Shankh for offering water or Arghyam to deities or for use during Paduka puja.
The shankha is a sacred emblem used as a trumpet in Hindu ritual, and in the past was used as a war trumpet. The shankha is praised in Hindu scriptures as a giver of fame, longevity and prosperity, the cleanser of sin and the abode of Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth and consort of Vishnu. The shankha is displayed in Hindu art in association with Vishnu. As a symbol of water, it is associated with female fertility and serpents (Nagas).
Dimensions: 2 inches (L) x 1 inch (W)
Shankha's significance is traced to the nomadic times of the animists who used the sound emanating from this unique shell to drive away evil demons of whom they were scared. Over the centuries, the shankha was adopted as one of the divine symbols of Hinduism. Brahma Vaivarta Purana recalls the creation of conchs: Lord Shiva flung a trident towards the demons, burning them instantaneously.Their ashes flew in the sea creating conchs.
The sound of the shankha symbolises the sacred Om sound.Vishnu holding the conch represents him as the god of sound. Brahma Vaivarta Purana declares that shankha is the residence of both Lakshmi and Vishnu, bathing by the waters led through a shankha is considered as like bathing with all holy waters at once. Sankha Sadma Purana declares that bathing an image of Vishnu with cow milk is as virtuous as performing a million yajnas (fire sacrifices),and bathing Vishnu with Ganges river water frees one from the cycle of births. It further says "while the mere sight of the conch (shankha) dispels all sins as the Sun dispels the fog, why talk of its worship?" Padma Purana asserts the same effect of bathing Vishnu by Ganges water and milk and further adds doing so avoids evil, pouring water from a shankha on one's own head before a Vishnu image is equivalent to bathing in the pious Ganges river.
In Buddhism, the conch shell has been incorporated as one of the eight auspicious symbols, also called Ashtamangala.