page_title: Shankha
section_title: In Hindu iconography and art
hierarchical_section_title: Shankha / In Hindu iconography and art
caption_attribution_description: Conque à spirale Inde du Nord-Est, XIe - XIIe siècle Coquillage Turbinella Pyrum, bas relief Pâte brune dans les parties creuses Musée des arts asiatiques Instrument réservé à Vishnu dont elle porte l'illustration gravée de ses dix avatars (manifestations permettant au dieu de descendre sur terre pour y remettre de l'ordre). La conque, symbole de puissance et de souveraineté, fait partie des attributs permettant au dieu de lutter contre les démons menaçant l'ordre du monde. Extrait du site officiel __________ Le musée, inauguré en 1998, a été conçu par l'architecte japonais Kenzo Tange (1913-2005) au sein du parc Phoenix à Nice (le parc Phoenix est un parc floral situé près de l'aéroport). L'initiative de cette construction remonte à l'époque de Jacques Médecin (1928-1998) , maire de Nice de 1966 à 1990 qui souhaitait y exposer des oeuvres de Pierre-Yves Trémois et des pièces d'art asiatique que l'artiste se proposait de donner à la ville de Nice. C'est P.-Y. Trémois qui aurait incité les responsables politiques à choisir ce célèbre architecte plutôt qu'un architecte local. En raison de la fuite à l'étranger de Jacques Médecin et de sa condamnation pour corruption, le projet initial a été abandonné et l'édifice est resté inoccupé durant plusieurs années. Le projet a été par la suite transformé par le conseil général des Alpes maritimes en musée des arts asiatiques, avec le soutien de la direction des musées de France et le concours du musée Guimet. Le premier conservateur du musée Marie-Pierre Foissy-Aufrère a brillamment relevé le défi de faire un musée évoquant les grandes civilisations asiatiques, de l'antiquité à aujourd'hui, dans un espace certes exceptionnel mais extrêmement exiguë. ___________________ "Le plan du musée repose sur deux formes géométriques fondamentales de la tradition japonaise; le carré, symbole de la terre,et le cercle, symbole du ciel....." Kenzô Tange site officiel www.arts-asiatiques.com/ article de Wikiipedia sur l'architecte fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenz%C5%8D_Tange
context_page_description: A Shankha is a conch shell of ritual and religious importance in Hinduism. It is the shell of a large predatory sea snail, Turbinella pyrum, found in the Indian Ocean.
  In Hindu mythology, the shankha is a sacred emblem of the Hindu preserver god Vishnu. It is still 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 goddess 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. The shankha is the state emblem of the Indian state of Kerala and was also the national emblems of the Indian princely state of Travancore, and the Kingdom of Cochin.
  The shankha is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism, the Ashtamangala, and represents the pervasive sound of Buddhism.
  A powder made from the shell material is used in ayurveda as a treatment for stomach ailments.
  In the Western world, in the English language, the shell of this species is known as the "divine conch" or the "sacred chank".
context_section_description: Shankha is one of the main attributes of Vishnu. Vishnu's images, either in sitting or standing posture, show him holding the shankha usually in his left upper hand, while Sudarshana Chakra (chakra - discus), gada (mace) and padma (lotus flower) decorate his upper right, the lower left and lower right hands, respectively.
  Avatars of Vishnu like Matsya, Kurma, Varaha and Narasimha are also depicted holding the shankha, along with the other attributes of Vishnu. Krishna - avatar of Vishnu is described possessing a shankha called Panchajanya. Regional Vishnu forms like Jagannath and Vithoba may be also pictured holding the shankha. Besides Vishnu, other deities are also pictured holding the shankha. These include the sun god Surya, Indra - the king of heaven and god of rain the war god Kartikeya, the goddess Vaishnavi and the warrior goddess Durga. Similarly, Gaja Lakshmi statues show Lakshmi holding a shankha in the right hand and lotus on the other.
  Sometimes, the shankha of Vishnu is personified as Ayudhapurusha "weapon-man" in the sculpture and depicted as a man standing beside Vishnu or his avatars. This subordinate figure is called the Shankhapurusha who is depicted holding a shankha in both the hands. Temple pillars, walls, gopuras (towers), basements and elsewhere in the temple, sculpted depictions of the shankha and chakra - the emblems of Vishnu - are seen. The city of Puri also known as Shankha-kshetra is sometimes pictured as a shankha or conch in art with the Jagannath temple at its centre.
  Shaligrams are iconographic fossil stones particularly found in the Gandaki River in Nepal which are worshipped by Hindus as representative of Vishnu. The shaligrama - which has the marks of a shanka, chakra, gada and padma arranged in this particular order – is worshipped as Keshava. Twenty-four orders of the four symbols defined for Shaligrama are also followed in worship of images of Vishnu with different names. Out of these, besides Keshava the four names of images worshipped starting with Shankha on the upper hand, are: Madhusudanah, Damodara, Balarama and Vamana.
caption: A shankha carved
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