Mudras in Bharatanatyam: The Language of the Hands

Mudras, more correctly called hastas, are the codified hand gestures of Bharatanatyam. The Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikeshvara describes 28 asamyuta (single-hand) and about 24 samyuta (double-hand) hastas. Each has a set shape and many listed uses, so one gesture can mean a flower, a bird or a blessing depending on context.

Hasta or mudra?

Both words are heard in a Bharatanatyam class. The classical texts generally use hasta, meaning hand, while mudra, meaning seal or sign, is the everyday term. The Natya Shastra already describes a detailed system of hand gestures, but the text most Bharatanatyam teachers in Tamil Nadu work from is the Abhinaya Darpana, a shorter and more practical manual. Its lists, verses and usages form the backbone of how hastas are taught today.

Asamyuta hastas: the 28 single-hand gestures

Asamyuta means "not joined". These hastas are formed with one hand, though both hands may show them at once. The Abhinaya Darpana lists them in a fixed order that every student eventually learns by heart:

1. Pataka
2. Tripataka
3. Ardhapataka
4. Kartarimukha
5. Mayura
6. Ardhachandra
7. Arala
8. Shukatunda
9. Mushti
10. Shikhara
11. Kapittha
12. Katakamukha
13. Suchi
14. Chandrakala
15. Padmakosha
16. Sarpashirsha
17. Mrigashirsha
18. Simhamukha
19. Kangula
20. Alapadma
21. Chatura
22. Bhramara
23. Hamsasya
24. Hamsapaksha
25. Sandamsha
26. Mukula
27. Tamrachuda
28. Trishula

Samyuta hastas: the double-hand gestures

Samyuta means "joined". These need both hands working together. The Abhinaya Darpana gives about 24, including Anjali (palms joined in salutation), Kapota (a dove, or respectful agreement), Karkata (crab, formed with interlocked fingers), Swastika (crossed wrists), Shivalinga, Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise) and Garuda (the divine bird who carries Vishnu). Many samyuta hastas are built from single-hand shapes: Anjali is two Pataka hands pressed together, and Shivalinga places a Shikhara hand on an Ardhachandra.

What is viniyoga?

Viniyoga means application or usage. For every hasta the Abhinaya Darpana gives a verse listing its uses, and some lists run to dozens of meanings. This is why the same shape can appear in very different moments of a dance. The meaning is fixed by the position of the hand, its movement, the eyes and the lyric being sung.

Examples of common hastas and their uses

Mayura and the name of our school

Mayura means peacock in Sanskrit, the same word that gives Mayura Natyalaya its name. With the ring finger meeting the thumb and the other three fingers lifted, the hand becomes the small head and crest of the bird. Turned and moved, the same hasta applies a tilaka to the forehead or traces a creeper climbing a tree. The peacock, dancing at the first sign of rain, has long been a symbol of grace in Indian art, and it is a fitting image for a dance school.

How mudras are taught and memorised

Hastas are usually introduced in the first weeks of class, alongside the first adavus. A typical approach looks like this:

• Shape before meaning. Students first learn to form each hasta cleanly with both hands, checking finger alignment, thumb position and wrist.
• Recitation of the shlokas. The Sanskrit verse listing the asamyuta hastas begins "Pataka Tripatako'rdhapatakah Kartarimukhah, Mayurakhyo'rdhachandrashcha Aralah Shukatundakah". Chanting it while showing each hand fixes the order in memory, much as children learn a times table.
• Viniyoga shlokas. Later, students learn the verse of uses for each hasta and show each usage with the appropriate position and eye movement.
• Use in items. Hastas come alive when they appear in the dance itself, first in the decorative hand positions of nritta and later in storytelling pieces such as the shabdam and varnam.

Children often enjoy hasta practice because it feels like learning a secret code. If you are curious how this fits into a first lesson, see Your First Bharatanatyam Class: What to Expect.

Common beginner mistakes

• Loose or tense fingers. Fingers that drift apart in Pataka, or are held so tightly that they shake, both blur the shape. The hand should be firm but alive.
• A bent or broken wrist. Most hastas sit in a straight line with the forearm unless the choreography asks otherwise.
• The thumb sticking out. In Pataka the thumb lies alongside the palm. A thumb poking outwards turns it into a different hasta.
• Eyes not following the hand. A verse from the Abhinaya Darpana says that where the hand goes, the eyes should follow. Without the eyes, a hasta is only a shape.
• Collapsing hands during adavus. When the legs are working hard in araimandi, beginners often let the hands droop. Holding the hasta through the whole adavu is part of the training, as explained in Adavus: The Building Blocks of Bharatanatyam.
• Rushing. Showing a hasta for a fraction of a second before moving on leaves the audience unsure what they saw. Each gesture needs a moment to register.

Mudras and expression

Hastas are one part of angika abhinaya, expression through the body. They tell the audience what is being described; the face and eyes tell them how the dancer feels about it. A lotus shown in Alapadma can be admired, offered to a deity or crushed in grief. Our article on the nine rasas in Bharatanatyam explains how hand, eye and feeling come together.

Children aged five and above can begin learning hastas in our Bharatanatyam classes for kids in Porur, held on Saturdays and Sundays, with online batches also available.