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Mudras or hand gestures are used in Indian culture in widely
divergent areas ranging from Iconography to dance. The earliest extant description of mudras occur in Bharasta's NS, a text dealing with dance,
music and drama from the beginning of the Christian era, but it is likely
that they were mentioned half a rnillenium earlier in the Natasutras that existed in Paninis' time. Over the centuries m u d r a s have become a common feature of religious worship in Hinduism, Buddhism and Tantrism. Here the m u d r a is used as a meduim of communication with
the 'Unknown' .With the spread of Indian civilization, they travelled over
is a clear evidence which underline the tradition of the use of mudr-as in Kerala-theatre. The Namputiries use two sets of m u d r a s : - one to accompany the recitation of Rgveda and the other to accompany the chanting of Samaveda. (It is uncertain where Vedic mudras are older than
any of the others). Whatever be their origin, the Vedic mudras could not
have resulted from a simple adaptation of other varieties, since they
appropriate mudm, which distinguishes between ta and tah. In other cases the pupil may have learned the rules of sandhi from practice, but
he does not know which are the words of Sanskrit language and which
are not. According to the modern historical point of view, the padapzfha
is an analysis of the samhitdpiilha, and the latter results from the former.
Ambiguity may also be inherent in accentuation. The accents are expressed by the position of the entire hand (this parallels to some extent the position of the head, inculcated when the accents were taught for the first time).
svarita (the accent immediately following the uddtta) and the pracaya
(the "accumulated" accent of syllables neither immediately following a
svarita nor immediately preceding an udatta). As will be seen from the
or vocal tract that produces the corresponding sound. For example, the mudrii for the vowel 'u' imitates the rounding of the lips that
characterises its pronounciation. Unlike dance m u d r z s , all Rgvedic
mudrcis are executed b y the right hand only. (If the form of the rnudra is
the same as in Kathakali, this can be noted even though the significance
is always different). This is because the mudrci can indicate different sub-
ject or object which one has accepted according to the content of the text. The kartarimukha rnudra is common to several persons, like kings.
The pataka i n the samyuta samiina state denotes a king. His name is
indicated by the kartarimukha mudrE. eg. Nala, RugmZngata etc.. Who the king is to be understood from the context.
LIST OF RG VEDA
I.
MUDRAS
Hrasvamudra - Mudrd for short (hrasva)syllables. All fingers are extended in all joints and all fingers except the thumb are i n apposition with each other.
Eg:-Devdsyd, AS&,
Ggygta
2.
. and la followed by short vowel or e. viz, !a, !ha, da, dha, na, . sa
R i n g f i n g e r f l e x e d a t metacarpophalangeal joint and f i r s t
interphalangeal joint, extended at last interphalangeal joint, all other fingers extended and separated from each other. Hand in supination.
All joints extended except metacarpophalangeal joints of little, ring and t h e middle fingers which are flexed. Hand in semipronation.
Eg:- Gha, Adhi, Tustumbha, Abhi, Nahi.
189
4.
i n visarga ( h ) ,and for syllables ending - na and - ni. The little, ring
and the middle fingers flexed at metacarpophalangeal and first interphalangeal joints, while the thumb rests on the outer surface of the middle phalanx of the ring and the middle fingers. Hand is in pronation, except for sarvanudutta, where it is in supination.
Udattamudra - M u d r ~ ifor syllables with uddtta accent. Thumb extended, all other fingers fixed at metacarpophalangeal and first interphalangeal while the last interphalangeal joints are kept extended. Hand in supination. Eg:- Vi, Adya, Pra, _Uta
6.
thi. The Ring and middle fingers kept in apposition, flexed at the
metacarpophalangeal joints and extended at other joints, tip of
the thumb resting on the tip of the ring and the middle fingers at
their inner surface. Other fingers are extended.
7.
index finger at its outer surface. All other joints are extended.
190
8.
Uk8ramudra - Mudrii for syllables ending in - U - Ring, middle and the index fingers flexed at metacarpophalangeal joints and kept
in apposition, tip of the thumb rests upon the inner surface of the
tip of the index finger. All other joints are extended. Hand is in
pronation.
-t
metacarpophalangeal joint, tips of index and thumb fingers kept in apposition. All other joints are extended. Eg:- At, Tat, Yat
If the preceding vowel i s short, the hand i s in supination.
finger is flexed at the rnetacarpophalangeal joint. All other joints are extended. Hand is in pronation. Eg:d,
Vrsu, ManasH.
191
12. P r a t h a m a n t a m u d r g
- Mudrii
( p r a t h a m a ) . C o n s o n a n t s , v i z , - k and-!, o r e n d i n g in - t
rnetacarpophalangeal and first interphalangeal joints, thumb rests on the outer surface of the middle phalanx of t h e index finger.
