The Webbed Finger of Buddha

Summary

“The ‘Webbed Finger’ of Buddha” reassesses the interpretation of one of the physical marks (lakṣaṇa) attributed to a Mahāpuruṣa (great person): the jala‑lakṣaṇa. Earlier scholars, including Foucher and Banerjea, believed that jala refers to webbing between the Buddha’s fingers, implying that he possessed a physical abnormality. Stutterheim challenged this view by arguing that in Sanskrit and Prakrit, jala can mean “net,” “web,” or “lattice,” and that in the Śakuntalā and other texts the word describes the network of light seen between fingers when the hand is held against the sun. Ananda Coomaraswamy expands on Stutterheim’s argument, noting that sculptors in Indian art often depict the Buddha’s fingers slightly separated so that light passes through them like between parallel window bars. In this interpretation, the jala-lakṣaṇa signifies perfection: the fingers are long, delicate and regular, allowing thin lines of light to shine between them. Where the fingers are swollen or pressed together, light cannot pass and the web appears irregular. The author argues that the jala‑lakṣaṇa thus praises the aesthetic refinement of the Buddha’s hands rather than implying webbed deformities. He also remarks that later interpretations, influenced by miraculous narratives and misunderstandings of sculptural devices, turned simple descriptive features into supernatural traits—such as a protuberance on the Buddha’s head being misconstrued as a miraculous fleshy knob rather than a royal turban. Coomaraswamy advises caution when reading later legends back into early artistic conventions and emphasises that many “miraculous” features were originally conventional artistic motifs. The article concludes by supporting Foucher and Banerjea regarding the misinterpretation based on the sculptor’s device but aligning with Stutterheim on the original meaning of jala.