Vishnudharmottara Purana (Art and Architecture)
by Bhagyashree Sarma | 2021 | 59,457 words
This page relates ‘Hand Postures (b): Samyukta-hasta’ of the study on the elements of Art and Architecture according to the Vishnudharmottara Purana: an ancient text whose third book deals with various artisan themes such as Architecture, Painting, Dance, Grammar, etc. Many chapters are devoted to Hindu Temple architecture and the iconography of Deities and their installation rites and ceremonies.
2.2. Hand Postures (b): Saṃyukta-hasta
The term saṃyukta refers to mean connected. So, etemologically Saṃyuktahasta means the posture where the hands are connected. Saṃyuktahastas or the combined hand gestures are nothing but the mutual presentation of two hands with the postures of single hand gestures.
Thirteen types of combined hand gestures are accepted in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa. These are-
- añjali,
- kapota,
- karkaṭa,
- svastika,
- khaṭakāvardhamāna,
- utsaṅga,
- niṣedha,
- dolā,
- puṣpapuṭa,
- makara,
- gajadanta,
- avahittha and
- vardhamāna.[1]
In the Abhinayadarpaṇa, twenty three varieties of combined hand gestures are accepted.[2] The postures viz., niṣedha, makara, gajadanta, avahittha and vardhamāna are not mentioned in the Abhinayadarpaṇa. But the Nāṭyaśāstra has the same variety of saṃyuktahastas as found in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa.[3] Thirteen types of combined hand gestures are discussed here.
1) Añjali:
The word añjali denotes a cavity made by folding and joining the open hands together or the hollow of the hands.[4] According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, añjalīhasta is a combination of patākahasta which is used in the salutation of gods, teachers and ancestors.[5] The Abhinayadarpaṇa also gives its view point in the same way.[6]
2) Kapota:
The word kapota means pigeon in Sanskrit.[7] When the sides of two hands are joined together it is looked like a pigeon with its wings. In the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa this hand posture is called as kapotahasta and it is used to show cold and danger.[8] But in the Abhinayadarpaṇa, this posture is said to use in salutation, addressing teachers, polite acceptance or agreement.[9]
3) Karkaṭa:
According to the Śabdakalpadruma, karkaṭa means kulira[10] i.e., crab.[11] In Karkaṭahasta, fingers are passed between the fingers of both hands together and it makes the shape of a crab. This posture is used while yawning.[12] According to Abhinayadarpaṇa, this posture is used to denote coming of a crowd, showing the stomach, filling the conch-shell, twisting limbs, pulling branch etc.[13]
4) Svastika:
In Sanskrit the word svastika denotes spiritual things.[14] According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in svastikahasta, both hands are kept in arālahasta. In this posture, the palm should be upward and lying on twisted sides and kept on the wrists.[15] This kind of hastamudrā is used to show somethimg which is widely spread, seasons, sky, cloud, sea and the earth.[16]
5) Khaṭakāvardhamāna:
The word khaṭakāvardhamāna is an amalgamation of two words viz., khaṭaka and vardhamāna. The word khaṭaka denotes a half closed hand[17] and vardhamāna means increasing.[18] In khaṭakāvardhamāna posture both of the hands are in khaṭaka position and one hand is placed upon another.[19] This hand posture is used in love making and bowing.[20] According to the Abhinayadarpaṇa, this posture is used to denote coronation, worshipping, marriage etc.[21]
6) Utsaṅga:
According to the Śabdakalpadruma, the word utsaṅga means embrace.[22] In the utsaṅga posture, hands are in arāla position and the palm upwards and overturned and this posture shows the touch of other.[23] In the Abhinayadarpaṇa, the utsanga posture is suggested to denote embrace as the word itself means. Moreover this posture is also used to show shame, displaying ornaments, and teaching of boys.[24]
7) Niṣedha:
The word niṣedha means prohibition.[25] In the niṣedha posture mukula hand covers the kapittha hand and this posture is used in reducing, throwing and pressing.[26] .
