4. Mudras or the Hand-poses of the Images

The various poses in which the hands of the images are shown are quite interesting. They are called Hasta mudras. Some Mudras like the Vyakhyana mudra, the Jnana mudra or the Yoga mudra and the hastas like the Varada, the Abhaya, the Kataka, the Suci, the Danda are most common in Indian Iconography. The emblem or weapon in the hand of the deity is also described by the term 'hasta' such as Padma-hasta, Pustaka-hasta or gada-hasta etc. Twentythree Asanyuta hastas and thirteen Sahyuta hastas are mentioned by the Visnudharmottara. The Abhaya-hasta is one of the commonest mudras in which one or the other hand of the Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jain images is shown and it stands for the assurance of protection given by the deity to his worshipper. Varada-Mudra is also a typically common mudra, and it shows the bestowal of

188 boon by the god. In Dhyana-yoga or Samadhi mudra, the palm of the right hand is placed in that of the left hand and both together are laid on the crossed legs of the seated image. The earliest figure in this pose is found on certain copper coins of Ujjayini that can be dated in the 2 nd - 3 rd Century B.C. The two other mudras which are found in the iconographic art of ancient and medieval India are Jnana and Vyakhyana mudra. The Jnana-mudra is described as 'the tips of the middle finger and of the thumb are joined together and held near the heart with the palm of the hand turned towards the heart'. In the Cinmudra or Vyakhyana Mudra 'the tips of the thumb and the fore finger are made to touch each other so as to form a circle, the other fingers being kept open'. The Kataka-Mudra is common in the images of goddesses. In this mudra, 'the tips of the fingers are loosely applied to the thumb so as to form a ring.' Another peculiarity of Indian images is that they are decorated with many types of ornaments. The various types of head-gear viz. jata-mukuta, kirita-mukuta, karanda-mukuta, kuntala are also common. Various objects can be recognised in the hands of divinities such as amandalu, aksamala, darpana, kapala, pustaka, sankha, padma etc. and weapons such as danda, cakra, gada, musala, trisula etc.