SHANKA - SANGU- CONCH

Vinayena Prarthayeham Vidyam Bhodaye me GURO

Margamannyam Na jane aham Bhavantam Saranam

SHANKA (CONCH)

DEFINITION

SHANKA or CONCH is the common name that is applied to a number of different medium to large-sized sea dwelling SNAILS and more particularly, their SHELLS or EXOSKELETON. (While most animals have ENDO SKELETON, Bones inside the body, some have bone like hard structure outside their body EXOSKELETON) Hence you would get a Shanka after the death of the animal living inside the shell.

The term generally applies to large sea snails whose shell have a high SPIRE  and a noticeable SIPHONAL CANAL. The spire is the upper tapering point of a sea shell and the whorls inside forms siphoning canals and ends at a point. We can say that CONCHE or Shanka  has pointed ends on both the tips.

BIOLOGY

Typical  conches are GASTROPOD MOLLUSCS of MARINE ORIGIN and they belong ton the family called Strombide and they belong to the genus called Strombus.

The majority of molluscs, including queen conch, are of the Class Gastropoda, whose name translates from Latin as "stomach foot." 

Mollusks are soft-bodied animals that have a hard external shell composed of calcium carbonate. The shells are capable of growing and the animal adds calcium carbonate from its secretions and coats on the walls of the shell to thicken it.

Conches have a shell that the spirally shell can grow sinistral (Right-handed) or dextral (Left-handed) depending on the species

They are Hermaphrodites; having both male and female parts, but reproduces through internal fertilization.

They feed on Sea grass, algae and other detritus .

Perhaps you may call it PURE VEGETARIAN.

Conches also include  the sacred chank or more correctly shankha shell (Turbinella pyrum) and other Turbinella species in the family Turbinellidae. This species is found living in the Indian Ocean and surrounding seas. The shell resembles porcelain. The surface of the shell is strong, hard, shiny, and somewhat translucent.
TYPES OF CONCHES
Based on the direction of spiraling, we have two types of Conches.
The most common one is the left handed spiraling conches known as DEXTRAL form of the species or VAMANVRATA in Sanskrit. When you collect in the sea shore this form is one you would get. When you look at them in a shop too, the left handed ones are the most common.

Very rarely you get the right handed spiraling conches , known as SINISTRAL form of the species. In tamil this form is called VALAPURI SANGU. It is very rare indeed. All species of conches do have left handed and rarely the right handed one.
But the shell of  Turbinella  species in pure white in colour is most rare and highly sought after for its qualities.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SHANKA

SANATHANA DHARMA and BUDDHISM talk very high of Shanka

Ø  It is believed that Shanka appeared before LAKSHMI; hence one school of thought considers Shanka as the older brother of Lakshmi.

Ø  Sanatana Dharma considers all SHANKA to be important; but the DHAKSHINAVART or Right Handed VALAMPURI Shanka is given greater importance.

Ø  The right spiralling of Dhakshinavarti is considered to represent the motion of planets. It is also compared with the hair whorls on the head of Buddha.

Ø  Skantha purana and Varaha purana states that ABHSHEKAM to Sri VISHNU performed using Dhakshinavarti shanka removes sins of the previous seven janmas.

Ø  Dhakshinavarti (Valampuri) shanka is believed to grant Longevity health, fame and wealth proportional to its size, whiteness and sheen.

Ø  Even if there is some defect in Dhakshinavarti shanka , it can be removed by covring it with gold and its virtues are restored.

Ø  Of all the PRIMORDIAL ELEMETS in the UNIVERSE SOUND stands first  to appear.The sound from the CONCHES are considered to be the ORIGINAL SOUND.

Ø  Ignoring  the mythology part, the conch shell's significance may  also be corroborated through scientific observation.. If one tries to hold a shankha near one’sr ear,  the sound of the gently humming ocean could  be heard. This is attributed to  the natural vibration or cosmic energy of the Earth which gets magnified on entering the conch shell.

