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Mudra (Skt. mudrā; Tib. ཕྱག་རྒྱ་, chakgya, Wyl. phyag rgya), which literally means 'seal', is most commonly used in the context of Vajrayana practice and in iconography to refer to ritual hand gestures, which, together with mantra, are intended to enhance samadhi. Such gestures can represent particular deity / deities, aspects of enlightenment or offering substances.
It is common to speak of mantra, mudra and samadhi as a triad, wherein mantra corresponds to enlightened speech, mudra to enlightened body, and samadhi to enlightened mind. In fact, the word mudra can refer to the deity's form as a whole or to their insignia. The teachings also refer to four mudras / four kinds of mudra. Mudra is, together with mantra, the tenth of the ten topics of tantra described in the teachings connected with the Guhyagarbha Tantra.
Subdivisions
The four kinds of mudra are:
See: Four mudras
Depending on the context, mudras of hand gestures could be either samaya mudras or activity mudras.