The little finger is extended in all joints. Eg:- adh hat!, ~ r v ? e t c .
16. N a k a r a m u d r a
MudrZ f o r n . I n d e x f i n g e r f l e x e d a t t h e
metacarpophalangeal j o i n t with distal phalanx of the thumb resting on t h e other surface of the f i r s t phalanx of the index
finger. All .other fingers are extended. Eg: - Mahbn, Kavin, DevEn
17. Nakaramudra
metacarpophalangeal joint, the tip of the thumb touching its first interphalangeal joint, at its inner surface.
Eg:- Pratyak, A k ~ a n Vanlah , (RV 10.79.7)
18. AnusvaamudrZi - Mudrli for short anusvilra. The ring, middle and
inedx fingers flexed at metacarpophalangeal joints. Thumb rests
on the outer surface of the middle phalanges of the middle and
index fingers. Little finger is extended at the metacarpophalangeal, and fixed at all other joints. Hand is in semipronation.
Eg:- Tam, Devam, Agnim, Puuohitam, Vibhum (RV 6.15.8)
Same as D;rghavisargamudr~ (No.4). for a i and a u , with t h e index finger moving up and down. (viz - Aikaravisargamudrg) Eg:- Gopamaguh (RV. 10.6 1.10) with padapatha Gopam / (T/ agub/,
not gopam / E/ guh/.
21. M u d r d f o r r e p h a , v i k d r u , p r a k r t i a n d u t p a t t i - S a m e as Svarapfirvakatakiirarnudril ( n o . 9 ) , but w i t h a "pen-rolling" movement between the tips of the thumb and the index finger.
22. V i k B r a n i ~ e d h a m u d r Z- M u d r h u s e d w h e n a n e x p e c t e d
193
as marked by VikLramudra (no.21) does not take place. Same as MDrdhanyarnudrg NO.^), but the index finger moves slightly up and down. This mudrd is also used f o r p r a g r h y a words when the final
vowel is not subject to sandhi.
makes a tilting movement in semi pronated position. 24. Urn-itimudrg - Mudr2 for urn iti in the padapatha.
The index finger is flexed at the first interphalangeal joint, its tip
resting on the phalanx o f the middle finger. The middle and the
ring fingers are slightly bent, the thumb and the little fingers
extended.
positions.
194
dynamic than those of Rgveda. They should be seen in movements, while t h e c h a n t i n g is h e a r d . Words a l o n e and picture a l o n e a r e both m i s l e a d i n g . A proper study can only be made w i t h the help of cinimatograpy. Here Ittj Ravi Namptitiri chanting the initial portion of the first chant of ~ a i r n i n i ~ Gramageyagana a with the accompaniment of rnudrus
is shown with the help of photographs.
6:)
single syllable "0". The first three are not accompanied by mudras, b u t
positions: right ( d a k j i n a ) , middle (rnadhya) or left (vu'mu). In each of these positions the hand may be held in one of four ways.
195
1. Malartti, "supine": in the upari position, the palm of the hand faces the chanter. 2.
Kamiltti, "prone": in the upari position, the hand faces the chanter. Uparistha or cericcu, "sideways": the edge of the little finger faces
3.
the onlooker. 4.
Matakki, "closed": the hand is held in a fist,which may be done
in any of the three preceding positions. Omitting the first three, the sequence of twelve svaras accompanying the chant of the initial "0"of J .G.G. 1 . I are described thus: (1) rnafakki, malartti, upari; ( 2 )mafakki, malartti, madhyam; ( 3 )malartti,
adhah; ( 4 ) malartti, upari; (5) malartti, madhyan; ( 6 ) malartti, adhab;
( 7 ) m a l a r t t i , m u d h y a m ; (8) k a m i l t t i , u p a r i ; ( 9 ) kamiltti, a d h a h ;
( 10) cericcu, kamiltti, daksina, upari; (1 1) cericcu, kamiltti, madhyum;
( 12) kamiltti, adhah.
it moves down again but opens up in the process. Plate 8 A pictures the
hand going up again still open. Now begins a new, quicker downward
Thus ends the sequence of the mudrhs accompanying the syllable "0".
196
and is accompanied by the same sequence of m u d m s . Plate 8 F actually pictures the transition from the last movement of "o", prone and down, to the first movement of "gna", supine and closed. If the chant had ended with the last svura of the "o", the hand would have remained in the pure
kamiltti position, with the fingers extended.
Ssmavedic mudrds give importance to the position of hands like supination, pronation, closed, top, middle, bottom etc. Proximity of the mudriis is preferred here. This is one of the attributes of the rnudrfis
stated by Bharata also.33
However, the correlation between svaras and mudrds remain unexplained, and much more work is needed before we are in a position to arrive at an adequate understanding of the function of the mudriis of the Narnpiitiri SBrnaveda. From the above discussion it could be noted that the system of the mudriis in Kerala theatre also is a combination of Rgvedic mudrzs which give importance to the position of fingers and Samavedic mudriis
which give importance to the position of hands or proximity. In Kerala
Bharataniityam exactly follows the system of Vedic rnudrzs. In Kathakali and Ktiriyattom the rnudriis are more stylised.
