bhūmi-sparśa-mudrā (Sanskrit, earth-touching gesture). A mudrā, or iconographic posture, in which the Buddha is depicted seated in the lotus posture (padmāsana) touching the earth with his right hand. Usually all the fingers are extended and the tips touch the earth while the left hand remains resting in the lap. This posture depicts the moment when the Buddha was seated under the Bodhi Tree at Bodhgayā on the night of his enlightenment. He called upon the earth to witness his right to sit upon that seat as a result of the practices of pāramī (see pāramitā) in many lives. Images of the Buddha Akṣobhya are also found in this posture.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)