varada

Varada is a Sanskrit term meaning "giver of boons" or "boon-giver," formed from vara (boon, blessing) and da (to give). In religious and artistic contexts, varada denotes the act of benevolence and the granting of blessings or wishes to devotees.

In Hindu iconography, varada mudra is a hand gesture in which the right hand is extended downward with the palm facing outward and the fingers pointing toward the ground. It signals the deity’s readiness to grant boons and mercy. This gesture often accompanies other mudras, such as abhaya (the gesture of fearlessness), or appears alongside the deity’s other attributes. Deities such as Vishnu, Lakshmi, and various forms of Shiva are depicted with varada to emphasize their benevolence toward worshippers.

In Buddhist art, a similar varada mudra appears in depictions of bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya. It communicates compassion and the bestowal of aid or blessings and can be rendered with a downward-facing palm or with a symbolic object in the hand. Variations of the gesture appear across East Asian and Southeast Asian traditions.

Varada thus functions as both a technical term for a specific mudra and a symbolic expression of the deity’s or bodhisattva’s willingness to grant blessings, mercy, and fulfilled wishes to devotees. See also mudra, abhaya mudra, and varadamudra.