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Spiritual History of the Blowing Conch Shell
The warriors of ancient India would blow conch shells to announce battle. This is famously represented in the beginning of the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra. In Mahabharata, each warrior's conch shell had a specific name- Krishna's Paanchajanya, Arjuna's Devdutta, Bhima's Paundra, Yudhisthira's Anantavijaya, Nakula's Sughosa and Sahadeva's was known as Manipushpaka.
The conch ( shankha ) is also blown to invoke Shiva. The special relation between the conch ( shankha ) and Shiva is evident from the similarity between the word Shankha and the word Shankara, which is one of Shiva's many names. The word Shankara could have been derived from Shankha-kara which roughly means conch-blower (Shankha = conch, Kara = blower).
The conch shell is also sacred to the Buddhists. The right-coiling, white conch shell is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan and Nepali Buddhism. It is believed to represent the beautiful sound of the spread of Buddha dharma .
The conch has tremendous religious importance among the Bengalis. Conch bangles ( Shankha porana ) made of conch shell are worn by Bengali Hindu women as ornaments at their weddings as a religious rite. During recitation of wedding hymns, the father of the bride gives her a pair of conch bangles. The groom also brings a pair for her. Hindu women wear conch bangles with utmost devotion seeking the well being of their husbands.
How Blowing Conch Shells are Measured, and Why
Below are 2 images that show how the conch shells are measured. The images depict 6" blowing conches. The important thing about a conch shell and what determines the price is the amount of space the conch shell has inside it for the air to blow around it. They call it the "blowing arch". So you could have two conch shells that are both 6" long and one could be very skinny and one could be very fat. The fat one would have a lot more space inside it for the air to blow around it so it would be more expensive than the skinny one that has less space for the air inside it.
You can see in the photo how it is measured around the blowing arch to account for this. Since conches are created by the natural world, and they are found in the ocean, every one is a bit different.
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Customer Reviews
I've received my item as expected...Good service provided by Krishna as well. Thanks.I've received my item as expected...Good service provided by Krishna as well. Thanks.Read less
A really nice conch shell, and arrived in the most secure packaging I've ever seen! It took quite a while to undo it all, but of course, that's a good thing as it kept it safe. My husband can blow it,... Read more A really nice conch shell, and arrived in the most secure packaging I've ever seen! It took quite a while to undo it all, but of course, that's a good thing as it kept it safe. My husband can blow it, but I can't get a sound out of it. Perhaps you could include some guidance or instructions on how to make the sound come out of it? We are very happy with it, though, and this was the only website where I could find one to purchase, and at a reasonable price too. Thank you!Read less
Very beautiful shiny conch shell!! It took some time for us to learn blowing it.. Thank you Krishna store!!Very beautiful shiny conch shell!! It took some time for us to learn blowing it.. Thank you Krishna store!!Read less
My new conch arrived safely and in fine shape.. It was very well wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap and securely taped. This pretty little conch is carved with a floral pattern and nicely polish... Read more My new conch arrived safely and in fine shape.. It was very well wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap and securely taped. This pretty little conch is carved with a floral pattern and nicely polished. It fits comfortably in my hands. To blow,.you just hold your lips tightly together and pressed against the mouthpiece. Blow with good pressure and slightly twist the cocnch clockwise and counter clockwise to find the right angle to produce a clean sound. It has a wonderful sound, not too loud. Thank you very much !Read less
Very nice quality, good sound, small in size. It came very nicely wraped and in perfect condition after such a long journey. Good.Very nice quality, good sound, small in size. It came very nicely wraped and in perfect condition after such a long journey. Good.Read less