The Meanings of the term Mudra T h e M and a Historical Outline of ae n ni "Hand gestures" g s o f ht e Dale Todaro t re m M u d 梗 概 ar a この 拙 論 は2部 に分 か れ る。 n d 第1部 は"mudra"と い う語 の最 も一 般 的 な 定 義 を 扱 う。仏 教 ・ヒ ン ドゥー 教 a H を 研 究 して い る学 者 や東 洋 の 図像 学 の専 門 家 は、 大 抵、"皿udra"の さ ま ざ まな 意 i torical Outline味 を 知 って い る。 しか し、特 に タ ン トラ にお い て 使 用 され た"mudr翫"の す べ て の 定 義 が、 どん な 参考 文 献 に も見 つ か るわ け で は な い。 従 って、 第1部 は これ ら 種 々の、 一 般 的 な"mudra"の 語 法 を集 め る よ う試 み た。 又、 イ ン ドの舞 踏 や 劇 につ いて 書 いた 人 が、"hasta"と い う語 を 使 用 す べ きで あ るの に、 専 門的 に言 え ば 誤 って"mudra"を 用 いて い る。 それ に つ いて も説 明 を試 み た。 fo " 第1部 よ りも長 い 第2部 で は、"印 契(手 印)"と い う意 味 で使 用 され た"mu- H a dra"の 歴 史 の あ らま しを、 系 統 的 に述 べ た。 印契 の歴 史 上 異 な った 使 用 と意 味 n d g は、 次 の4に お い て 顕著 にみ られ る。 即 ち、1)ヴ ェー ダ の儀 礼、2)規 格 化 され た se ut イ ン ドの舞 踏、3)イ ン ドの彫 刻(仏 教、 ヒ ン ド ゥー 教、 ジ ャイ ナ教)、4)タ ン ト r s"e ラの 成 就 法、 で あ る。 これ ら4の 分 野 は す べ て、 共 通 して、 イ ン ドで 使 用 され た 印 契 の 伝統 か ら由 来 して い る。 そ しで、 い くつか の事 例 に お いて、 イ ン ドか ら 日 本 密 教 の 伝 統 まで に わ た って、 特 定 の"mudra"が 驚 くほ ど継 続 して 使 用 され て い るこ とが、 証 明 で き る。

Introduction

The goal of this short essay is twofold. First of all, to clarify the numerous meanings of the term mudra, not all of which are found in any one

standard reference work, its numerous technical definitions will be presented. While the distinct meanings of this term are well known to scholars of Buddhism and Hinduism and to specialists in Eastern iconography, the assertions of some writers still can give the wrong impression. For example, although A. Bharati writes "mudra has no special significance in non-tantric Buddhism to my

-71- knowledge, certainly not in Theravada Buddhism, "" it certainly has very specific meanings in non-tantric Buddhism, including Theravada Buddhism, 密 as will be discussed below. Also, great numbers of writers on Indian dance and drama continue to use hasta and mudra in a technical sense without 教 discrimination" despite the fact that classical Indian works on drama use only the term hasta. A reasonable explanation for this error as already noted by 文 a few writers will be given below. The special meanings of this term in Bud- 化 dhist tantric literature also deserve attention. Because of the great number of uses of this term its proper meaning in the context one finds it always needs clarification. Needless to say, the diverse meanings of this term reflects its continuing and changing historic usage. Knowledge of its changing historic usage can help distinguish these meanings. Secondly, this essay aims to give an outline of the history of mudra in the sense of a hand gesture, as witnessed in Indian dance, Buddhist art and Tantric Buddhist ritual meditation. "

Part I Definition of Mudra

The Sanskrit word mudra4) is derived from the root mud meaning to be happy, glad or merry, or to rejoice or take delight in. 5) Historically, this root and other derivatives like mudita and muda generally predate the ap- pearance of the word mudra, although Monier-Williams6' also notes the usage of the term mudra (mfn.) meaning joyous or glad in the Atharva Veda. Otto Bohtlingk gives numerous instances of the use of mudita and other derivatives in the Rig-Veda and the later Brahmanas and Upanishads.7) In Pali the feminine mudita is translated soft-heartedness, kindness and sympathy while the masculine mudita is translated pleased, glad, satisfied and the feminine muda joy or pleasure.8) In the post-Vedic period when the term mudra commonly appears it generally means: 1) seal, stamp, ring, signet ring or any instrument used for sealing or stamping; 9)2) the stamp or impression made by a seal;10)3) a stamped coin, piece of money or wages;11)4) an image, sign, badge or token, esp. a token or mark of divine attributes impressed upon the body;12)5) the art of calculation or reckoning by the finger, always in a list of arts learned by a young man, and associated with mathematical terms;13) 6) name or particular position, ritualistic gestures or intertwinnings of the fingers or hands; 24 in number, commonly practised in religious worship, and supposed to possess an occult meaning and magical efficacy; 14)7) parched or fried grain used in the sakta or Tantric ceremonies. 15)