Ø  The sound from the Shanka symbolises the Pranava Nadham, OM

Ø  The word Shanka is also believed to have originated from Shankara bringing the great philosophy of SIVAVISHNU bedha dwamsam.

Ø  Brahma Vaivarta Purana describes shanka is the residence of both Vishnu and Lakshmi and declares Vishnu as God of sound.

Ø  Shankha is one of the nine auspicious  objects – Navanidhi – of Kubera who is the Lord of wealth.

Ø  Shanka nadam is considered to be an auspicious sound before the start of any ritual.

Ø  The famous PANCHAJANYA, the shanka of LORD KRISHNA, actually means “having control over five types of beings”; it  “is the fountain that evolves the five elements, i.e., water, fire, air, earth and sky or space.”

COMMERCIAL VALUE

ü  Conches are used as food either raw in salad or coocked.

ü  Many specie4s of Conches bear PEARLS in them.

ü  Conches are used as decorative item.

ü  In India it is used in religious ceremonies and Temples.

ü  Conch is protected under the international treaties Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of flora and fauna (CITES) and Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW). CITES controls how many conch meat, conch shells and conch shell products may leave or enter a country.

ü  Shanka in the form of Bhasma is used to treat acidity and indigestion.

ü  Even to day Shanka is used to feed infants in villages and traditional homes . A conch called PAL SHANKU is used for the purpose. This was the only means to feed babies before the invention of SPOON..

IN CONCLUSION

The significance of shanka is given in a NUT SHELL. There are a lot to know about it and to understand it.

FACT REMAINS , TWO GREAT FOSSILS that might have originated at the birth of MOTHER EARTH , namely, SHANKA and SALIGRAMA have gained importance as the symbol representing VISHNU , the protector.

Both are used after the animal that lived in it as its home have left. Does this signify our  transient existence in our body and eternity of the reverence as pitrus or rishis in Upakarma.

Having these two at home does a lot of good to the resident and brings Mahalakshmi at home.

One should not fall a prey to shops including on line who sell conches illegally and beware of clouts and fakes.

THE GREAT 'T'

THE GREAT ‘T’  of THE WORLD

That DISTURBS OUR EARTH

GEOLOGISTS , the scientists who STUDY OUR EARTH’S CRUST, have discovered a very VITAL but DISTURBING DISCOVERY in recent times.

The geologists who study the large scale movements of the EARTH’S CRUST have made this startling discovery.

They have found that there are two great lines of DISTURBANCES or MOVEMENT of EARTH’S CRUST , that meets to form a large shape like the LETTER  ‘T’  around the world.(See the diagram)

Nearly all the Earth quake prone regions, Volcanoes and mountain ranges are located with in this area demarked as GREAT ‘T’.

If you look at the diagram, you will understand why INDONESIA and GUJARAT in India have unstable strata.

The republic of VANUATU, a south pacific island and Japan  for that matter gets a large no of earth quakes.

For instance the KRAKATAU VOLCANO situated in the SUNDA STRAIT between JAVA and SUMATRA in the INDONESIAN ISLANDS has great history of eruptions and causing untold miseries to people in and around Indonesia as well as India causing TSUNAMI.

Some years of its eruptions include 416 AD, 535 AD, and then periodic , one in 1680 AD, and the most noted and the most disastrous one was in 1883 AD.

The little island on which the volcano rose was almost obliterated by being reduced from 12 km radius to about 4 km radius. It has also been calculated that the explosion of this volcano is equivalent to 12 Hydrogen bombs capacity.

The earthquake that triggered massive tsunamis in South Asia including INDIA on Dec. 26,2004,  killing more than 100,000 people and leaving millions more homeless, was centered deep under the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia. As relief workers struggle to help survivors, scientists are working to better understand the forces that unleashed such devastation.

The most powerful earthquake in 40 years -- measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale -- occurred approximately four miles below the Indian Ocean near the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. Scientists say this happened when two of the major plates that make up the Earth's crust, the India plate and the Burma plate, collided and created a tsunami, or extremely powerful waves.

