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A raised open palm facing outward, fingers up — the gesture of fearlessness.
Also known as: Fearlessness gesture, Gesture of reassurance, Abhayamudra
Abhaya mudra is a hand gesture used in Indian religious art: the right hand raised to shoulder height with the palm turned outward and the fingers extended upward. It is read as reassurance and the removal of fear, and is among the oldest gestures shown in Buddhist and Hindu sculpture. Because the same raised open palm reads as 'stop' in modern Western usage, it is one of the gestures most often misread by a visitor to a gallery.
Reads as a command to stop in modern Western body language, which is the commonest misreading of it in a gallery — the raised open palm is a halt signal in one visual culture and an assurance in the other.
Contexts: Religion
An open right hand held up at shoulder height, palm turned towards the viewer and all four fingers extended straight upward with the thumb beside them.
Both are hand gestures in the same iconographic vocabulary.