-70- In Buddhist, Hindu and Jain iconography and in Buddhist and Hindu Tantra mudra in the sense of a hand gesture or posture is most widely known. 161 T h Moreover, Tantric Buddhism greatly expands the application of the word e M mudra. According to the Tantr arthavataravyakhyana of Padmavajral7) eaning of the"Seal term (mudra) signifies the ability to arouse gladness or to make an impression, so there is the term mudra (joyous seal'). It is joyous' by reason of it's ability to please the noble ones (arya); it is a seal' by reason of the incision as a seal impression, since it cannot be effaced by others and speedily secures the desired thing....Among them, the Great Seal (maha-mudra) shows the nature of deities by images or their bodies; and since it is the preeminent basis for vividly contemplating the nature of deity by way of body, it is called Great Seal.... Munra and aThe Historial Symbolic Outline Seal o (samaya-mudra) shows the nature of the mind of deities. Through its blessing of the Symbolic Seal the knowledge possessed of perfect merit is displayed, and displayed as the seal which liberates the mind. Thus by reason of not transgressing those deities, it is called symbolic seal....The Law Seal (dharma-mudra) shows the nature of the speech of deities. It has the characteristics or such syllables of the Law as vajra jnana and samayas tvam, which are attributes or signs of the pure intrinsic nature of speech; and it teaches all the sublime doctrines constituting the meaning of the language of deities...The Action Seal (Karla-mudra) shows the conduct of deities." These four seals are four methods of contemplating a god.18) While not discussed in Yoshito S. Hakeda's work entitled Kukai: Major Works, the f " standard reference work in English on Shingon. Buddhism in Japan, Kukai H a n also inherited the above tradition of the four mudras, each corresponding with d g four mandalas of identical designation as in the Indian Tantric tradition.19) se ut Karma-mudra is also used to denote the female partner, a wholly symbolic r s"e term, who participates in the tantric ritual meditation,20) or sakti, the feminine counterpart of a god. "Although it is stated in the Tantras and authoritative texts that there is an initiation based on the action seal (karma-mudra) of a concrete wisdom (vidya), this means the initiation of the 'jewel-like' individual among the candidates for the high goal of the Anuttara (-tantra). Here, the guru, with complete charac- teristics for recourse to the action seal, with visualization of all the gods of the mandala, invites them and draws them into his own body. Then he unites with the vidya; and when the substance of the drop (?semen-bindurupa-bhuta) molten by the fire of great passion, falls into the lotus' (padma) of the mother' (yum) and mixes with the red element (dhatu) of the mother', he achieves then what is referred to as relative bodhicitta-mandala....In explanation of the action seal' and the knowledge seal' with which one enters union-by reason of acts (karma) of former lives, one flings himself on the body of a woman and there realizes, hence the action seal, and such actions as the mutual embrace with limbs do not require any contemplation by oneself-only the seal itself (or herself) is necessary, hence the action seal. Nowadays, the general ex- planation of the expression renowned knowledge seal' is as follows: one does

-69- not realize in a concrete place, i. e., a woman. However, knowledge is ones own samadhi. Being the seal which expands and generates that, it is called knowledge seal."21) 密 In Tantric Buddhism the term mudra is also used to mean the objects 教 (a lotus, banner, stupa) which symbolize the "enlightenment, vows, virtues or works"22) of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, and also the Dharmakaya. These 文 objects serve to identify the Buddha or Bodhisattva in question when no figure is specifically drawn in Tantric Buddhist art.23) This tradition undoubtedly 化 can be traced back to the early symbolic, aniconic representations of the Buddha, i.e., the dharmacakra, the empty seat under the Bodhi tree, or foot- print with auspicious signs. The external hand gesture or mudra, which is often formed beneath the robe in practice to prevent non-initiates from witnessing it, is complemented by an internal seal or mudra. Here mudra means the vivid visualization of oneself as a particular deity, either in the form of the body of the god or fome symbolic object. 24) Outside several other less employed uses of the term, and further derivatives and compounds, the above definitions are the most frequently encountered. One frequent "mistake" noted above which is committed by modern writers of Indian dance or drama, but certainly not by classical writers of Kavya literature, is to use mudra in a technical sense to refer to the poses of the hand in Indian dance. 201 The three oldest sources in India on hand postures or gestures used in dance are the Natya Sastra, Visnudharmottara- pura na and the Abhinaya Darpana. 26) Of these three the Nat ya Sastra, as Mr. Bose writes, "has an archetypal status, for the later texts (of which there are many) are directly derived from it."21) Now, even though Mr. Banerjea28) states "The technical term used in these texts to denote these poses is mudra and sometimes the word hasta is also used to denote one or other of these hand-poses, "in fact"the word mudra has not been used in the Abhinaya Darpana even to denote any hand or finger gesture.21) In addition, one can see that in Chapter IX of the Nat ya Sastra, where three classes of hand postures are described, asamyuta hasta (single hand gesture), samyuta hasta (combined hand gesture), and Ivritta hasta (hand gesture for the dance) alone are the technical terms employed to denote hand gestures in Indian dance.30) What has led to the use of mudra by many recent writers of Indian dance when even their own classical texts instead use the term hasta? To date, I

-68- have only found two writers who have noticed this discrepancy and who have provided a reasonable and common explanation. Faubion Bowers writes T h "Mudra is a fairly recently popularized term for hand gestures and is derived e M from Tantric iconographic literature where the hands are employed in various ae n formations and figurations to accompany incantations and sculptural poses. ni Since the study of dance came after researches into iconography and religion, g s of the word mudra was already entrenched in the minds of scholars and writers by the time the more technically correct appelations hasta and samyuta hasta the (single hand and double hand gesture) become familiar. Mudra, being simpler ermt and more convenient, is known and used even in the West to designate the characteristic hand gestures which have now become the hallmark of Indian M dancing throughout the world."31) udra and a Historical Projesh Banerji echoes these same thoughts: "Many writers and critics want to include all the movements of human limbs in one Sanskrit work mudra' but this word is not a correct expression and it means a sign or 'cihna.' Some trace the origin of this word from the Persian word 'muhar' meaning a sign. The correct origin of the word mudra' is from Tantric texts. The mudras are positions of the fingers of hands only, practised in devotion or religious worship. Both Manmohan Ghosh (the first translator Outline of of"Hand the Natya Sastra into English) and Woodroffe are of the opinion that Tantric mudras (ritual gestures of the hands) have some resemblance to the manual gestures used in Abhinaya. This, however, is not sufficientto allow us to suggest any clear connection of Tantric ritual with the origin of Abhinaya. From the above facts we should discard the work mudra'...32) On the relatively recent research on Indian Dance it is interesting that g e "The dance gurus...reserved the most precious secrets of their art for selected s u r chelas only (like Tantric yogins), who, in their turn, guarded them carefully, so e s" that it was extremely difficult for outsiders to make a study of the subject. European Sanskritists knew of the Natya Sastra from references to it in other books but believed that all manuscripts had been lost. It was only in the latter half of the last century that, while working on a mediaeval work on drama, Hall came across a manuscript of the Natya Sastra. This led to others being discovered and much work was done by the German Heymann, and by the Frenchmen Regnaud, Grosset and Levi. In 1894 Pandits Shivadatta and Kashinath Pandurang Parab brought out the original Sanskrit text. Further interest was aroused in the early part of this century by the discovery of a commentary by Abhinava Gupta. In 1950 Manomohan Ghosh made the first translation of the Natya Sastra into English, which was complete except for the part devoted to music..."33) I would add further that the frequent use of hasta mudra for hasta by post-classical writers of Indian drama can be traced to Pali sources. This term is found in the Milindapanha, a Jataka tale and the Pali Vinaya.34) Carrying the same connotation as hasta in the Natya Sastra, namely sign language or gesture, it is easy to understand why the phrase has been used.

