term which means "the sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you". A less common variant is used in the case of three or more people being addressed namely Namo vaḥ which is a combination of namaḥ and the enclitic second person plural pronoun vaḥ. The word namaḥ takes the sandhi form namo before the sound v. An even less common variant is used in the case of two people being addressed, namely, Namo vām, which is a combination of namaḥ and the enclitic second person dual pronoun vām. History Excavations at various Indus Valley Civilisation have revealed some male and female terracotta figures in namaste posture. These archaeological findings are dated to the Mature Harappan. Anjali Mudra The gesture of folding hands during a namaste is called the Añjali Mudrā. In addition to namaste, this mudra is one of the postures found in Indian classical dance such as Bharatanatyam, and in yoga practice. It is widely found in Indian temple reliefs and sculpture in mandapam, at entrances and iconography such as the Lingobhavamurti of Shaivism. The Anjali mudra differs from namaste by being a non-verbal gesture, while namaste can be said with or without any gesture. According to Bhaumik and Govil, the Anjali mudra and Namaskara mudra are very similar but have a subtle difference. The back of the thumbs in Anjali mudra face the chest and are perpendicular to other fingers, while the thumbs in Namaskara mudra are aligned with the other fingers. Anjali mudra is described in Sanskrit texts such as in verse 9.127–128 of the Natya Shastra (200 BCE – 200 CE), in temple architecture texts dated after the sixth-century CE such as in verse 5.67 of the Devata murti prakarana and those on painting called the Citrasutras. The Natya Shastra, a classical Indian dance text, describes it to be a posture where the two hands are folded together in a reverential state and that this is used to pray before a deity, receive any person one reveres and also to greet friends. The Natya Shastra further states that for prayers inside a temple, the Anjali mudra should be placed near one's head or above, while meeting someone venerable it is placed in front of one's face or chin, and for friends near one's chest. Uses The gesture is widely used throughout the Indian subcontinent, parts of Asia and beyond where people of South and Southeast