallery shows Buddha images in different poses. The preaching Buddha is the best-known piece of the Sarnath school. [1]

Mudras in Hindu images and in dance

Hindu gods also carry mudras. The abhaya and varada gestures are common on Vishnu, Shiva and goddess images, often together with the objects they hold.
In classical dance, hand gestures are called hastas or mudras. The Natya Shastra, traditionally credited to Bharata, sets out the rules for them.
Asamyukta hastas: gestures made with one hand.
Samyukta hastas: gestures made with both hands.
A dancer uses mudras for abhinaya (acting out meaning). The same hand shape can stand for a lotus, a bird or a god, depending on the scene.
Dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Odissi all depend heavily on mudras.

Time, place and evidence

Period: mudras became fixed in Indian sculpture when human Buddha images began under the Kushanas. They reached their most refined form in the Gupta age, which our notes call the "classical age" of Indian art.
Key site, Sarnath (near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh): the Buddha gave his first sermon here. This is why the preaching mudra is closely tied to this place.
Main evidence:
The seated preaching Buddha in Dharmachakrapravartana mudra, with the five monks and a wheel on its pedestal. [1]
The Sarnath site museum, ordered by the government in 1904 to keep finds from the excavation and completed in 1910. [1]
The Tathagata gallery, which shows Buddha images in many poses. [1]
Painting: the Ajanta caves (Maharashtra), made under the Vakatakas in the Gupta age, show the Buddha and court figures with expressive hand gestures.
Text evidence for dance: the Natya Shastra of Bharata. Its date is uncertain. It is usually placed roughly in the early centuries CE.

Don't confuse with

Asana: the asana is the sitting or standing posture of the body, for example padmasana (lotus seat). The mudra is the hand gesture only. One image has both.
Dharmachakrapravartana vs dharmachakra mudra: Dharmachakrapravartana is the event (the first sermon at Sarnath). The dharmachakra mudra is the gesture that shows that event.
Bhumisparsha vs dhyana mudra: both are seated poses. In bhumisparsha, one hand touches the ground (enlightenment at Bodh Gaya). In dhyana, both hands rest in the lap (meditation).
Mudra as "seal": the Sanskrit word mudra also means a seal or signet ring. Mudrarakshasa by Vishakhadatta is a political play named after a minister's seal. It has nothing to do with hand gestures.

Prelims Hooks

The Sarnath seated preaching Buddha shows the Dharmachakrapravartana mudra. Its pedestal shows the five monks and a wheel. [1]
Earth-touching (bhumisparsha) = enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Wheel-turning (dharmachakra) = first sermon at Sarnath.
Abhaya = palm raised outward (fearlessness). Varada = palm lowered outward, fingers down (boon-giving). Pictures of these two are a common trap.
Vitarka = thumb and index finger form a circle (discussion). Do not mix it up with dharmachakra, where both hands are used at the chest.
The Sarnath site museum was ordered in 1904 and finished in 1910. Its Tathagata gallery shows Buddha images in different poses. [1]
Dance mudras are set out in the Natya Shastra (Bharata). They are divided into asamyukta (single-hand) and samyukta (double-hand) hastas.

Mains Points

Mudras as a visual language. Most people in early India could not read texts. Mudras let them "read" an image.
The raised hand promised protection.
The earth-touching hand recalled the enlightenment.
The teaching hand at Sarnath, together with the pedestal of five monks and a wheel, retold the first sermon in stone. [1]
Continuity across religions and art forms. The same gestures, such as abhaya and varada, appear on Buddhist, Hindu and Jain images. They also live on in classical dance through the Natya Shastra tradition. This shared vocabulary is good evidence for a common Indian artistic culture that crossed sects. It fits the plural, non-sectarian patronage of the Gupta age.
From symbol to image. The move from aniconic symbols (wheel, footprints, empty seat) at Sanchi and Bharhut to human Buddhas with set mudras reflects a change in worship. Devotion now centred on images. The Gupta-age Sarnath Buddha shows this change at its peak, and later Asian Buddhist art copied its standards.

Related concepts

The Gupta apex: "the quest for beauty"

Sources

1Preaching Buddha — Museum – Sarnath, Archaeological Survey of Indiaindianculture.gov.in · tier 1