8) Dolā:
According to the Śabdakalpadruma, dolā means a kind of swing playing stuff, generally stays in gardens and made with wood.[27] When both of the hands are hanging downwarjd in patāka posture it is called dolā. This posture signifies meditation, giving charity and edible things.[28] In the Nāṭyaśāstra, this posture is said to indicate rush, grief, faint, fit of intoxication, emotion, illness and hit by weapon.[29]
9) Puṣpapuṭa:
The word puṣpapuṭa is made with two words viz., puṣpa means flower[30] and puṭa i.e., cavity[31] . According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in puṣpapuṭa posture, both hands are joined together by their sides and the fingers of both hands should be in sarpaśīrṣa position.[32] In the Abhinayadarpaṇa, this posture is said to use in waving beams in front of the image of god, as an act of adoration, taking of water, fruit etc, giving offerings, evening and a flower invested with magical power.[33]
10) Makara:
According to the Śabdakalpadruma, makara means sea-animals[34] like kumbhīra, kūrma, kāca, godhā, śaṅkava, śvaṇitaka, śiśumāra etc.[35] According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in Makara posture both of the hands in patāka posture are placed one over the other and both should be facing downward. This posture is used in the acting of lion, tiger and deer.[36]
11) Gajadanta:
The word gajadanta denotes the danta i.e., tusk[37] of gaja i.e., elephant.[38] In the gajadanta posture, both hands in sarpaśīrṣa position are bent towards each other along with the elbows and shoulders and this posture is used to show carrying the mountain.[39]
12) Avahittha:
According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in avahittha posture both hands are kept in śuka tuṇḍa posture and placed on the chest. The head part of both hands should be bent gradually and downwards.[40] This posture is used to denote weakness, fast breathing and showing the body parts.[41]
13) Vardhamāna:
In the Vardhamāna posture, both hands in hamsapakṣa posture are in opposite direction. According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, this posture shows lattice, window etc.[42]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.5-6
[2]:
Abhinayadarpaṇa, 172-175
[3]:
Nāṭyaśāstra, 9.8-10
[4]:
V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.8
[5]:
patākābhyāṃ tu hastābhyāṃ sasphuṭoñjalirucyate/
devatānāṃ gurūṇāṃ ca pitṛṇāṃ ceṣyate punaḥ/ Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.54
[6]:
Abhinayadarpaṇa, 176
[7]:
Monier Monier Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p.251
[8]:
anyonyapāśvasaktābhyāṃ karābhyāṃ syātkapotakaḥ/
śīte bhaye ca kāryo’yaṃ viniyogagame tathā// Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.55
[9]:
Abhinayadarpaṇa, 178.
[10]:
Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.1, p.35
[11]:
V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p. 155
[12]:
aṅgulyo yasya hastasya aṅgulyantaraniḥsṛtā/ sa karkaṭa iti jñeyaḥ kartavyastu vijṛmbhite// Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.56
[13]:
Samūhagamane tundadarśane saṅkhapūraṇe/ aṅgānāṃ moṭane śākhonnamane ca niyujyate/ Abhinayadarpaṇa, 179-180
[14]:
svastikaḥ maṅgaladravyaṃ. Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.3, p. 489460 maṇibandhana vinyastāvarālau vardhamānakaḥ/ uttānau natapārśvasthau svastikaḥ parikīrtitaḥ/ Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.57
[15]:
maṇibandhana vinyastāvarālau vardhamānakaḥ/
uttānau natapārśvasthau svastikaḥ parikīrtitaḥ/ Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.57
[16]:
[17]:
khaṭakaḥ kuñcitapāṇiḥ/ Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.1, p.271
[18]:
V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.494
[19]:
khaṭakaḥ khaṭake nyasta khaṭakā vardhamānakaḥ/ Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.59
[20]:
śṛṅgārārthe prayoktavyaḥ praṇāmakaraṇeṣu ca// Ibid., 3.26.59
[21]:
paṭṭābhiṣeke pūjāyāṃ vivāhādiṣu yujyate/ Abhinayadarpaṇa, 188.
[22]:
Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.1, p.228
[23]:
[24]:
[...] Abhinayadarpaṇa, 185
[25]:
V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.298
[26]:
[27]:
[...] Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.2, p. 753
[28]:
[...] Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.62-63
[29]:
[...] Nāṭyaśāstra, 9.142
[30]:
V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.343
[31]:
Ibid., p.339
[32]:
[...] Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.63
[33]:
[...] Abhinayadarpaṇa, 183
[34]:
[...] Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.3, p.561
[35]:
[...] Bhāvaprakāśa, 1.2.39
[36]:
[37]:
V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.245
[38]:
Ibid., p.177
[39]:
[...] Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.26.66
[40]:
śukatuṇḍau karau kṛtvā vakṣasyabhi mukhāñcitau/ śanairadhomukhau viddhāvavahittha iti smṛtaḥ/ Ibid., 3.26.67
[41]:
daurbalyaśca site kāryo gātrāṇāṃ ca nidarśane/ Ibid., 3.26.68
[42]:
[...] Ibid., 3.26.68