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 Mudras or ‘sign language’ is the most important element of dance. Expressing a particular message to the other person without the help of words, by movement of limbs. We use quite a lot of them in our everyday life. What do we do when we call a person standing at a distance? How do we express the word ‘no’ by hand movement
and facial expression? Mudras are not any different. If dance is the language, Mudra is to be considered as the word that is used in that language. Mudras are formed with the fingers of either a single hand or both the hands. The dancer conveys the message to the audience by various shapes that they create by extending the arms or folding them, and bending or straightening the fingers.
There are two kinds of Mudras. One is formed by the use of a single hand and the other is formed by using both the hands. ‘Asamyukta hastam’ means single hand Mudras. ‘Samyukta hastam’ means Mudras formed by using both the hands. Samyukta means ‘joined’.
 The single-hand Mudras are 28 in number and the double-hand Mudras are 24. A few examples would help in understanding them. Let us see a single-hand
Mudra.
Bend the right ring finger to half its length. Let it touch the thumb and all the other three fingers remain straight. This is the Mayura Mudra or the peacock sign. This sign is used to represent the peacock and a host of other things too. It stands for the flag; a bird of omen. It is employed in such expressions as vomiting, pushing back one’s hair, applying ‘tilak’ on one’s forehead, taking water from a holy river and sprinkling on one’s head, teaching (upadesa), appreciating the other person are the several expressions detailed in the
Sloka.
 It would sound unbelievable that friendship and enmity are expressed with a single double-hand Mudra, by a mere change of the fingers employed. Close all the fingers of both hands excepting the forefingers. Bend both the forefingers like hooks and place them opposite to each other. Move them away, in opposite directions. You are representing two enemies facing each other. Instead, fold all the fingers excepting the little fingers of both hands, bend them to form a hook and place them against each other. You are representing two friends. In both these Mudras, the left hand is shown above and the right hand is held below. Just think of them as words. If a single Mudra is a word, a combination of Mudras can form a phrase and even a complete sentence.
Even a few of the slokas of the Abhinaya Dharpan are sufficient to express even the problems and messages concerning the present times. It all depends on the proficiency and imagination of the artiste.
Krishangini - Neeraja Nagarajan
Translated by Hari Krishnan
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