-67- On the use of Mudd a-hattha (Pali) in these Pali sources Coomaraswamy has written: "Dr. Otto Francke, in Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 密 46, 1892, has an elaborate article entitled Mudra-Schrift (oder Lesekunst)?' in which he tries to prove that mudda in the Milindapanha (where it must be 教 confessed the word has been unsuccessfully translated by Rhys Davids, Sacred Books of the East, 35, pp. 6, 91, 247)) means script, or when cited with lekha, 文 in lists of the sippa's, as reading in distinction from writing, and he draws some far-reaching conclusions...This view seems to me very far-fetched and quite im- 化 plausible; it would never have occurred to anyone familiar either with Indian dramatic technique or with Indian iconography. As a matter of fact, the interpretation of the Sinhalese commentator quoted in SBE, 35, p. 91 note hasta mudra sastraya, is at once correct and intelligible; a reading mudra- sign language'-or hand gesture is appropriate to all the passages of the Milindapanha in question...To make assurance doubly sure we have a Jataka passage in which the term is illustrated by examples. In Jataka 546 (Cowell's translation, VI, p. 364) we find the following (I quote the quite satisfactory rendering of Cowell and Rouse): The Bodhisattva seeing a woman suitable to be his wife, reflected, whether she be unwed.or not I do not know. I will ask her by hand gesture.' So standing afar off he clenched his fist (mutthim). She understood that he was asking whether she had a husband, and spread out her hand to signify that she had not a husband."35)

Part II

Even though Gonda states "Although the probabilities are not against the supposition that there was in the Vedic period some form of a more or less conventional and symbolical sign language of the hands, mudras are foreign to the literature under discussion." he goes on to describe a well-established system of posture for the hands associated with Vedic ritual sacrifices and ceremonies.") Most of those he describes are also associated with the posture of the body as well, a feature usually independent of later iconographic mudras and Tantric ritual mudras, but not Indian dance. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that from a very early period certain hand gestures had specific meanings and even one posture, the afijali, often seen in later sculpture and tantric ritual manuals, is documented in the Grhya and Srauta sutras. From the earliest times to the present day this has been the sign of reverance, homage, salutation and supplication.37) It is also significant that "over every finger one of the greater gods is believed to preside: Agni over the thumb, etc."38) This very old tradition has been transmitted even in the Shingon and Tendai schools in Japan. There Vairocana presides over the thumb, Aksobhya over the index

-66- finger, Ratnasarnbhava over the middle finger, Amitabha over the ring finger and Sakyamuni over the little finger, to give one example.39) In regards to T h the use of specific fingers for certain ritual acts Gonda notes: e M "Whereas generally speaking all five fingers are used in sacrificing the little finger ae n should be avoided in rites for appeasement or propitiation (santi) and prosperity, ni however, practices for malevolent purposes (abhicara) require the use of the three g s of the termfingers of the left hand (Atharvaveda-Parisista, 28, 1, 5ff.). Likewise, certain funeral rites (Agnivesya-Grhyasutra). Combinations of fingers are often mentioned, especially of thumb and ring-finger: Brhad-Aranyaka Upani sad, 6, 4, 5; Asvalayan-Grhya sutra 1, 3, 3 (taking kusa blades); Agnivesya-Grhya sutra, 2, 7, 8; 115, 2 (touching one's right ear). In the rites described in Kausika Mudra and asutra Historical 22, 5 (eating blood) and 23, 5 (sprinkling on a house) the forefinger and middle finger are...prescribed...Sometimes the authorities disagree con- siderably..."40) It is interesting that similar prescriptions are found in Chinese and Japanese tantric homa rites and in the mudras of the "eighteen rites."") It has also been suggested that Buddha's earth witnessing gesture perhaps can be traced back to a similar gesture described in the Khadira-Grhya sutra (3, 3, 19) where Outlinethe ofpriest "Hand declaresgestures" his reliance on the earth: "Turning downwards his two hands so as to touch the sacrificial grass, he should murmur the mantra In worldly strength..."42) A final indication of the importance of the hands in Vedic ritual is their use to mark accents in the recitation of the mantra. "Going back to the Vedic times, however, one finds the word and gesture on one plane, and being given the same magical or religious importance. The Vaj. Prat. I, 124, notifies that the accents were indicated by moving the hands upward, downwards, or laterally. Later texts mention gestures which marked the accents and explained the sense also."43) Considering that the mantras held power (Brahma) in their own right, the need for proper gestures to mark stress, rhythm and intonation led to the strict use of the hands. Similarly, mudras in Tantric ritual are strictly prescribed. Likewise "The custom referred to in T1aikhanasa-Grhya sutra 2, 6 and 3, 22b-the acarya (the father returning from a journey) after taking the five fingers of a boy's right hand lets them go again out of his hand with five mantras 'Agni, (etc.) is of a complete lifetime...with this life I make thee full of life,' etc.; the power inherent in the five-fold mantra is successively transmitted to the body of the body through the intermediary of the five fingers of the hand."44) The appearance of hand gestures in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain art and in classical works on drama and dance like those mentioned above marks the next major stage in the development of standardized gestures. In the former