It must be clear now, how the EARTH’S TECTONIC  PLATES WORK and what sort of disaster it can trigger. 

IT IS TIME AS INDIANS AND WORLD CITIZENS , YOU MUST THINK OF TOUCHING THE PLATES IN THE SETHU SAMUTHRAM REGION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS. SHOULD A FEW POORLY EDUCATED POLITICIANS DECIDE THE FUTURE OF THE SUBCONTINENT. 

The present incident at KEDARNATH and UTTARKHAND is not an isolated incident. It is symptomatic, Warning signal, tip of the ICE BERG of the IMPENDING GREATER CALAMITY arising out of increased CONCRETE MOUNTAINS on the EARTH’s CRUST.

Remember! That the SUB SOIL STREAMS Swell , resulting in Land slides and washes away hills and land.

LET US USE OUR LAND RESOURCES JUDICIOUSLY and control POPULATION naturally.

THINK! THINK! THINK.

ASPECTS OF SCOCIAL EDUCATION

ASPECTS OF SOCIAL EDUCATION

This great vast country had a number of schools of thought and educational institutions following Gurukula style for a very long time . A number of scientific techniques had been perfected and were mostly taught through Teacher-Disciple ( Guru-Shisya ) relationship mostly using oral reinforcement .

One of the standing example is the use of lac as laminating material for water proofing buildings and to prevent insect pest attack . People were aware of the fact that Lac is an insect secretion and were able to collect fairly large quantities of the same . Lac was also used for filling gold ornaments and for making moulds.

Most of these teachers were jack of all trades teaching different subjects over a long period of time . They gave special education after assessing the interest and skill of students . During the time of active learning the shisyas ( students) lived along with the teacher . Customs were built around learning objectives and were learning oriented . 

Education about reproduction and healthy relationship among partners :

Reproduction an instinct through which life forms are sustained on earth is one of the primitive instincts of all organisms. In almost all animals, reproduction is predominantly pheromone driven and is seasonal. In some case in addition to pheromones (sexual instinct attracting chemicals), other agents such as colour (In the case of birds, fish) or light (In the case of fire flies) are also used. But most animals have breeding season. For most animals sex is an instinct and is not primarily used as a pleasure pursuit or a pass time.

In human beings, perhaps, due to evolution, increased intelligence level and also due to the use of perfumes, the pheromone driven sexual instinct has been lost. Seasonal breeding pattern also have been lost, in human beings. Every animal has maternal instinct of protecting and nurturing their siblings. Even this instinct has been lost in human beings as we find many mothers kill their children through abortion and female infanticides or giving away their children to orphanages and for adoption. The problem becomes acute when such practices come form the western countries and many of our youngsters think it to be a fashion.

Educating the public is the primary responsibility of any progressive society and more so for good governance. The civilization in BHARAT always believed in this and has been practicing all forms of education including sex education.

The sex education primarily aimed at educating public that,

(a) Sex should be used for the purpose of building a family with a single partner, whom the   men or women have taken through wedlock in the presence of relatives and friends.

      This is the reason the bride groom is escorted through a long procession so that most of   the watchers would know who the bridegroom to be is.

(b) Life should be built around one man and one woman and they should try to enjoy life as  chewing Sugar Cane from the tip to the roots .

Sugar cane tip is salty and gradually   becomes sweat as one reaches the root, signifying, that the later part of life in couples should be pleasurable and happy just as Sugar cane is.

(c) Couples used to be put on a bullock cart driven by two bulls. This signifies the two bulls the wife and the husband should have perfect coordination and move in the same direction and  with the same speed.

            If one bull (either wife or husband) becomes tired and slow the other should also slow down so that the cart movement is not affected.

During the movement of the cart There will be ups and downs on the road, making the couples realise that life will be full of ups and down and the couple should adjust and go smoothly.

Their elders in a play way method introduced these life concepts to young couples so that they lead a happy and contented life.

The wedge that protects the wheel from slipping away from the axil signifies the limit to which husband or wife may flirt . The wife must be confident that the husband knows his limits with other woman and vice versa .

