In his maiden speech as the Opposition leader of Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Monday invoked the symbolic image of Lord Shiva and the “abhay mudra” to attack the Central government for its “full-scale assault on the idea of India, the Constitution, and those who resisted these attacks”.

Rahul Gandhi said the “abhaya mudra”, the image of an open palm was common to depictions of Lord Shiva, the Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ, and figured also in Islam, Buddhism and Jainism.

“The first idea in this image that we defend is the idea of confronting our fear and never being scared… For us, there is more than power, there is truth. For you (the BJP), there is only power, that is the only place you want to be… When we fought the BJP, we were not violent,” Rahul said while drawing a parallel between the abhaya mudra and the hand symbol of the Congress.

However, this was not the first time that Gandhi mentioned the “abhaya mudra” and drew a parallel with his party symbol and showed images of gods across religions to make his point.

In January 2017, Gandhi spoke about finding the party’s symbol in the images of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Buddha, Lord Mahavira and Hazrat Ali. He made the statement while addressing a “Jan Vedna Sammelan” or “People’s Plight Convention”, organised by the Congress.

“I was looking up the meaning of the Congress hand symbol. I saw the Congress party’s symbol in Shiv ji’s portrait. Then, I saw other photos. I saw Guru Nanak ji’s photo, there was the Congress’s sign. I saw Mahaveer ji, Buddha, Bhadrakaal… all had the Congress symbol… The symbol denotes that we should not get scared, be deterred by present circumstances. I looked at Congress policies. I saw Gandhiji’s and Nehruji’s correspondence too. They spoke about not being afraid of the British,” Gandhi said while addressing the convention.

The BJP had then approached the Election Commission accusing Gandhi of dragging religion into a political matter.

Again during the Bharat Jodo Yatra from September 2022 to January 2023, he repeated the idea on several occasions.

Speaking in Kurukshetra, Haryana, in January 2023 as part of the yatra, he said: “What does this symbol (palm) stand for? You have seen it in Lord Shiva’s photo. You may say it is aashirvad (blessing). No. This is abhaya mudra. This is the symbol of tapasya (penance). Do one’s job, tapasya, and don’t be scared. This is why it is the Congress’s symbol. You will see the same symbol in Guru Nanak’s photo, in Buddha’s and Mahavir’s… The freedom movement was a fight of tapasya but those people (the RSS) did the puja of the British.”

What is "abhaya mudra"?  

It is a gesture of fearlessness and protection, and is prevalent in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain iconography. This mudra, or hand gesture, is typically depicted with the right hand raised to shoulder height, palm facing outward, and fingers upright. Meanwhile, the left hand rests in the lap or performs another gesture. Associated with protection, this gesture is said to convey a sense of fearlessness, signifying the dispelling of fear and providing reassurance.