RGVEDA MUDWS
PLATE 4
A.
B.
C.
GhosamudrSi
D.
Dirghavisargamudrii
UdattarnudrB
E.
F.
TithimudrZ
RGVEDA M U D U S
PLATE 5
RGVEDA M U D U S
PLATE 6
B.
C.
Malartti, adhah
MaEartti, upxi
D. E. F.
PLATE 8
A.
Matakki, madhyaln
B.
C.
Kamiltti, upari
Kamiltti, adhah
D. E.
Cericcu, k d t t i , rnadhyam
Kamiltti, adhah.
F.
' i
I ., .
! ? ; =
?_.
._.
.c
COMPARISON OF VEDIC
VEDIC MUDMS
MUDMS WITH
MUDMS IN KDTIYA'OM
AND KATAKWI
1.
Hrasvamudr3
Hamsapaksa
2.
Ghb~amudra
Ardhacandra
In A r d h a c a n d r a , t h e l i t t l e , r i n g a n d
the middle fingers are also bent some what at the first and second interphalangeal joints
3.
4.
~ir~havisargamudr~
Udattamudra
No remarks
VEDIC MUDRAS
MUDRASIN KD~YATTOM
AND KATAKAGI
REMARKS
5.
Tithimudra
M~gakirsa
fingers.
6.
Simudrii
Bhramara
Ukiirarnudrii
~artarimukha
Hrasvavisargamudra
Mudriikhya
The opening of the ring formed by the thumb and the index finger is not an integral
part of Mudriikhya.
3
w M
COMPARISON OF VEDIC
VEDIC MUDMS
MUDMS WITH
MUDMS IN KUTIYATTOM
AND K A T A W I
9.
AkaramudrB
Pataka
10.
~2lavyadirghamudrii ~~th~adirghamudra
11.
12.
Anusviiramudrii
In Musti . . the little, ring, middle and the in dex fingers are bent at all joints and
curled in toward the palm as in a fist.
200
drawn between Anusvararnudra of Rgv-edic reictation and Musti of the HLD according to Mr.Clifford R.Jones does not seem to be logical. If
this sort of comparison is to be accepted, there are many more gestures
which could be compared. For example, Nakaramudra of Rgveda - if the thumb is moved to the tip of the middle finger it would form Bhramara of the NS and the AD used in Kathakali, not mentioned in the HLD. ~rasvikaranamudri - Like Bana of the BRB with semi-pronation movement.
formed the medium to communicate with the proposed powers. The ultimate aim is to please the deity. That is why the word mudrd got its name which is really meaningful. As mentioned elsewhere in the thesis,
mudrd is
examining the Tantric rnudrds one could see the pattern in which a rnudrd
20 1
is originated as said by
34
be, Bharata got the idea of the m u d r n s from the Tantric treatise of the
mudriis.
symbols but not upto the level of Tantric mudriis. In Bharatanatyarn the
mudrds are shortened and the rest of the nbhinaya is compensated by
Vdcika. But in Kd[iyattorn and Kathakali the mudrds developed into a
level which communicate any idea even without the help of Viicika i.e. the development of the language of gestures reached its peak. Here the Tantric mudrns and the mudrds of the H L D or those
used in Kerala theatre are compared and tabulated. The Tantric mudriis
are got from PBtmasamhitii which is a book about Vaispuvu Tantra.
RECOMMENDED USE
RECOMMENDED USE
4. Brahmamudrii
To show Brahma
Aiijali
5. Rudramudrg
To show Rudra
sikhara (AD)
To live
6. Ganghudrii
~artarimukha (Approx)
NOMENCLATURE OF THE
RECOMMENDED USE
MUDMIN PATMASAMHITA
RECOMMENDED USE
10. ~ a h k h a m u d r ~
Conch
Conch
11. Padmamudra
12. Paiamudra
Nil
Bana (B.B)
C
0
V1
h ,
NOMENCLATURE OF THE
RECOMMENDED USE
RECOMMENDED USE
,@
,
13. Angubamudra
Nil
~ukatunda
.,
14. Mustimudra
To perform sacrifice
Musfi
15. KrOdarnudra
For h6ma
~rgakirsa
RECOMMENDED USE
RECOMMENDED USE
19. Tatvarnudra
Nil
Mudrwya
20. ~ a iicipav~tamudr~ j
Nil
Mayfira (BRB)
2 1. &alpamudr8
Nil
TribGla (AD)