Why Do We Blow The Conch?



In temples or at homes, the Conch is blown once or several times before ritualistic worship (Pooja). It is sometimes blown while doing aarti or to mark an auspicious occasion. It is blown before a battle starts or to announce the victory of an army. It is also placed in the altar and worshipped.

What Happens When the Conch Is Blown?
When the conch is blown, the primordial sound of Om emanates. Om is an auspicious sound that was chanted by the lord before creating the world. It represents the world and the truth behind it.

To watch the Significance of Blowing a Conch click here.

The Story
As the story goes, the demon Shankha Asura defeated the Devas, stole the Vedas and send to the bottom of the ocean. The Devas appealed Lord Vishnu for help. He incarnated as Matsya Avatara - the “fish incarnation” and killed Shankha Asura. The Lord blew conch-shaped bone of his ear and head.

The Om sound emanated, from which emerged the Vedas. All knowledge and enshrined in the Vedas is an elaboration of Om. The conch, therefore, is known as Shankha after Shankha Asura. The conch blown by the Lord is called Panchajanya.

He carries it all times in one of his four hands. It represents Dharma or righteousness that is one of the four-goal (Purusharthas) of life. The sound of the conch is thus also the victory call of good over evil. If we place a conch close to our ears, we hear the sound of the waves of the ocean.

Conch for Auspicious Sound
Another well-known purpose of blowing the conch and other instruments, known traditionally to produce auspicious sounds is to drown or mask negative comments or noises that may disturb or upset the atmosphere or the minds of worshipers.

Ancient India lived in her villages. Each village was presided over by a primary temple and several smaller ones. During the aarti performed after all essential poojas and on sacred occasions, the conch used to be blown.

Since villages were generally small, the sound of the conch would be heard all over the town. People who could not make it to the temple were reminded to stop whatever they were doing, at least for a few seconds, and, mentally go to the lord.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Do We Say ‘Shanti’ Thrice?

Image
Shaanti, meaning “peace,” is a natural state of being. Disturbances are created either by us or others. For example, Peace already exists in a place and then someone makes a noise. Therefore, peace underlies all our agitations. When agitation ends, peace is naturally experienced since it's already there. Where there is peace, there is happiness. Therefore, everyone without exception desires peace in life. However, peace within or without seems very hard to attain because our own agitations cover it. A rare few manage to remain peaceful within even in the midst of external agitation and troubles. To invoke peace, we chant prayers. By chanting prayers, troubles end and peace is experienced internally, irrespective of the external disturbances. All such prayers end by chanting Shaanti thrice. Read about Prayer - An Invocation . Image Source: www.peanutbutterrunner.com Why do we say Shaanti thrice? It is believed that Trivaram Satyam- that which is said thr
Read more

Many Problems One Solution - Swami Tejomayananda

Image
This title may kindle your curiosity, and some of you may wonder how there can be a single solution to the variety of problems in the world. Let me warn you at the outset that I do not possess any magic potion or instant cure. I can only give you something to work on, the seeds of a solution. Once a hungry person went to a shop to buy apples. Instead of apples, he was given the seeds that he could plant, that would grow into trees yielding apples in abundance. In the same way, I shall give you the seeds of thought that can remove all your problems if only you will work on it. The Nature of Problems: Let us first focus on problems. If we analyze and observe, we will find that the situations in life are what become problems. If you are comfortably sitting in your own house and begin to feel hungry, the hunger does not pose a problem. There is food in the kitchen; if not, you just go to a restaurant. But if you are in a remote place and food is not available, o
Read more

BMI - The Genius of the Chart

Image
He never tired of explaining it, though he must have done so more times than I can count: The chart shows the relationship between the Real and the relative reality. At that first lecture as I was listening to him, I thought, "Oh, oh, here is another term I don't understand. I wonder what he means by ‘relative reality'? Reality is reality!" As though reading my mind, he proceeded to answer my question. (This happened quite often at his lectures: He started to answer my silent question seconds after I had entertained that thought in my mind. Later I learned that many other people had experienced similar moments of synchronicity.) Do you see the Om at the top? Om stands for the Real. We only One, lt is Timeless and does not change. This changeless factor, which illumines all changes, is the Consciousness by which we experience this World of ever-changing phenomena. What we call relative reality is everything other than Om, and it is this everything else whic
Read more