Abhaya Mudra Meaning: The 'Fear Not' Gesture in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain Art

The abhaya mudra is a hand gesture of reassurance and protection: the right hand raised, palm facing outwards, fingers pointing up. Abhaya means "fearlessness" in Sanskrit, and the gesture says, in effect, "do not fear". It is one of the most widespread gestures in the religious art of South and East Asia.

A gesture of reassurance

In Indian sculpture and painting, mudrās, symbolic positions of the hands, communicate the nature or action of a figure. The abhaya mudra offers protection and dispels fear. It is often paired with the varada mudrā, the lowered open hand of giving, one hand reassuring and the other bestowing.

In Buddhist art

The gesture is especially common in images of the Buddha, above all standing Buddhas from the early centuries AD onward, from Gandhara and Mathura to China and Southeast Asia. In later Buddhist systems it became the characteristic gesture of Amoghasiddhi, one of the five cosmic Buddhas, and it appears on countless images of bodhisattvas such as Guanyin.

In Hindu art

Many Hindu deities make the gesture. One of the best-known examples is Shiva as Nataraja, lord of the dance, whose front right hand is raised in abhaya, reassuring devotees in the midst of the cosmic dance.

In Jain art

Here there is an important difference. The Jain Tirthankaras are always shown in deep meditation, standing or seated, and do not make the gesture themselves; it appears instead on other figures in Jain art, such as attendant deities. A product described simply as a "Jain" abhaya mudra is therefore misleading: the gesture belongs to the wider shared visual language of South Asian religions.

The abhaya mudra in jewellery

A raised open hand is one of the most direct images of reassurance in any culture. As jewellery it can express calm, protection or courage, in the sense of the gesture's own message: fear not. Take a look at the AURYN Abhaya Mudra charm, or compare the hamsa, another protective hand symbol.