-65- mudras were used to indicate a specific religious theme while in the latter hastas enhanced the story telling capacities of dancers or actors. Undoubtedly, both traditions were drawing on a wide-spread and large stock of commonly 密 accepted hand gestures. What each tradition accomplished for its own ends 教 was to establish a standardized interpretation of a limited number of these hand gestures. These were also liable to further modification and application. 文 In reference to the Bodhisattva's gesture in the Jataka tale above Co- omaraswamy writes 化 "It need only be remarked that in abhinaya books (see e. g. i n my Mirror of Gesture, p. 10) one of the meanings of the sikhara hand, which is the same as the musti hand, but with the thumb raised, is precisely husband. The outspread hand (pataka hand in the abhinaya books) can well be understood to mean empty; the nearest meaning given in the Abhinaya Darpana is having no refuge,' which would not be inapplicable to the case of a woman without a husband. So it is evident that the Bodhisattva was already using an established and conventional sign language of the hands, and this is what mudda, as an art or accomplishment, always means. Nata-sutras, which must have dealt with the expression of ideas, etc., by means of formal gesture, are mentioned as early as in Panini. 45) Needless to say, this conventional sign language of the hands, whether in actual use by living persons, or in the more limited range of ico- nographic usage, must have been based on a natural and spontaneous language of gesture; even today the common mudras of the hieratic art, e. g., vyakhyana mudra (often called vitarka) can be observed in the course of a conversation, whenever a point is made."46)

The exact dates of the two oldest treatises on Indian dramatology, Bharata's Natya Sdstra and the Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikesvara, are much disputed. The following is a list of the dates various authors have proposed for the Sdstra: (All authors have already been cited) Banerjea, P., loc. cit., p. 11: 3rd century A. D. to 5th century. Bose, M., loc. cit., p. 2; not later than the 3rd century A. D. Bowers, F., loc. cit., p. 11: 3rd to 5th centuries A. D. Keith, A. Berriedale, not before the 3rd century A. D. 47) Menon, B., loc. cit., p. 4: No one has any idea when it was completed. Rao, Appa, P. S. R., loc. cit., p. 2: 200 B. C. to 200 A. D. Sarabhai, M., loc. cit., p. 2: same. Singha, R., loc. cit., p. 21: date in dispute, 2nd century B.C. to 3rd. century A. D. While Banerjea48), Ramakrishna Kavi49) and a few others state the abhinaya Darpana is older than the Sdstra, the majority of authors maintain

-64- the Darpana is based on the Sdstra. Bose goes so far as to say the Darpana was composed between the 5th and 13th centuries A. D. 50) It can at least be T h stated that the Na t ya Sdstra was composed after the A tharva- Veda had been e Meanings of the term Mudra and a Historical Outline of " accepted as the fourth Veda, for it states that when Brahman decided to create a fifth Veda (i. e., the Natya Sdstra) he took speech from the Rig-Veda, music from the Sama-Veda, histrionic expresssion from the Yajur-Veda and Rasa from the Atharva-Veda. It seems reasonable to suppose it was composed at the same time Mahayana Buddhism also arose in India. All major forms of classical dance in India including the Bharata Natyam and Kathakali in the extreme Southeast and Southwest of the Indian continent, respectively; the Manipuri in the extreme East Northeast of India, Kathak in Northern India, and even Orissa dance, ultimately derive their hastas from those explained in the Natya-Sastra, 51) although there are many variations.52) The Bharata Natyam is the oldest, most popular and most widespread dance form in India today and it is based directly on the Nat ya Sdstra. Abhi- navagupta, the earliest commentator on the Sdstra (of which there exist several recensions), remarks that the text actually represents three different schools.53) The hastas are used in all classical dance forms in presenting nritya, that category of dance performed to convey a specific meaning to the Hand gestures" onlooker through the use of suggestive facial expressions and a codified gesture of the hands, and natya, which is the same except for the added element of the spoken word.54) Both the Natya-Sdstra (Chapter IX) and Abhinaya Darpana treat hasta under the category of abhinaya. Specifically, it is one type of gesture of the body (angikabhinaya). "Gesture is the principle theme of what is here related. The root ni with the prefix abhi implies exposition, and the word abhinaya is used in this sense. According to another book (granthantare) abhinaya is so called because it evokes flavour (rasa) in the audience. There are three kinds of gesture: bodily, vocal and ornamental (angika, vacika, aharya)...Here we are only concerned with angikabhinaya, exposition by means of the gestures of the body and limbs.' ... In Angikabhinaya the head, hands, arm-pits, sides, waist and feet are called the limbs."55)

In both treatises the basic hastas are classified as samyuta (combined hand gestures, using both hands) or asamyuta (single hand gestures).56) The Natya- Sdstra describes 24 asamyuktas and 13 samyuktas while the Darpana describes 28 asamyuktas and 23 samyuktas. The Darpana has actually just added four additional asamyuktas, all the other 24 being identical with those of the Nat ya-

