# मुद्रा (mudrā)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/mudra

मुद्रा (mudrā) is a Sanskrit word meaning joyous, glad, type for printing or instrument for lithographing, the stamp or impression made by a seal, any stamp, print, mark, or impression, a stamped coin, piece of money, rupee, cash, or medal, an image, sign, badge, or token. Its 36 recorded definitions are grouped into 13 contexts, among them Seal, Stamp, Ring, Mark, or Impression, Closing, Sealing (Action/State), or Lock/Stopper, Coin, Money, or Medal.

- **Etymology:** E. मुद् to please, (by it,) Unādi aff. रक् । — E. mud to please, (by it,) Unādi aff. rak
- **SLP1:** `mudrA`  **IAST:** mudrā  **Devanagari:** मुद्रा
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/mudra/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** मुद्र (mudra)

## Meanings by context

### Seal, Stamp, Ring, Mark, or Impression (13 definitions)
- A seal, signet ring, or any instrument used for sealing or stamping.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 822,3] मुद्र (mudra) ा (mudrā) b f. ( fr. मुद्र (mudra) See above) a seal or any instrument used for sealing or stamping, a seal-ring, signet-ring ( cf. अङ्गुलि - म् (aṅguli-m) ° (°) ), any ring, MBh.; Kāv. &c. [ ID=165535 ]
- the stamp or impression made by a seal  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the stamp or impression made by a seal &c. [ ID=165537 ]
- any stamp, print, mark, or impression  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > any stamp or print or mark or impression, MBh.; Kāv. &c. [ ID=165538 ]
- A seal, stamp, or signet ring.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 1 A seal, an instrument for sealing or stamping; especially a seal-ring, signet-ring; अनया मुद्रया मुद्रयैनं (anayā mudrayā mudrayainaṃ) Mudrārākṣasa (Bombay) 1; नाममुद्रा (mudrā) क्षराण्यनुवाच्य परस्परमवलोकयतः (nāmamudrākṣarāṇyanuvācya parasparamavalokayataḥ) Śakuntalā (Bombay) 1; ( fig. also); इति प्रायो भावाः (iti prāyo bhāvāḥ) ( pb ) स्फुरदवधिमुद्रा (mudrā) मुकुलिताः (sphuradavadhimudrāmukulitāḥ) Bhartṛhari’s three Śatakas (the figures 1., 2., 3. after Bh. denoting Śṛṅgāraº, Nītiº, and Vairāgyaº) 2. 114
- A stamp, print, mark, or impression  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 2 A stamp, print, mark, impression; चतुःसमुद्रमुद्रः (catuḥsamudramudraḥ) Kādambarī (Bombay) 191; सिंदूरमुद्रा (mudrā) ंकितः (siṃdūramudrāṃkitaḥ) ( बाहुः (bāhuḥ) ) Gītagovinda 4
- 1. A signet-ring, seal, stamp, or impression. 2. A mark, token, badge, or lock. 3. A mystery. 4. A sacred mark made on the body. 5. A specific hand gesture or posture used in worship or magic. 6. Direct designation by the real name.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 231-2 ] मुद्रा (mudrā) mudrā, f. signet-ring, seal ( also the impression; ord. mg. ); (wooden) type; stamp, impression; mark, token, badge; seal, lock ( —° = sealed, closed, eyes, lips, mouth ); mystery; mark ( of a divine attribute etc. ) made on the body; mode of holding or intertwining the fingers ( in religious worship or magic rites ); direct designation, calling anything by its real name. [ ID=14292 ]
- 1. A seal or signet. 2. A seal ring. 3. A stamp or print. 4. A specific hand gesture or posture during religious worship.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद (muda) ्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 665 ] मुद (muda) ्रा (mudrā) f. ( - द्रा (-drā) ) 1 A seal, a signet. 2 A seal ring. 3 The mark of a seal or similar impression, a stamp, a print, &c. 4 A mode of intertwining the fingers during religious worship. E. मुद (muda) to please, (by it,) Uṇādi aff. रक् (rak). [ ID=30569 ]
- 1. A seal, seal ring, or stamp. 2. Intertwining the fingers in religious worship.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 597-a ] मुद्रा (mudrā) ( द्रा ) ((drā)) 1. f. A seal; a seal ring; a stamp; intertwining the fingers in religious worship. [ ID=30117 ]
