mudra

[ muh-drah ]

noun

Hinduism, Buddhism. any of a series of arm and hand positions expressing an attitude or action of the deity.
any of various similar gestures used in India's classical dancing to represent specific feelings.

Origin of mudra

First recorded in 1805–15, mudra is from the Sanskrit word mudrā sign

Words Nearby mudra

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mudra in a sentence

Some regard the chakra mudra as sufficient on occasions of emergency.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India | Edgar Thurston
She is then purified by the recitation of many mantras and texts, and by the performance of the mudra or gesticulations.
Phallic Miscellanies | Hargrave Jennings
There are no less than sixty-four thousand different sorts of mudra prescribed in the Tantras.
Phallic Miscellanies | Hargrave Jennings
In such cases, a single mudra mark, containing all the five mudras, is made to suffice.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India | Edgar Thurston
His right hand is in the Chumisparsa mudra (pose) touching the earth in front of the right knee—“I swear by the earth.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 3 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for mudra

mudra

/ (məˈdrɑː) /

noun

any of various ritual hand movements in Hindu religious dancing

Origin of mudra

Sanskrit, literally: sign, token

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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