-63- Sastra. In contrast, only four samyuktas are identical to those in the Sastra, four others being slightly different. In Kathakali dance there are also 24 asamyuktas but 40 samyuktas, many having the same name as those found 密 in the Sastra but different postures. In Manipuri dance there are 25 asamyuktas 教 and 12 samyuktas. 57) Ram Gopal58) notes that the asamyuktas are classified

into three major types, each having a root hasta, as it were, from which the 文 others are derived. (In passing, it should be noted that certain Buddhist Tantric mudras are also classified as root or mother mudrds. These are 化 formed at the beginning of a ritual meditation rite and then are altered to form a series of related mudras.)59) This classification aids the dancer in mem- orizing them. One notices immediately in any of the works referred to that one hasta has at least ten different meanings. This is because any single or double gesture, when held in a different position (e. g., facing the chest, out- ward, upward, downward, sideways, etc.) and used in combination with speech takes on different meanings. Thus the single hand pataka hasta can mean a pigeon, forest, bosom, night, river, horse, moonlight, silence, etc. In fact the Abhinaya Darpana and other works go on to describe hastas for the nine planets and other stars, sixteen deities, ten avataras of Vishnu, four castes, famous emperors, seven oceans, rivers, worlds, trees, animals, flying creatures, water animals, etc., 60) indicating an almost limitless number of representations possible due to the different positions of the hands. The art of the dance explained in the Nat ya Sastra was performed and mainly preserved especially in the south by Devadasis. These were women attached to certain temples and were dedicated to dancing for the god worshipped there. In the first chapter of the Sdstra Brahman is made to explain the purpose of dance which these women and men as well performed in the service of a god. "I have created natya to represent the actions, ideologies and geneologies of both gods and demons. This will present to you the good and evil involved in following the righteous path and in amassing wealth, etc...You will have to ap- preciate that it speaks of the ideologies of the three worlds and is representative of the emotions of the inhabitants thereof. Natya will present...evil, peace, war, humour, love, creation, destruction...1 have created natya to deal with various ideas...and states of mind...Besides being instructive, it promotes strength and peace of mind and gives enjoyment...It gives respite to those in grief and trouble. It enlivens them, besides giving good counsel, enlighten- ment, and longevity and finally reputation to those that enact the play."61)

Besides having obvious social and moral implications the dance also deliberately

-62- enjoined the "transformation of human actors into the shape and form of the gods of the upper world, and the asuras of the nether world,"62) a theme T h parallel with the Tantric practice of the three mysteries. In passing, it must e Meanigs of the term also be noted that the many sculptures of gods, dancers, or yaksas covering typical Indian temples often show hastas derived from the dance manuals. Whether one subscribes to the Mathura or Gandhara origin of Buddha images,"63) it was during the Kushan period that the Buddha image was established (1st century B.C. -320 A. D.). The symbolism of the mudras was fully developed in Gandharan art and to a lesser extent in Mathura as well Mudraby and the a Historical2nd to the 3rd century and these mudras remained standard in all Buddhist countries thereafter.64) However, this is not to say that these standardized mudras are always helpful in identifying early Buddhist images which were usually either Sakyamuni or the Bodhisattvas Maitreya and Avalokitesvara. "The truth is that over the whole Buddhist world there never has been a uni- versally accepted canon for image-making, least of all in the early days. The Outline of distinction"Hand gestures" between Buddha and Bodhisattva is usually plain to see, but between one Buddha and another, or one Bodhisattva and another, there is often no outward visible difference."65) The earliest mudras dating from this period and most widespread hereafter are: 1) abhaya mudra-gesture affording protection, freedom from fear; 2) vitarka mudra-gesture of appeasement, when formed with both hands gesture of teaching; 3) varada mudra-gesture of granting a wish; 4) bhumisparsa mudra-earth touching gesture; 5) dharmacakra mudra-gesture of teaching; 6) afijali mudra; dhyana mudra.66) The other earliest remaining images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas after those of Gandhara and Mathura showing these mudras are, in historical order: a) the colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan, 1st to 5th centures A. D.; b) the Tun-huang paintings, late 4th to 8th centuries A. D.; c) the Buddhist images of Northern China in the cave temples of Yun-kang and Lung-men, 5th to 6th centuries A. D. 67) Of course we know from Fa-hsien's travelogue (399-414) there was an enormous amount of other Indian and Central Asian Buddhist art dating from the early 5th century which has not survived.68) The abhaya, varada, dhyana (or yoga) and anjali mudras are also those most frequently encountered in the earliest Hindu images, but otherwise the Buddhist and Hindu images show different hand gestures. 69) In this regard Banerjea writes:

-61- "It should be noted here that the fully developed and technical mudras that are described in such Indian works on dramaturgy as the Natya Sastra, Abhi- nayadarpana, etc. have not practical application in our present study. It is 密 true that some south Indian types of dancing Siva of the mediaeval period or the Vajrayana deities of the same age in the north, especially the latter, are 教 liberally characterized by these mudras; but very few are the Hindu gods and goddesses, especially of the early period...Such mudras as are reproduced by me in Plate V from a late Buddhist text on r itualism procured by P. C. Bagchi 文 from Nepal (it contains many more such hand-poses) are usually adopted by a bhakta or a sadhaka in the Tantric forms of worship of sadhana."70) 化 The import of this statement is equally applicable to early Buddhist sculpture, i. e., neither early Buddhist or Hindu sculptures or even Jain portrayed highly technical poses but rather those listed above. Still, these are often depicted in the Natya Sastr. a. For example, the anjali mudra is the same as the first samyukta hasta. The abhaya mudra is nearly identical to the pataka hasta. The vitarka mudra is the same as the hamsaya hasta, etc. In any case, artists and dramatists are drawing upon a common tradition of fairly standardized hand gestures open to new application. Thus the Dharmacakra mudra is known to be really a combined representation of the jnana and vyakhyana hastas, the left hand being in the former and the right in the latter,71) while the mudra of Vairocana can be seen to be a combination of the tarjani hasta (left hand) and musti hasta. Likewise, many standing images of the Buddha show him pointing the forefinger of one hand upward and the forefinger of the other downward. This is obviously a combination of the suci and tarjani hastas (in the suci the forefinger usually points downward). In regards to Jain iconography: "In the Jain pantheon, the Tirthankaras have few mudras in their representations but their attendants, viz., the yakQa and yaksinis, assume different mudras in their hands analogous to those generally met with in the Hindu and Buddhist image. We find mentioned in the Jain literature quite a number of mudras with their descriptions, some of which are impossible to trace in the actual sculpture. Common are the yoga mudra and vira mudra (same as the varada mudra) among the yaksinis."72) Vajrayana Buddhism contributed to the evolution of a new and enlarged pantheon embracing many Buddhas, their counterparts and emanations, all associated with certain mudras of new significance. The mudras used in Tantric ritual meditation show not only an evolution in form but also in meaning. From the perspective of the Shingon tradition, the intimate association of certain mudras with certain deities and mantras was a gradual development, beginning with the earlier so-called miscellaneous esoteric texts