- 1. A seal or seal-ring. 2. A ring in general. 3. A stamp, impression, or mark. 4. A coin or piece of money. 5. A medal or medallion. 6. Closing, sealing, or shutting. 7. A sign, badge, or token. 8. A mystery. 9. A particular position of fingers in religious worship.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 578-09 ] मुद्रा (mudrā) f. 1. A seal, a seal-ring, नाममुद्रा (mudrā) क्षराण्यनुवाच्य (nāmamudrākṣarāṇyanuvācya) Sak. i.; 2. a ring in general; 3. stamp, impression, mark, तदर्पिताधरतटीसिंदूरमुद्रा (mudrā) ंकितो बाहुर्गोपतनोस्तनोतु भवतां कंसद्विषः (tadarpitādharataṭīsiṃdūramudrāṃkito bāhurgopatanostanotu bhavatāṃ kaṃsadviṣaḥ) Git.G. iv.; 4. a coin, a piece of money; 5. a medal, a medallion; 6. closing, sealing, shutting, क्षिपन्निद्रामुद्रा (mudrā) म् (kṣipannidrāmudrām) M.M. ii.; 7. a sign, a badge, a token; 8. a mystery; 9. a particular position of fingers in religious worship. [ ID=30436 ]
- 1. A seal or signet ring. 2. A stamp or impression. 3. A coin or medal. 4. A sign or token. 5. A mystery. 6. A specific hand gesture or posture used in worship.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद् (mud) रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 571-b ] मुद् (mud) रा (mudrā) f. ( - द्रा (-drā) ) 1. A seal, a signet. 2. A seal-ring. 3. The mark of a seal or similar impression, a stamp, a print, &c. 4. A coin. 5. A medal. 6. A sign, a token. 7. A mystery. 8. A mode of intertwining the fingers during religious worship. E. मुद् (mud) to please, (by it,) Unādi aff. रक् । (rak.) [ ID=31693 ]
- 1. A seal, signet, or seal-ring. 2. A stamp or form. 3. A symbolic hand gesture or intertwining of fingers during religious worship.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0714-b ] मुद्रा (mudrā) mudrā, f. 1. A seal, a signet, Pañc. iv. d. 36 ( strī-, woman who is, as it were, the seal, i. e. the order, viz. of the god of love). 2. A seal-ring. 3. A stamp, figurat., a form, Utt. Rāmac. 155, 3. 4. A mode of intertwining the fingers during religious worship, Daśak. in Chr. 187, 12. — Comp. Aṅguli-, f. a seal-ring, Śāk. d. 135, v. r. Tarka-, f. a particular intertwining of the fingers, Bhāg. P. 4, 6, 38. Nāma(n)-, f. a seal-ring with the name of the possessor, Śāk. 17, 4. Pāda-, f. 1. impression of a footstep, Rājat. 4, 669. 2. trace, ib. 4, 103. Vi-mudra, adj. 1. unsealed. 2. blown, budded. Sa -mudra, adj. sealed, Yājñ. 2, 247. [ ID=11391 ]
- 1. A seal, seal-ring, stamp, print, mark, or impression. 2. The shutting, closing, or locking of something. 3. A mystery.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 415 ] मुद्रा (mudrā) f. seal, seal-ring, ring i.g., stamp, print, mark, impression; shutting, closing, lock, mystery. [ ID=25028 ]
- 1. A seal, signet ring, or any instrument used for stamping. 2. A stamp, print, or impression. 3. A coin, rupee, or medal. 4. A badge, token, or image. 5. Closing or shutting. 6. A mystery. 7. Symbolic positions of the fingers used in worship. 8. The natural expression of things by words.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0784-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) mudrā, f. a seal or any instrument used for sealing or stamping, a seal-ring, signet-ring [cf. aṅguli-m° ], any ring; the stamp or impression made by a seal, &c., any stamp, print, impression, mark, form, ( mudrāṃ dā, to set or affix a seal to anything); type, lithograph; a stamped coin, cash; any coin or piece of money, a rupee; a medal; an image, sign, badge, token (especially a token of divine attributes impressed upon the body); shutting, closing (e. g. oṣṭha-mudrā, closing of the lips, sealed lips); a mystery; a general N. for certain positions or intertwinings of the fingers commonly practised in devotion or religious worship and held to be symbolical [cf. tarka-m° ]; the natural expres- sion of things by words (in rhetoric), calling things by their right names. —Mudrā-kara, as, m. a maker of seals, engraver, coiner. —Mudrākṣara (°rā-ak°), am, n. type, print. —Mudrākṣepa (°rā-āk°), as, m. taking away or removing a seal. —Mudrāṅka or mudrāṅkita (°rā-aṅ°), as, ā, am, stamped or marked with a seal, stamped, sealed, signed, marked, printed. —Mudrā-bala, am, n. (with Buddhists) a particular high number. —Mudrā- mārga, as, m. an aperture believed to exist on the crown of the head (through which the soul is said to escape at death, = brahma-randhra ). —Mudrā- yantra, am, n. a printing-press. —Mudrāyantrā- laya (°ra-āl°), as, am, m. n. a printing-office. —Mudrā-rakṣaka, as, m. the keeper of the seals. —Mudrā-rākṣasa, am, n. ‘the Rākṣasa and the ring,’ N. of a drama by Viśākha-datta. —Mudrā- lipi, is, f. print, lithograph. [ ID=37613 ]

