Mudra
A codified hand gesture in Indian dance that can stand for an object, action, idea or feeling.
Also: hasta, hasta mudra, hand gesture
Mudras, also called hastas, are the hand language of Indian classical dance. Each has a name and a precise shape. Some use one hand and some use both. Pataka, for example, is a flat hand with the fingers together. Depending on how it is moved, it can mean a cloud, a forest, a river or a blessing. Strung together, mudras let a dancer tell a whole story without words. In pure dance passages the same hand shapes are used only for their beauty, with no meaning attached.