Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c8.117

v1.c8.117

We next come to the terms used in connection with the various poses in which the hands of images are shown. Each pose has its own designation, and the most common *hastas* or hand-poses are the *varada*, the *abhaya*, the *kaṭaka*, the *sūchī*, the *tarjanī*, the *kaṭyavalambita*, the *daṇḍa* and the *vismaya*. There are also certain other hand-poses which are adopted during meditation and exposition. They are known by the technical name of *mudrā*; and those that are commonly met with are the *chin-mudrā* or the *vyākhyāna-mudrā*, the *jñāna-mudrā* and the *yōga-mudrā*.