### Closing, Sealing (Action/State), or Lock/Stopper (3 definitions)
- shutting or closing  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > shutting, closing (as of the eyes or lips gen. or comp. ), Kāv. [ ID=165542 ]
- a lock, stopper, or bung  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a lock, stopper, bung, Amar.; Bhpr. [ ID=165543 ]
- Shutting, closing, sealing  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 7 Shutting, closing, sealing; सैवौष्ठमुद्रा (mudrā) स च कर्णपाशः (saivauṣṭhamudrā sa ca karṇapāśaḥ) Uttararāmacarita 6. 27; क्षिपन्निद्रामुद्रा (mudrā) ं मदनकलहच्छेदसुलभां (kṣipannidrāmudrāṃ madanakalahacchedasulabhāṃ) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 2. 12 ‘removing the seal of sleep’ &c

### Coin, Money, or Medal (3 definitions)
- a stamped coin, piece of money, rupee, cash, or medal  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a stamped coin, piece of money, rupee, cash, medal, L. [ ID=165539 ]
- A stamped coin, coin, or piece of money  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 4 A stamped coin, coin, piece of money
- A medal  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 5 A medal

### Specific Cultural, Educational, or Artistic Meanings (3 definitions)
- a particular branch of education involving reckoning by the fingers  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a partic. branch of education (‘reckoning by the fingers’), Divyāv. [ ID=165546 ]
- parched or fried grain  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > parched or fried grain (as used in the Śākta or Tāntrik ceremonial), Religious Thought and Life in India, also called ’Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ by Sir M. Monier-Williams (Title) 192 [ ID=165547 ]
- a traditional dance in music  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (in music) a dance accordant with tradition, Saṃgīt. [ ID=165549 ]

### Mystery or Secret (2 definitions)
- a mystery  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a mystery, Cat. [ ID=165544 ]
- A mystery  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 8 A mystery

### Pass, Passport, or Authorization (2 definitions)
- authorization or a passport  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > authorization, a pass, passport (as given by a seal), Mudr. [ ID=165541 ]
- A pass or passport granted by a seal-ring.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 3 A pass, pass-port (as given by a seal-ring); अगृहीतमुद्रः कटकानिष्क्रामसि (agṛhītamudraḥ kaṭakāniṣkrāmasi) Mudrārākṣasa (Bombay) 5; गृहीतभुद्रः (gṛhītabhudraḥ) सलेखः पुरुषो गृहीतः (salekhaḥ puruṣo gṛhītaḥ) Mudrārākṣasa (Bombay) 5

### Rhetorical or Linguistic Term for Direct Expression (2 definitions)
- the natural expression of things by words  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (in rhet. ) the natural expression of things by words, calling things by their right names, Kuval. [ ID=165548 ]
- The expression of things by their right names.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 9 (In Rhet. ) The expression of things by their right names

### Ritual Hand Gestures (Mudrās) (2 definitions)
- particular positions or intertwinings of the fingers practised in religious worship  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of partic. positions or intertwinings of the fingers (24 in number, commonly practised in religious worship, and supposed to possess an occult meaning and magical efficacy, Daś.; Sarvad.; Kāraṇḍ.; Religious Thought and Life in India, also called ’Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ by Sir M. Monier-Williams (Title) 204; 406 ) [ ID=165545 ]
- Certain positions of the fingers practiced in worship.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 10 N. of certain positions of the fingers practised in devotion or religious worship

### Sign, Token, Badge, or Image (2 definitions)
- an image, sign, badge, or token  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > an image, sign, badge, token ( esp. a token or mark of divine attributes impressed upon the body), Kāv.; Pur.; Rājat. [ ID=165540 ]
- An image, sign, badge, or token.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मुद्रा (mudrā) [Printed book page 0870-c ] मुद्रा (mudrā) [ मुद् - रक् (mud-rak) ] 6 An image, a sign, badge, token

### Associated Compounds, Derived Terms, or Proper Names (1 definition)
- a maker of seals  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — कारः (kāraḥ) a maker of seals

### Etymologically Related Adjective (Joyous/Glad) (1 definition)
- joyous, glad  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 822,3] मुद्र (mudra) mfn. joyous, glad, AV. [ ID=165529 ]

### Printing or Lithography Technology Element (1 definition)
- type for printing or instrument for lithographing  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > type for printing or instrument for lithographing, L. [ ID=165536 ]

### Other (1 definition)
- See mudra below.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 822,3] मुद्रा (mudrā) a ( आ (ā) ), f. See मुद्रा (mudrā) below. [ ID=165530 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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