# शंख (śaṃkha)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/shankha

शंख (śaṃkha) is a Sanskrit word meaning the conch-shell, the bone of the forehead, the part between an elephant's tusks, a hundred billion, a kind of perfume, a military drum. Its 8 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Other Puranic Figures named Śaṅkha, The Conch-Shell, A Mountain.

- **SLP1:** `SaMKa`  **IAST:** śaṃkha  **Devanagari:** शंख
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shankha
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/shankha/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** शाङ्ख (śāṅkha), शंखा (śaṃkhā), शङ्खा (śaṅkhā), शङ्ख (śaṅkha)

## Meanings by context

### Other Puranic Figures named Śaṅkha (2 definitions)
- to be killed by Krishna  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Śaṃkha (III) — to be killed by Kṛṣṇa. Bhā. X. 37. 16. [ ID=13959 ]
- a mind-born son of Jaigishavya and Ekapatala who attained heaven by austerity  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Śaṃkha (IV) — a mind-born son of Jaigīṣavya and Eka- pāṭalā; attained heaven by tapas. Br. II. 30. 40; Vā. 72. 19. [ ID=13960 ]

### The Conch-Shell (2 definitions)
- 1. The conch-shell. 2. The bone of the forehead. 3. The part between an elephant's tusks. 4. A hundred billion. 5. A kind of perfume. 6. A military drum. 7. One of the nine treasures of Kubera.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शंख (śaṃkha) [Printed book page 706-02 ] शंख (śaṃkha) m.n. 1. The conch-shell, पश्यति पित्तोपहतः शशिशुभ्रं शंख (śaṃkha) मपि पीतम् (paśyati pittopahataḥ śaśiśubhraṃ śaṃkhamapi pītam) K.Pr. x., R. xiii.13; 2. the bone of the forehead; 3. the part between an elephant’s tusks; 4. a hundred billions; 5. a kind of perfume; 6. a military drum; 7. one of the nine treasures of Kubera. [ ID=36932 ]
- the conch of Vishnu  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Śaṃkha (VII) — the conch of Viṣṇu; 1 in Rāma's abhi- ṣeka; 2 sounded by Kṛṣṇa on the eve of his battle with Indra. 3 Was invoked to protect the baby Kṛṣṇa. 4 Blowing of it indi- Page3-365+ 29 cated Kṛṣṇa's arrival in Ānarta; was a sign of auspiciousness; 5 one of the gifts to please the planet moon; 6 war music in the Tārakāmaya war; 7 discovered at the confluence of the Tām- raparṇī and the ocean with pearls. 8 [ Footnote: 1) Vi. IV. 15. 3.] [ Footnote: 2) Ib. IV. 4. 100.] [ Footnote: 3) Ib. V. 30. 56.] [ Footnote: 4) Bhā. X. 6. 23.] [ Footnote: 5) Ib. I. 11. 1 and 18.] [ Footnote: 6) M. 57. 21; 93. 60.] [ Footnote: 7) Ib. 135. 83; 136. 53; 138. 3; 149. 2; 174. 16; 177. 24; 192. 28.] [ Footnote: 8) Vā. 77. 25.] [ ID=13963 ]

### A Mountain (1 definition)
- a mountain on the base of Mount Meru  
  *The Purana Index*
  > शंख (śaṃkha) [Printed book page 3-364 ] Śaṃkha (I) — a mountain on the base of Meru. Bhā. V. 16. 26. [ ID=13957 ]

### A Nāga (Serpent Deity) (1 definition)
- 1. An eminent snake of the nether world. 2. A thousand-hooded snake.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Śaṃkha (II) — an eminent Nāga of Pātāla; 1 a Kādraveya nāga; 2 a thousand-hooded snake. 3 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. V. 24. 31; Vā. 69. 70.] [ Footnote: 2) Br. III. 7. 34.] [ Footnote: 3) M. 6. 39.] [ ID=13958 ]

### A Treasure of Kubera (1 definition)
- one of the eight treasures of Kubera  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Śaṃkha (VI) — one of the eight nidhis of Kubera. Vā. 41. 10. [ ID=13962 ]

### A Yakṣa (1 definition)
- a Yaksha  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Śaṃkha (V) — a Yakṣa; a son of Puṇyajanī and Maṇi- bhadra. Br. III. 7. 123. [ ID=13961 ]

## Sources

Definitions from The Purana Index; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546