-60- and culminating with the pure esoteric texts. Beginning in the first half of the sixth century there are texts describing the recitation of mantras ac- T h companied by mudras for mundane benefits. By the eighth century detailed e Meanings of the term Mundra and a Historical and very expanded pure esoteric ritual manuals describing the proper practice of the three mysteries were written. As Kukai briefly notes: "...The Shingon practitioner makes mudras with the hands, i.e., physical acts and unites with the Tathagata's mystery of body. With his mouth he chants mantras and unites with the Tathagata's mystery of speech. His mind visualizes features of reality and unites with the Tathagata's mystery of mind..."73) The goal of these practices is the enlightenment of the practitioner who then out of compassion works for the enlightenment of all living beings. The oldest known scroll illustrating a large number of such mudras with ac- companying mantras is dated 855 A. D. This is a copy of the Gobushinkan thought to have been drawn originally by Subhakarasilnha (637-735 A. D.)74) It portrays over 140 mudras accompanying the ritual meditation based on the Tattvasargraha lineage.75) This text was recently reproduced in Japan.76) OutlineMudra of "Hand gestures"in this text refers to single or double hand gestures (as in Indian dance) and symbolic objects (swords, wheels, etc.). Matsunaga,77) Chandra and Saunders all discuss Chinese texts which describe various mudras. Here, to show the historical continuity of the mudras in these tantric manuals, I will give a partial list of those mudras found in Chandra's text78) which correspond with those given in the Natya Sdzstra, Darpana, etc. In both traditions it is clear that the hastas or mudras graphically depicted either the dialogue or visualization prescribed. Many obviously depict recognizable objects like a lotus, carriage, fist. etc. This list could be greatly expanded by showing how the tantric mudras are often just the combination of asamyukta hastas (a few of these are given here). Thus, no clearer proof could be found exhibiting the penetration and continuity of one aspect of Indian culture in the Far East.79)

INDIAN DANCE Japanese Tantric Tradition, after Chandra

Lotus hasta80) A s tadala-mudr a (1.4; 4.3; 3.230; 4.333.) Anjali hasta81) Vara (days of the week) (4.261) Buddhiapravesa-samaya (3.225)

Puspaputa hasta Buddha-kola samaya (1.3) (handful of flowers)

-59- Pataka hasta (flag) Karma mudra of Vajrasattva (4.115; 4.128); Sudarsana (4.330)

Hamsaya hasta (swan face) Mudra of three-pronged vajra 密 (right or left hand) (3.287); Brahma(4.314); Ndrayana (4.329); Maha-karunabhara(4.337). 教 Suci hasta (needle point) Vajramal a Bodhisattva (2.135); (right or both hands) Ke sin i (4.148); Jal iniprabha (4.151) 文

Sarpa-shirsha (snake head) Rescuing and protecting knowledge 化 (4.149); Vimalaprabha (4.153). Musti pasta Deep sand deity (4.346); Vajralasi (right or both hands) Bodhisattva (2.134)

REFERENCES 1) Bharati, A., The Tantric Tradition (Anchor Books, 1965), p. 270, ft. nt. 23. 2) Rao, P. S. R. Appa, A Monograph on Bharata's Naatya Saastra, Indian Dramatology (Nantya Manlaa Publication, 1967), p. 71; Chatterji, Usha, La Danse Hindoue (Paris: Les Editions Vega, 1951), pp. (41)-44; Singha, Rina and Reginald, Massey, Indian Dances Their History and Growth (N. Y.: George Braziller, 1967), pp. 25, 33; Stutley, Margaret and James, A Dictionary of Hinduism (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977), p. 195; Rao, T. A. Gopinatha, Elements of Hindu Iconography, Vol. 1 (Law Printing House, Madras, 1914), p. 14ff.; Ibid., The Dance in India (Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1967), pp. 13-14; Menon, Balakrishna, Indian Classical Dances (Rabindra Bharati, 1967), pp. 18ff., 38ff., 78ff. 3) For a comparison with mudras with religious connotation in Western Art see Ward, J. S. M., The Sign Languages of the Mysteries, 2 Vols. (Baskerville Press, 1928); Langdon, V. S. H., "Gesture in Sumerian and Babylonian Prayer," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1919, pp. 531-56. See also Toganoo Shoun, Mandara no Kenkyu (Koyasan University Press, 1932), pp. 469-489. 4) According to Hommel, the term is derived from the Babylonia term musara (seal) which became in Old Persian muzra, the 'z' being changed to 'd' in Sanskrit, see A Dictionary of Hinduism, p. 195 and Saunders, Dale E., Mudra A Study Symbolic Gestures in Japanese Buddhist Sculpture, Bollingen Series LVIII (Pantheon Books, 1960), p. 6 (he notes others dispute this theory). See also Otto Francke, "Mudra=schrift (oder Lesekunst)?" Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 46, 1892. 5) Monier-Williams, M., A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979) p. 822 (hereafter abbreviated MW). 6) MW, p. 872. 7) Bohtlingk, Otto, Sanskrit- Worterbuch in Karzerer Fassung, Vol. 5, 1868, pp. 824-830 (hereafter abbreviated B). See also Apte, S., V., The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Poona, 1890), pp. 870-871 (Bhagavad Gita 16. 15; Manusmriti 2. 232; Bhattikavya 15. 97).

