The importance of Sankha (conch shell) in Hindu religion


The right side of Sumeru Parwat was spread up to Iran (of today’s world), ParwatKhande up to Afghanistan and other various borders up to various places. The world is still celebrating the vision of sacred Hindu culture and wisdom. Almost every household that follows eternal Hindu culture has a Tulasi plant, room to worship (Puja kotha), a small utensil to keep Prasad, Panchapatro, a vessel to make Sandal (Chandan), and a small metal chamber to offer water.

You all know very well that Livemandu brings light to our culture and its importance which is neglected by people nowadays. Today let’s dig in a little deep about Conch Shell (Sankha). The sound of Sankha is quite famous while starting a new work or at the time of death. The sound of Sankha helps determining good or bad news. If someone plays Sankha continuously, we understand that it is a matter of grief but when someone plays Sankha twice, we understand it is good news. Sankha is not only a musical instrument but an important identity of our civilization.

We are discussing about conch shell today as our new generation is forgetting about this instrument and we want them to know about its depth, factual research and importance in our culture and civilization. Conch shell is found in sea and has a vital role in our eternal culture. In a landlocked country like Nepal, the presence of outer shell of a sea animal is a manifestation to our aquatic civilization. It is a proof that we have made our way up to here swimming in the wave of aquatic civilization.

Sankha is a predatory sea snail. Its outer shell is filled with air from our mouth and it produces sound. The sound of the Sankha is actually rare and auspicious, and there are scientific discoveries about it too. Sankha has a wide use in our culture from the war of Mahabharata to the Rajyaabishek of Ramayana including marriage ceremony to funeral rituals. Sankha has two tunes; auspicious and inauspicious. The continuous tune of Sankha is considered to be inauspicious whereas the double tune is considered to be auspicious. The person who blows Sankha has good respiratory system is a not only a belief but a fact.

The sound of Sankha and Damaru evolved few words in the Padini Tapobhumi of Argakhachi was a well known belief and was written in various historical books and later was discovered as a fact. It is also believed that the center part of Sankha turned towards the direction of watch shows navigation of various places of earth.
The twisted part of Sankha if opened has whole universe inside it and other various supernatural places. Sankha is considered to be the representation of Lord Vishnu who is present under the sea inside the Seshnag. Sankha also falls on one of the five weapons of Lord Vishnu and it is also placed in one of those five hands of Lord Vishnu.
If the rotation of Sankha is just as opposite to the rotation of clock, it is considered as the natural cycle of nature. Sankha is also related to Lord Shiva and destruction. But remember that Bhagwat Gita and holy books have described destruction as the first step of development. We also know that every end is the new beginning. Arjun of Mahabharata has been introduced as a capable person to play Sankha well. It has been written in Puranas that if Sankha is played well, evil spirits, dangerous animals stay away.

Lord Shiva’s puja and dance is considered incomplete without the involvement of Sankha. Lord Shiva is also called Sankar. And in Sanskrit it is pronounced as Sankhar or Sankhakara (the one who plays Sankha), it has been mentioned in various historical papers and holy books that this word was derived from Sankha. This fact has related Shiva with Sankha. According to Charles Darwin, human being also evolved from water just like amoeba, protozoa. So Sankha being an aquatic animal also has a historical relationship with our eternal culture. There is also a story included in VishnuPuran of Lord Shiva taking away Lord Vishnu’s Sankha. Later during the process of worshipping Ganesha the discussion between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu about Sankha was solved.
The bottom and left hand of Lord Vishnu represents the world cycle, shrines and trends of world. While speaking about the customs and observations of the world five elements- water, fire, air, soil, and sky, gives dimension and sound to the world as interpreted by Lord Vishnu.

We can add the matter of Omkar here too. According to the recent study of scientist, whenever sun rays fall into earth from the sun, they make the sound of Omkar in unison. And this Omkar has been used in our eternal culture since past few centuries. It is believed that the use of Omkar makes people as sharp as sun rays. The use of Omkar is mandatory during any kind of Puja. Sankha also falls into the category of pure holy thing after SamundraManthan. Sankha turned towards left is considered more pure as Laxmishankha or Bhalampari as compared to right Sankha. The main wealth of Sun worshipper and king of wealth Kuber is also Sankha and it is considered as a symbol of faithfulness in the light of the evangelistic elements of wealth and prosperity. Maybe this is why Sankha is looked with such great importance in our culture. The sound of Sankha is also pleasant and delightful to our ears. May the importance of use of Sankha bring benefit to scientific developments, may the sound of Sankha and peace be heard all over the world may humanity be protected everywhere. May God bless us.

Livemandu

Translated By Archeesa Aryal

For nepali virson: हिन्दु धर्ममा शखंको महत्व


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