““MUDRA

MUDRA””

Hand
gestures
    A mudra is a bodily posture or
symbolic gesture. In Buddhist
iconography every buddha is depicted
with a characteristic gesture of the
hands. Such gestures correspond to
natural gestures (of teaching,
protecting, and so on) and also to
certain aspects of the Buddhist
teaching or of the particular buddha
depicted.
Kaniska reliquary casket
 Kanishka relic casket is made to hold
theubuddhist relics placed in the immense stupa
built by kanishka at peshawer.
 In the center of the lid , the buddha is seated
between two hindu gods ,brahma and indra.
 Buddhas right hand is raised between two hindu
gods “brahma and indra.
 The raised right hand is the “fear not”(abhaya)
 The attendant gods hold their hands in the anjali
(worship) mudra.
 Kanishka relic basket is the earliest work to
combine the hindu deities as attendants of the
buddha, with the adoption of purely classical
motifs.
 The goose is the vehicle by which the deity
thought csable of travelling to all places, an idea
approaching omnipresence.
 The children running in the garland encircle the
casket.
 Above the loops of the garland are the images
of the buddha and between figures representing
the sun and the moon
Standing buddha
Gandhara
 Gandhara the meeting of buddhist thought and
roman sculptural greco-style resulted in a sytle that
gave the features of apollo to gautama but the
surfaces seem harder and the drapery more
geometrically regimented into parallel ridges.
 Gandhara buddha’s wear roman syle robes.
 The gandhara roman style figures ,with their oval
faces, long straight noses , high-arched eyebrows
,cupid-bow lips and hard drapery, are very
different from the round faces ,broad noses, round
eyes, and body revealing ”wet” indian drapery of
the mathura style.
Gandhara,
 It is also a splendid example of the meeting of of
roman realism and indian conceptualization.
 Before the the strong western influence, there were
no images of buddha or bodhisattvas, but in the
kushan dynasty indian ideas were given
visualization through roman forms.
 The bodhisattvas stand s with his weight on his
left foot, his right knee sligthly bent. His face is is
that the apollo ideal but with the addition of a
moustache.
 His hair is tied in a bow , a greek hairstyle like that
of the apollo Belvedere in the vatican collections,.
Except for the jewelry, he is nude above the waist.
 His earings are helenistic and his wide , flat
necklace across his upper chest is roman.
 The upper arms have heavy armlets and on the
left arm , a completely non indian illusion of
the material of the upper garmet ( the long
scarf) gives us the sense that the bracelet shows
through the cloth that covers it.
 The lower garment( dhoti) seems to take
satisfaction in maintaining its own autonomy
and it defies gravity by splaying its folds like
fans.
 The left arm is bent at the elbow and the
broken hand probably held a small water bottle
in the manner of bodhissatva this would
identify him as the same bodhissatva, maiterya,
the buddha of the future.
 A comparison of these two figures reveals the
basic indian and westernized versions of the
bodhissatva.
 Gandhara sculptures were placed against walls
and formed par of architectural adornment of
the stupa bases or of vihars.
 Both sculpture and architectecture were
painted and gilded.
Abhaya
 Abhaya in Sanskrit means fearlessness. Thus
this mudra symbolizes protection, peace, and
the dispelling of fear.
 It is made with the right hand raised to
shoulder height, the arm crooked, the palm of
the hand facing outward, and the fingers
upright and joined.
 The left hand hangs down at the side of the
body.
. Dhyana mudra
  
The Dhyana mudra may be made
with one or both hands. When
made with a single hand the left
one is placed in the lap, while the
right may be engaged elsewhere.
The left hand making the Dhyana
mudra in such cases symbolizes the
female left-hand principle of
wisdom. Ritual objects such as a
text, or more commonly an alms
bowl symbolizing renunciation,
may be placed in the open palm of
this left hand.
 
 The five extended
fingers in this mudra
symbolize the following
five perfections:
Generosity
Morality
Patience
Effort
Meditative
concentration
 The most important mudras are:
The right hand, resting
1.)Dhyani Mudra on top, symbolizes the
state of enlightenment;
the other hand, resting
below, the world of
appearance. This gesture
expresses overcoming the
world of appearance
through enlightenment,
as well as the enlightened
state of mind for which
samsara and nirvana are
one.
Dharmacakra Hand Mudras -
Mudra Symbols of
Deeper Meaning
The symbolic
gestures of the
hands of Buddha
images, called
mudras, are
picture tools of
identification of
deeper meaning
Abhaya Mudra
 The Gesture of
Fearlessness (Abhaya
Mudra) the right
hand slightly elevated,
the palm turned
outwards, also called the
Gesture of Renunciation.
Vitaka Mudra
 The Gesture of Debate
explaining the Buddha’s
teachings (Vitaka Mudra)
with the hands raised
and the tips of the
forefingers and the
thumbs touch each other.
Namaskara
Mudra
 The Gesture of Prayer
(Namaskara Mudra) with
the palms folded
together
 Thank you!!!

Reported by: Jenica April Cahayom