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A spiral shell drawn with its opening to the right, blown as a horn in ritual.
Also known as: Shankha, Sankha, White conch
The conch, or shankha, is one of the eight auspicious symbols and a real object used as a horn in Hindu and Buddhist ritual. What matters in identifying one is which way it turns: shells that spiral to the right are far rarer in nature than those that spiral to the left, and it is the right-turning shell that is treated as auspicious and depicted in the symbol. The sound it makes is read as the proclamation of teaching, which is why it is shown near figures who are speaking.
Depicts a right-turning shell specifically. Shells spiralling clockwise are uncommon in nature and are the ones treated as auspicious; a left-turning shell is a different object and is not what the symbol shows.
Contexts: Religion
Stands for the proclamation of teaching, because the shell is blown as a horn: the symbol records a sound rather than an object, which is why it is placed near figures shown speaking.
Contexts: Religion
A tapering spiral shell drawn in profile with its wide opening turned to the right and a coiled point at the other end.
One of the eight auspicious symbols.