also: いんけい
noun
mudra; symbolic hand gesture
Buddhist term for ritual hand gestures, often seen in statues and iconography. Compare with 印 (sense 3).
See also: 印 (いん)
仏像の印契にはそれぞれ意味がある。
Each mudra of a Buddhist statue has its own meaning.
印 (いん) sense 3 also means 'mudra', but 印契 is a more specific term for the hand gesture itself.
From 印 (seal, symbol) and 契 (pledge, contract), referring to the symbolic nature of the gesture. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.