-58- 8) Rhys-Davids, T. W. and Stede, William, Pali-English Dictionary (Oriental Books Reprint Corp., 1975), p. 537 (hereafter abbreviated RD.)

T 9) MW, Mahabharata, Kavya literature; B, Harivamsa 6454, 6458; RD, he Milindapanha Pali mudda; Turner, R. L., A Comparative Dictionary of the M Indo-Aryan Languages (London: Oxford University Press, 1966), p. 588. e ningsa 10) MW, Mahabharata. 11) MW, Lexicographers. 12) MW, Puranas, Kavya literature, Ra jatararngini. o f 13) RD, Vinaya IV, Milindapanha, 3, 59, 78, 178; Edgerton, Franklin, Buddist ht e tern Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, Vol. 11 (Motilal Banarsidass, 1977), p. 435. 14) MW, Dasakumara-carita, Sarvadarsana-samgraha, Karandavyuha; Edgerton, Mundra and aloc. cit.; B, Mudrika-Narada's Pankaratra 3, 8, 21. 15) MW; Bharati, A., loc. cit., p. 242-parched grain or kidney beans in Hindu Tantricism, or any cereal aphrodisiac. 16) Chandra, Lokesh and Rani, Sharada, Mudras in Japan Symbolic hand postures in Japanese Mantrayana or the esoteric Buddhism of Me Shingon Denomination, H Sata-pitaka Series, Indo-Asian Literatures, Vol. 243 (Delhi, 1981); Horiou si oricalt OutlineToki, Japanese Mudra based on Si-do-in-dzou (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1973); Bharati, A., loc. cit.; Gupte, R. S., Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhist and Jains (Bombay: P. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co., 1972); Rowland, Benjamin, The Pelican History of Art & Archi- tecture of India Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Penguin Books, 1977.); Bhattacharya, o B. C., The Jaina Iconography (Motilal Banarsidass, 1974); Banerjea, J. N., f " The Development of Hindu Iconography (University of Calcutta, 1956); Rao, H T. A. G., loc. cit.; Getty, Alice, The Gods of Northern Buddhism (Vermont and and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1962). g 17) Quoted in Lessing, F. D. and Wayman, Alex, Introduction to the Buddhist se ut Tantric Systems (Motilal Banarsidass, 1978), pp. 228-229. See also Wayman, r A., Yoga of the Guhyasamnajatantra The Arcane Lore of Forty Verses (Motilal s"e Banarsidass, 1977), pp. 238-40; Kitamura Takeo, "Kongochokya ni okeru in no Ichikosatsu-Tantrarthavatara o Chushin to spite," Mikkyagaku Kenkyc, No. 2, 1970, pp. 296-83; Ibid., Mikkyogaku Kenkyf7, No. 3, 1971, pp. 182-169. 18) Lessing, F. D. and Wayman, Alex, loc. cit., p. 235 and pp. 239-49. 19) Taisho Shinshia Daizokyo 61, No. 2221; Japanese: Kong achakyo kaidai. This in turn is derived from the Kongochokyo, T. 18, No. 865, p. 220a. 20) Wayman, Alex, The Buddhist Tai, eras Light on Indo-Tib tan Esot ericism (N. Y.: Samuel Weiser, 1973), pp. 196-7; Guenther, H. V., The Tantric View of Life (Shambala, 1972), p. 81; Tucci, Giuseppe, Tibetan Painted Scrolls, Vol. 1 (Rome: La Libreria Dello Statu, 1949), pp. 244-45. 21) Lessing, F. D., Wayman, Alex, loc. cit., pp. 319-323. 22) Mikkyajiten, edited by Sawa Ryuken (Kyoto: Hozokan, 1975), pp. 32-33. 23) This is the case with the Samaya or Symbolic assembly in the Vajradliatu Mandala used in Japan. See Butsuz ozuten, edtied by Sawa Ryiken (Illustrated Dictionary of Buddhist Images) (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1976), pp. 281-87. 1n Japanese these are termed Gei-in(契 印) whereas the halld mudra

is termed In-gei(印 契), In-so(印 相)or Mitsu-in(密 印). 24) Lessing, F. D., and Wayman, Alex, loc. cit., p. 233.

