Bharatanatyam Mudras: Names and Meanings of the Hand Gestures

Watch a Bharatanatyam dancer tell a story and you will notice the hands before anything else. A flat palm becomes a river, two fingers become the horns of a deer, a curled hand becomes a lotus opening. These hand gestures are called hastas or mudras, and together they form a vocabulary the dancer uses to speak without words.

The classic reference for them is the Abhinaya Darpanam, a Sanskrit text attributed to Nandikeshvara. It lists the gestures, how to form them and their viniyoga, the uses each one can be put to. Children learning Bharatanatyam usually chant the shloka that names them in order, which is one of the nicest ways to memorise them.

Asamyukta hastas: the single-hand gestures

The Abhinaya Darpanam names 28 single-hand gestures. Here are the most common, with a few of their many meanings.

Pataka (flag): all fingers straight and together, thumb bent. Used for a cloud, a forest, a blessing, a river, the beginning of a dance, or pushing something away.

Tripataka (three parts of a flag): pataka with the ring finger bent. Used for a crown, a tree, a flame, an arrow, or the god Indra.

Ardhapataka (half flag): tripataka with the little finger also bent. Used for leaves, a knife, a tower or a river bank.

Kartarimukha (scissors): index and middle fingers apart like scissors. Used for separation, the corner of the eye, lightning or opposition.

Mayura (peacock): the ring finger touches the thumb, others straight. Used for a peacock’s neck, a bird, applying a tilak, or a creeper.

Ardhachandra (half moon): pataka with the thumb stretched out. Used for the crescent moon, a plate, a waist, or prayer to the gods.

Arala (bent): the index finger bent, others straight. Used for drinking poison or nectar, and for a strong wind.

Shukatunda (parrot’s beak): arala with the ring finger also bent. Used for shooting an arrow, a spear, or remembering something.

Mushti (fist): a closed fist with the thumb over the fingers. Used for steadiness, grasping, wrestling or holding hair.

Shikhara (peak): mushti with the thumb pointing up. Used for a bow, a pillar, a husband, or asking a question.

Kapittha (wood apple): the index finger curled over the thumb. Used for Lakshmi and Saraswati, holding cymbals, or milking a cow.

Katakamukha (opening in a bracelet): thumb, index and middle finger meet. Used for picking flowers, holding a garland or pulling a bow string.

Suchi (needle): the index finger points up, others closed. Used for the number one, the world, the sun, or pointing.

Chandrakala (digit of the moon): suchi with the thumb stretched. Used for the moon and the face, and for Shiva’s crescent.

Padmakosha (lotus bud): fingers spread and curved like a cup. Used for a fruit, a ball, a lotus bud or a bowl.

Sarpashirsha (snake’s head): pataka with the fingers slightly cupped. Used for a snake, sprinkling water, or offering.

Mrigashirsha (deer’s head): the thumb and little finger raised, others bent. Used for a deer, a woman, the cheeks, or calling someone.

Simhamukha (lion’s face): middle and ring fingers touch the thumb, others raised. Used for a lion, the homa fire, or a lotus garland.

Alapadma (full-blown lotus): all fingers spread and turned. Used for a blooming lotus, the full moon, beauty, a lake or a question of wonder.

Hamsasya (swan’s beak): the thumb and index finger touch, others stretched. Used for tying the sacred thread, a pearl, painting, or teaching.

The remaining single-hand gestures are kangula, chatura, bhramara, hamsapaksha, sandamsha, mukula, tamrachuda and trishula. Bhramara (the bee) and mukula (the bud) are often children’s favourites.

Samyukta hastas: the double-hand gestures

The double-hand gestures combine both hands. The Abhinaya Darpanam lists 23 of them, and some later texts add a 24th. The ones children meet first are:

Anjali: both pataka hands joined palm to palm, the gesture of greeting and prayer, offered to gods, teachers and elders.

Kapota (dove): the hands joined with the palms slightly cupped. Used for respectful conversation and agreement.

Swastika: two pataka hands crossed at the wrists. Used for a crocodile, fear, or speaking of the sky.

Pushpaputa (handful of flowers): both cupped hands together. Used for offering flowers, water or fruit to a deity.

Shivalinga: a shikhara hand resting on an ardhachandra hand. Used for Lord Shiva.

Matsya (fish), kurma (tortoise), varaha (boar) and garuda (eagle) are also double-hand gestures, and they turn up whenever a dancer tells the stories of Vishnu’s avatars.

One mudra, many meanings

A mudra does not have one fixed meaning. Alapadma might be a lotus in one line of a song and a question of wonder in the next. What decides the meaning is the context: the words being sung, where the hand is held, the movement of the eyes and the expression on the face. That is why mudras are always taught together with abhinaya, the art of expression, and never as a list alone.

A child who learns mudras learns to read a dance, not only to perform one.

How children can learn mudras at home

Learn five at a time, starting with pataka, tripataka, ardhachandra, alapadma and anjali. Say the name aloud while forming each one. Then play a game: a parent names something, a cloud, a deer, the moon, and the child shows the mudra. Children who learn this way usually know all the single-hand gestures within a few months.

Learning more

Our Bharatanatyam classes, live online and in person at HSR Layout, Bengaluru, teach mudras with their meanings from the first term, alongside the adavus and abhinaya. See the Bharatanatyam class page for the full syllabus.