Dakshinavarti shankha (), also referred to as Valampuri shankhu () and Sri Lakshmi shankha () is a sacred

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

conch Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...

. It refers to the

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

of a large

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

from the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

(a shell of the species ''

Turbinella pyrum ''Turbinella pyrum'', common names the chank shell, sacred chank or chank, also known as the divine conch or referred to simply as a conch, is a species of very large sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the fa ...

''), but one that has a rare reverse-turning spiral. The shankha is held with the spout (siphonal canal) pointed up; its spiral twists rightwards rather than the more common form, which twists leftwards.

Terminology

In scientific usage a ''dextral'' (, right) shell has the opening on the right, when viewed with the spire . The opposite is ''sinistral'' (, left). This is consistent with the terms for right- handed screws in engineering and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. Most species of sea snail are dextral. Within a typically dextral species, rare individuals may develop sinistral coiling. In religious usage, the ( sacred conch shell) is displayed spire . In this orientation, a common dextral shell has its opening on the left (). It is rendered in Sanskrit, in Hindi, and ''shankhu'' in Tamil.

Authenticity

The true Lakshmi shankha is a rare sinistral ''

Turbinella ''Turbinella'' is a genus of very large sea snails with an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Turbinellinae of the family Turbinellidae.Bouchet, P. (2011). Turbinella Lamarck, 1799. Accessed through: World Register of Marin ...

shell from the Indian Ocean, usually from ''

''. Other right-turning sea snail shells are often mistakenly sold and worshiped in place of the genuine shankha. One common substitution is the

lightning whelk ''Sinistrofulgur perversum'', the lightning whelk, is a species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. This species has a left-handed or sinistral shell. It eats ...

(''

Sinistrofulgur perversum ''Sinistrofulgur perversum'', the lightning whelk, is a species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. This species has a left-handed or sinistral shell. It eats mos ...

'', previously named ''Busycon perversum'') from the Atlantic coast of North America. The real shankha has 3 to 7 ridges or plaits on its

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

, whereas whelk shells have no such plaits. The so-called "flower-bud opening test", and the "rice pulling test" (Valampuri said to rise up through a rice heap) are non scientific. The best authenticity test is to take an X-ray image of the Valampuri. Valampuries show some morphological variation depending on origin, and shells with mixed characters of two adjacent localities are seen. In South India, people trust only the Rameshwaram type of Valampuries, and do not trust other varieties from the West Coast and

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

, though these are also true Valampuries. In South India, people specifically worship 'Gauri Valampuri'. This Valampuri shows small dark spots on its body whorl, near the conch cavity. These dots are of conch skin i.e. of periostracum in the form of small dark coloured pustules firmly attached in very small ditch or cavities, and difficult to remove. In case such periostracum pustules are removed, dark coloured spots still appear on the conch body. The Gauri Type (with periostracum spots) of Valampuri is rare and is more expensive than other types.

Origin

Genuine Dakshinavarti Lakshmi Conches are only found in the Indian Ocean, between

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

(Burma) and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The three main localities - near

Rama Setu Adam's Bridge, also known as Rama's Bridge or ''Rama Setu'', is a chain of natural limestone shoals between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwest ...

, Sri Lanka, and Ramishwaram to

Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the district. ...

(rare); the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

; and the Bay of Bengal. Shells from each locality show distinct morphological variations, although varieties showing mixed characters have been observed. The main imitation (lightning whelks) mostly come from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. This imitation is known as African Valampuri. Other than Busyconid species, few other species showing presence of folds in the cavity are wrongly mentioned as Dakshinavarti. These shells, though sinistral and possessing folds, are from other species.

Rarity

Varieties of Valampuri shells are defined by their locality. The three main localities are Rameshwar, Ram Setu, and Sri Lanka. The second is West Coast of India or Arabian Sea and the third is Bay of Bengal. All three types show variation. Real Lakshmi Conch (right side spinning) are estimated to occur once per 100,000 conch shells. The shell of the lightning whelk almost always opens on the right (when viewed with the siphonal canal pointing upwards). Valampuries with five plaits or folds in its cavity are known as 'Panchajanya' and are rare. Most of the Indian Valampuries show presence of orange coloured inner lip. Valampuries with orange brown inner lip and with orange coloured stripes on the main body whorl are also seen. Completely milky-white Valampuries are rare and expensive. Gauri Valampuries showing presence of dark brown or black periostracum (conch skin) spots near its cavity on main body whorl look beautiful and are rare and expensive. Giant Valampuries more than 10 kg are extremely rare. Valampuries more than 3 feet and many freak types in Dakshinsvarti have been reported.

Beliefs

The

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

Conch is said to bring all manner of blessings, particularly material wealth. Ritual use may include bathing deities, drinking from the conch, or the use of

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

s oriented to goddess

. It is a wonderful object for Vastu offering high positive energy. It is believed to bring power, and mental and physical prosperity on the inner and external world. It also heals relationships, make them healthier.

References