Cinmudrā: Origins, Evolution and Meaning

Abstract

This paper examines cinmudrā, the practice of joining the index finger and thumb together, adopted throughout the 20th century in seated postures such as padmāsana to facilitate the practice of meditation or prāṇāyāma. In the haṭhayoga corpus, although padmāsana is well documented, there are scant references to cinmudrā. Yoga scholarship to date has not addressed this omission. This paper attempts to uncover the first textual attestation of cinmudrā within a yoga context, using haṭhayoga texts of the 18th and 19th centuries, with consideration also given to tantric and dance literature. In tracing the evolution of cinmudrā to the present day, parallel research is undertaken into material culture, focusing on sculptural, pictorial, and archaeological evidence. Accompanying this inquiry will be the question of why cinmudrā became included in yoga practice, and implicit here is the symbolism the gesture holds for practitioners. Finally, it will be questioned whether cinmudrā could have had early origins despite its apparent historical absence, and if so, its subsequent assimilation into haṭhayoga will be explored.