The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1587 page)

 
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(Skt., ‘seal’, ‘sign’). In both Hinduism and Buddhism, a sign of power, through the body, especially the hands.
In Hinduism, the mudras of ritual worship (
p
j
) are an outward and visible sign of spiritual reality which they bring into being. Thus mudras frequently appear in Hindu sculpture (as they do in Jain and Buddhist), especially
dhy
na
(meditation, hands linked in front of body with palms upward), abhaya, cf.
abhaya-vacana
(fear-repelling, hand lifted, palm outward), and
varada
(hand held out, palm upward, bestowing bounty). The
añjali
mudra is the best-known to the outsider, since it is the ‘palms together’, at the level of the chest, greeting in India. As a mudra, it expresses the truth underlying all appearance.
In Buddhism
(Chin.,
yin-hsiang;
Jap.,
in-z
; Korean,
insang
), a mudra is a particular configuration of the hands accompanying a
mantra
and associated with a
visualization
or other mental act.

 
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(Arab.,
mu’adhdhin
). The one who gives the
dh
n
(call to prayer) to the Muslim community before the five daily times of
al
t
.

 
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