Namaste

Namaste (Sanskrit pronunciation: [nɐmɐste:],[1] Devanagari: नमस्ते), sometimes called namaskār and namaskāram, is a customary Hindu[2][3][4] manner of respectfully greeting and honouring a person or group, used at any time of day.

Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.

[11][12] The phrase Namas-te appears with this meaning in Rigveda 8.75.10,[13] Atharvaveda verse 6.13.2, Taittirya Samhita 2.6.11.2 and in numerous other instances in many early Hindu texts.

[15] According to the Indologist Stephen Phillips, the terms "te and tvam" are an informal, familiar form of "you" in Sanskrit, and it is typically not used for unfamiliar adults.

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.

[33][34] The gesture is widely used throughout the Indian subcontinent, parts of Asia and beyond where people of South and Southeast Asian origins have migrated.

This is sometimes expressed, in ancient Hindu scriptures such as Taittiriya Upanishad, as Atithi Devo Bhava (literally, treat the guest like a god).

[42][43] Since namaste is a non-contact form of greeting, some world leaders adopted the gesture as an alternative to hand shaking during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic as a means to prevent the spread of the virus.