-57- 25) See again, Sarabhai, Mrinalini, Understanding Bharata Natyam, Lectures at Baroda University (Baroda, 1966), p. 45. 26) Bose, Mandakranta, Classical Indian Dancing A Glossary (Calcutta: General 密 Printers and Publishers, 1970), p. 2; See section II below for a fuller discussion of these works. 27) Ibid. 教 28) Banerjea, J. N., loc. cit., p. 246ff. 29) Banerji, Projesh, Dance of India (Kitabhista, Allahabad, 1947) pp. 70-71. 文 30) Natya sattra, with the commentary of Abhinavagupta, in four Vols., Vol. II Gaekwad's Oriental Series, Vol. LXVIII (Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1934), 化 pp. 26ff., 56ff., 71ff. The Abhinaya Darpana's classification of the hands (hasta bheda) falls into just the two categories of asamyutta and samyutta. See Coomaraswamy, A. K., and Gopalakrishnayya, D., (Transl.), The Mirror of Gesture Being the Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikesvara (N. Y.: E. Wehye, 1936), pp. 23-4, 45. 31) Bowers, Faubion, The Dance of India (N. Y.: AMS Press, Inc., 1967), p. 35. 32) Dance of India, p. (71). 33) Singha, Rina and Massey, Reginald, Indian Dances Their History and Growth, pp. 21-22. 34) RD, loc. cit., p. 538. 35) "Mudra, mudda," Journal of the American Oriental Society, 48, 1928, pp. 279-81. 36) Gonda, J., Vedic Ritual The Non-Solemn Rites (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980), p. 48, pp. 65-70. 37) Ibid., p. 66. 38) Ibid., p. 68; Vaikhanasa-Grhya sutra 1, 2. 39) Saunders, Dale E., loc. cit., p. (32), diagram 1. 40) Gonda, J., loc. cit., p. 69. 41) See the mudra for grasping the leaf or flower, p. 72, in Chandra, Lokesh and Rani, Sharada, loc. cit. No. 1. 61. 42) Oldenberg, H., (Transl.), The Grihya-sutras, Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Motilal Banarsidass, 1964), p. 416. 43) Przyluski, Jean, "Mudra, " Indian Culture, Calcutta, 1936: II, 4, p. 716. 44) Gonda, J., loc. cit., p. 68. 45) One of the ten precepts found in all recensions of the early Buddhist Vinaya prohibited monks and nuns from observing dancing, singing or shows. 46) Loc. cit., p. 280. See his appended list of reference works on the language of gesture, pp. 280-81. 47) The Sanskrit Drama in its Origin, Development, Theory and Practice (Oxford: 1924), p. 13. 48) The Development of Hindu Iconography, p. 38. 49) Natya sastra with the commentary of Abhinavagupta (Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1934), p. vi. 50) Classical Indian Dancing A Glossary, p. 2. 51) Menon, Balakrishna, Indian Classical Dances. This book's pagination is not continuous making it hard to use. See each section on the major classical dances. "Kathak does not have a rigid code of hastas, nor such a rich one, as is found in the Bharata Natyam and Kathakali systems of dance." p. 41.

-56- "The system of memorizing the hastas as a code under the prescribed names as we find in the Bharata Natyam and Kathakali is not followed. "p. 43. 52) E. g., Gopal, Ram and Dadachanji, Serozh, Indian Dancing (London: Phoenix T h House Limited, 1953), pp. 83-96. Kathakali and Bharata Natyam hastas of e Meanigs of the term Mundra and a Historical Outine of "Hand gesturea" the same subject are contrasted. Compare Banerjea, loc. cit., p. 283ff. 53) Natya iastra with the commentary of Abhinavagupta, ed. by Manavalli Ramakrishna kavi, Gaekwad's Oriental Series, No. 31 (Baroda: Central Library, 1926), p. 6. 54) Menon, B., loc. cit., p. 16. 55) The Mirror of Gesture, loc. cit., p. 36. 56) Sarabha (ft. nt. 25), loc. cit., pp. 86-110, illustrates all the major hastas from the Darpana while Rao, Appa (ft. nt. 2), loc. cit., pp. 155-58 illustrates all the major hastas in the Natya sastra. 57) Menon, B., loc. cit., pp. 79-84. 58) Indian Dancing, loc. cit., pp. 28-30. 59) E. g. Toganoo Shoun, Himitsujiso no Kenkyu (Mikkyo Bunka Kenkyujo, 1959), p. 363. 60) Menon, B., loc. cit., p. 18ff, illustrates and explains 504 hastas. Cf. Bose, M., (ft. nt. 26), pp. 47-72. 61) Rao, P. S. R., Appa, loc. cit. (ft. nt. 2), pp. 10-11. 62) Menon, B., loc. cit., p. 23. 63) Coomaraswamy, A. K., The Origin of the Buddha Image (Munshiram, 1972); Lee, Sherman, E., A History of Far Eastern Art (N. J.: Prentice Hall, n. d.,) p. 96. 64) Seckel, Dietrich, The Art of Buddhism (N. Y.: Crown Publishers, 1964), p. 167. 65) Willetts, William, Chinese Art 1 (Pelican Books, 1958), pp. 350-53. 66) Ibid., p. 391; Seckel, D., loc. cit., p. 191; Saunders, D., loc. cit., p. 51 ff. 67) Ch'en, Kenneth, Buddhism in China A Historical Survey (Princeton, 1973), p. 164ff. 68) Legge, James, (Transl.), A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, Being An Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his Travels to India, Ceylon (A. D. 399-414) in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline (Dover, 1965). 69) Rao, T. A. Gopinatha, Elements of Hindu Iconography, pp. 14-17; Banerjea, J. N., loc. cit., p. 250ff. 70) Ibid., p. 240. 71. Ibid., p. 256. 72) Bhattacharya, B. C., The Jaina Iconography (Motilal Banarsidass, 1974), p. 140. 73) Taisho Shinshu Daizokya 61, No. 2221, p. 4b. 74) Ibid., Zuzo, 86, No. 2974. 75) Cf. Chandra, L. and Rani, Sharada, loc. cit., pp. 1-5. 76) Hatta Yukio, Gobushinkan no Kenkyu (Kyoto: H6zbkan, 1981). 77) Matsunaga Yukei, "A History of Tantric Buddhism in India with. Reference to Chinese Translations," in Buddhist Thought and Asian Civilizations Essays in Honor of Herbert V. Guenther on His Sixtieth Birthday, edited by Leslie S. Kawamura and Keith Scott (Dharma Publishing, 1977), pp. 167-181. 78) Chandra's work entitled Madras in Japan depicts 962 mudras (some of which are repetitious), all of which are used in the Shingon school in Japan in the performance of the Shido Kegyo rites.

-55- 79) For the penetration of the mudras into China and S. E. Asia see also Menon, B., loc. cit., section on Manipuri, p. 5ff; Sathyanarayana, R., Bharata Natya A Critical Study (Mysore: Sri Varalakshmi Academies of Fine Arts, 1969), 密 pp. 95-96. 80) Chatterji, Usha, La Danse Hindoue, loc. cit. (ft. nt. 2), p. (39). 81) All the following dance hastas are taken from Sarabhai, M., (ft. nt. 25), loc. 教 cit., p. 104ff., 88ff. 文

化

-54-