An old lady who has seen full life would explain these aspects to the young couple .

Every ritual in marriage ceremonies had a

 great significance in social education .

The ritual of seeing the stars VASHISHTA and ARUNDATI too has its significance . The star VASHISHTA (MIZAR in the constellation of Ursa Major) and ARUNDATI ( ALCOR in the constellation of Ursa Major) are perhaps the first double stars to be noted by us. Arundati is the wife of Vashishta . In a double star both go around the other .

Vashishta goes around Arundati and like wise Arundati goes around Vashishta.

 Perhaps this was highlighted in the ritual to signify that the life of a woman is centred around one man and vice versa

And

 it takes one full life time for a man to understand a woman and the same perhaps is true with regard to woman too .

These ritualistic methods helped the ancients lead a happy life without much of complications by misunderstandings and diseases.

More over the interaction with elders helped in adopting a healthy way of life. Temples were of the learning centres educating those who seek knowledge. Materials used in the temple as well as their prasadams had significant medicinal values. For example the vilvam leaf given in Siva temple is a cure for many skin ailments and a powerful febrifuge; the Thulasi leaf given in Vishnu temples has a powerful anti fertility action on humans.

The sculptures in temples also had significant importance in educating public. For example, the society discouraged prostitution and illicit or unlawful relationship between men and women.

During the MIDDLE CHOLA PERIOD, around the 8^th century, the society ridiculed such relationships.

This can be seen in the photograph below where the woman pulling a man for illicit relationship is described with a donkey’s head. There is also another artwork where the man accosting a woman is depicted as a donkey. The society pulled both men and women who violate social order. This is the situation during the CHOLA PERIOD .The Iravatheeswara Temple at DARASURAM, in Tanjore District of Tamilnadu , depicts the life of people lived at that time .

Thus we see a society that wanted to educate their people for a healthy way of life. With the advancement of knowledge and the influence of western world, our culture, education and healthy, happy, and contented life has been seriously affected.

The advancement of technology and its associated benefits are welcome development through the interaction with the west. But if it happens with the deterioration of our cultural heritage, it is time our youngsters think better and learn to lead a life as their ancestors with the comforts gained through technological developments.

POPULATION CLOCK

About 10,000 years back, when agricultural practices organised cultivation began in the world, it is estimated that, there were about 10 million human people living in the world. It is more than SIX BILLION PEOPLE today.

If we take our country, according to the census in 1891, the population of undivided India was only 281 million.

After that the major FAMINE in 1892, took away nearly 10 million people. The last major famine in Indian sub-continent was the great Bengal FAMINE in 1942-43.

After India became free, the leaders of India took a decision to free India from famine too. Due to better agricultural practices, public distribution system, maintenance of adequate food reserves for any exigencies, and better medical facilities, the human death rate has decrease and birth rate and longevity of people has increased.

Today we are proud that we rank first place in terms of the total number of children added to the population of the world, every year.

There is  a sculpture depicting the method of childbirth in standing during Chola period,  position as the photograph shows.  DOES GRAVITY HELP IN SAFE DELIVERY . PERHAPS THE CHOLA PERIOD PEOPLE BELIEVED SO .

Our youngsters must think, whether the above statistical fact is something we should be proud of or not.

 

We had large families in the past when agriculture was the major source of income for families. The whole family lived together and worked together. This was necessary because hiring farm labourers was expensive even in those days. When the family is large, the work put in by the family members would reduce the money paid to hired labours. To day with more number of people looking for white-collar jobs, the above logic would not hold good. More over the culture is shifting towards NUCLEAR FAMILIES from the joint families, leaving their wiser and elder members in OLD AGE HOME. This is becoming a very great social issue today giving a very hard blow to our cultural heritage.

OUR YOUNGSTERS ARE NOT THE 100% POPULATION OF OUR COUNTRY. BUT THEY ARE DEFINITELY 100 % FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY AND ITS RICH AND VARIED CULTURAL HERITAGE.