The Consternation causing Conches

The Conch

Turbinellidae are a family of sea snails consisting of five sub-groups. The Turbinella pyrum or the shell of a very large snail is what we commonly call the Shankha, and belongs to the family of Turbinellidae. It is most often white in colour with streaks or specks of brown.
The insides of the conch consist of whorls which produce a deep, resonating sound when air is blown into the pinched off end of the conch. This is called ‘Shankhanaad’ and is considered extremely auspicious, as it represents the primordial sound, ‘Aum’. If one holds a conch to the ear, the sounds of the waves or the hum of ‘aum’ is heard.

The Conch as a Weapon

Vishnu holds five weapons or Pancha-ayudhas.

While the discus, mace, sword and bow are indeed weapons of destruction, how does a conch fit in? Vishnu's conch, white as a million moons, is a weapon of psychological warfare. Filled with his breath, it produces an unparalleled sound rendering the enemies bereft of strength and resolve.

The prayer to the conch in the Pancha-ayudha stotra goes thus:

Vishnormukhothanilapooritasya yasya dhwanirdaanava darpahantha, tam Paanchajanyam shashikoti shubram shankham sadaaham sharanam prapadye.

Srimadhaacharya in the Mahabharatha Tatparya Nirnaya says, the Paanchajanya filled with the breath of the lord emits such a loud roar that it sounds the same as the end of the world does. It is unsettling for even Bramha, Rudra, Indra and others.

Each conch produces a unique sound, and was used to identify the blower when conches were commonly used to communicate. In the Mahabhaaratha, the blowing of Krishna’s conch heard in far away tents was enough to produce joy in the Pandava camp and dread in the Kaurava camp.

The Conch as a Harbinger

The Bhagavad Gita mentions in great detail, the blowing of the various conches that heralded the Kurukshetra war. When the two armies stood face to face in Kurukshetra, Bheeshma blew his conch that sounded like a lion’s roar. It was immediately answered with Krishna’s divine conch, supposedly to declare war but in reality to announce the imminent victory of dharma. The Paanchajanya was joined by Arjuna’s Devadatta, Bheemasena’s Paundra, Yudhishtira’s Anantha-vijaya, Nakula’s Sughosha and Sahadeva’s Manipushpaka. These were accompanied by the conches of the king of Kasi, Shikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, king of Viraata, Satyaki, Drupada, the five sons of Droupadi and Abhimanyu. As the sound of conches, bugles, drums and cymbals, the trumpets of elephants and the neighing of horses filled the air, consternation filled the hearts of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, even before the first arrow was shot!