HORNELL THE INDIAN CONCH 13 



ascendancy. As the religious leaders of the country, Sanscrit terms in constant use in 

 their prayers and services would soon become dominant and be absorbed into the language 

 of the country, in the way that Norman culinary terms readily found acceptance in the 

 English language because of the superiority of the Normans to the Saxons in this 

 particular art. Thus it has happened that the Sanscrit term for Turbinella pyrum 

 gradually but surely ousted the indigenous Tamil term. Finally it is worthy of note that 

 the English word " conch " is again another variant of the words chanku and sankha. 



The earliest notices of the use of the chank are entirely of a secular nature, and occur 

 in the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. In these we get 

 frequent reference to the employment of the chank as a martial trumpet by the great 

 warriors whose more or less mythical exploits are recounted. Particularly is this the 

 case in the Mahabharata, where in the Bhagavat-Gita we find the heroes endeavouring 

 to terrify their foes with loud blasts on their battle-conchs, even as their forefathers 

 scared away the evil- working spirits of the village. Each hero has his famous conch 

 distinguished by some high-sounding name, just as the famous swords of European 

 legendary heroes were frequently given names that have become immortal in song and 

 story. The beautiful Excalibur wielded by Arthur in many glorious fights, Charlemagne's 

 famous Joyeuse, and the magic Tyrfing so oft the theme of Viking sagas, have their 

 parallels in the names of the conchs of the Mahabharata heroes. 



When the opposing hosts of Kauravas and Pandavas confronted each other on the 

 field of Kurukshetra, we read in the Bhagavat-Gita (verses 11 to 19) how the prelude 

 to battle was the deafening clamour sounded by the leaders on their great conchs. 



" The Ancient of the Kurus, the Grandsire (Bhisma), the glorious, sounded on high 

 his conch, ' The Lion's Roar.' 



" Then conchs and kettledrums, tabors and drums and cowhorns suddenly blared 

 forth with tumultuous clamour. 



" Stationed in their great war-chariot yoked to white horses, Madhava (Krishna) 

 and the son of Pandu (Arjuna) blew their divine conchs. 



" Panchajanya was blown by Hrishikisha (Krishna) and Devadatta by Dhananjaya 

 (Arjuna). Vrikodara (Bhima) of terrible deeds blew his mighty conch, Paundra. 



" The king Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew Anantavijaya ; Nakula and Saha- 

 deva blew their conchs Sughosha and Manipushpaka. 



" And Kashya of the great bow, and Shikhandi, the mighty carwarrior, Dristadyumna 

 and Virata and Satykai, the unconquered. 



" Drupada and the Draupadeyas, Lord of Earth, and Saubhadra, the mighty- 

 armed, on all sides their several conchs blew. 



" That tumultuous uproar rent the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra, filling the 

 earth and sky with sound." 



Here the names of the conchs possessed by all the five Pandava brothers are given, 



