Chaitya | A rock-cut worship hall having a horseshoe shaped entrance or window. |
Mudra | Symbolic gesture in Buddhism. |
Abhaya mudra | The "fear not" gesture. The right hand raised as if in hello, revealing the palm. |
Pradakshina | The ritual circumambulation, in a clockwise direction beginning in the East, around the stupa. |
Rock-cut shrine | An architectural form of early Buddhism that was carved out of the living stone. |
Stupa | Mound over relics of the Buddha's body or, in Central Asia and China, over relics from
the bodies of other Buddhist 'saints.' |
Torana | The four gateways oriented to the cardinal directions and centered around a stupa. |
Vihara | The monastic living quarters for Buddhist monks. Takes the plan of a squared space surrounded by cells of rooms and a big central hall. |