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Mudras: Where the Hands Tell a

Story
By Kanika Sharma

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Mudra

Hatha Yoga

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What is a Mudra?

The Mudra artworks at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (T3) in Delhi.

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A Mudra is a symbolic hand gesture used in Hindu and Buddhist iconography, performing arts, and spiritual practice,
including yoga, dance, drama and tantra.
Taking stairs down to the immigration at the grand Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, the
wall mounted hand gestures catch every traveler's eye. Not just a piece of art, these gestures are often used in the Indian
classical dances to depict creatures and situations.
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Mudra

Hatha Yoga

Yoga Meditation

Karma Yoga

Chakra Yoga
Even in Yoga physical, mental and spiritual practices that aim to soothe and pacify a person these gestures are used
during meditation that directs the flow of energy into ones body.
There are a total of 28 mudras in theAbhinaya Darpan or the The Mirror of Gesture written by Nandikeshvara, a 2nd
century Hindu sage and theorist on stage-craft. It mentions that the dancer should sing the song by the throat, express the
meaning of the song through hand gestures, show the state of feelings by eyes and keep track of the time with feet. From
the Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu treatise on the performing arts written by sage Bharata, this quotation is often taught
to Indian classical dancers:
Yato hasta stato drishti (Where the hand is, the eyes follow),
Yato drishti stato manaha (Where the eyes go, the mind follows),
Yato manaha stato bhava (Where the mind is, there is the expression),
Yato bhava stato rasa (Where there is expression, there is mood i.e., appreciation of art).
The mudras, thus help the dancer to express and tell their story.
While some mudras, as depicted, are from the dance family, some are from the yoga family as well. Heres decoding some
of the common mudras in Hinduism...
Photo Credit: Photo (c) Subhamoy Das

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