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BACKGROUND OF EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE OF GESTURES IN KERALA'S VEDIC RECITATION STYLE Mudras or hand gestures are used in Indian culture in widely divergent areas ranging from Iconography to dance. The earliest extant description of mudras occur in Bharasta's Natyashastra, a text dealing with dance, music and drama from the beginning of the Christian era, but it is likely that they were mentioned half a millenium earlier in the Natasutras that existed in Paninis' time. Over the centuries mudras have become a common feature of religious worship in Hinduism, Buddhism and Tantrism. Here the mudra is used as a meduim of communication with the 'Unknown' .With the spread of Indian civilization, they travelled over large parts of Asia. The style of recitation of the Vedas by the Namputiries of Kerala is a clear evidence which underline the tradition of the use of mudras in Kerala-theatre. The Namputiries use two sets of mudras:- one to accompany the recitation of Rgveda and the other to accompany the chanting of Samaveda. (It is uncertain where Vedic mudras are older than any of the others). Whatever be their origin, the Vedic mudras could not have resulted from a simple adaptation of other varieties, since they are characterised by a feature that is distinctively Vedic. Unlike other mudras which represent meaning, Vedic mudras represent sound also. 185