The Conch Shell (Skt. shankha; Tib. dung dkar):

The conch shell has survived as the original horn trumpet since time immemorial. Ancient Indian epics describe how each hero of mythical warfare carried a mighty white conch shell, which often bore a personal name. It is one of the main emblems of Vishnu, and his conch bears the name of Panchajanya, meaning 'having control over the five classes of beings.' Arjuna's (hero of the Mahabharata) mighty conch was known as Devadatta, whose triumphant blast brought terror to the enemy. As a proclaiming battle horn, the conch is akin to the bugle. It is an emblem of power, authority and sovereignty whose blast is believed to banish evil spirits, avert natural disasters, and scare away poisonous creatures. Today, in its greatly tamed avatar, the conch is used in Tibetan Buddhism to call together religious assemblies. During the actual practise of rituals, it is used both as a musical instrument and as a container for holy water.

Ancient Indian belief classifies the conch into male and female varieties. The thicker-shelled bulbous one is thought to be the male (purusha), and the thin-shelled slender conch to be the female (shankhini).

The fourfold caste division is also applied as follows:

a). The smooth white conch represents the Brahmin caste

b). The red conch the kshatriyas (warriors)

c). The yellow conch the vaishyas (merchants)

d). The grey conch the shudras (labourers)

Additionally, there is a fundamental classification of conch shells occurring in nature: those that turn to the left and those which turn to the right.

Shells which spiral to the right in a clockwise direction are a rarity and are considered especially sacred. The right-spiralling movement of such a conch is believed to echo the celestial motion of the sun, moon, planets and stars across the heavens. The hair whorls on Buddha's head spiral to the right, as do his fine body hairs, the long curl between his eyebrows (urna), and also the conch-like swirl of his navel.

Vajrayana Buddhism absorbed the conch as a symbol which fearlessly proclaimed the truth of the dharma. Among the eight symbols, it stands for the fame of the Buddha's teaching, which spreads in all directions like the sound of the conch trumpet.

In addition to Buddha's throat, the conch also appears as an auspicious mark on the soles, palms, limbs, breast or forehead of a divinely endowed being.

This article by Nitin Kumar
Editor
http://www.exoticindia.com

Symbols of St. Valentine's Day

Long ago romantic symbols of St. Valentine’s used to be hidden in cakes sometimes. Each guest got a piece of cake and if he was lucky there was an emblem in it. The emblem was a symbol of his luck. Sometimes the symbols were put into presents instead of parcels. Rice symbolized wedding. Ring symbolized wedding or engagement. Coin meant a rich marriage. Sometimes fellows used to get a red glove. "To get a red glove" meant a girl liked him.

Heart – once upon a time people used to believe that such feelings as love, luck, anger or fear were hidden inside one’s heart; later they supposed that only love took its place in people’s hearts. Thus heart nowadays is a symbol of love and St. Valentine’s Day.



Red Rose – is a favorite flower of Venus, a goddess of love. Red is a color of strong feelings. That’s why red rose is considered to be a flower of love.




Lace – a hundred years ago women used to carry lace handkerchiefs. If a woman dropped her handkerchief the man near her had to pick it up. Sometimes women used to let their handkerchiefs fall advisedly to get familiar with the man she liked. Soon lace got association with love roman. That’s why nowadays they use casing-paper in the form of lace to pack presents for St, Valentine’s.


Gloves – long ago when a man wanted to marry a woman he asked for her hand. Hand became a symbol of love and marriage, so did gloves.


Rings – in most countries people exchange rings while marriage or engagement. Two or three hundred years ago it was popular to get engaged on St. Valentine’s.



Love birds and doves – colorful parrots living in Africa. Most of them have red beaks. They are called love birds cause when they make couples they sit very close to each other. Doves are considered to be favorite birds of Venus. They never change their partners during the whole life and they take care of their babies together. These birds symbolize love, faith and St. Valentine’s Day.


Cupid is a son of Venus, goddess of love. He can make a person fall in love with his magic arrows.

Nowadays we have more symbolic presents dedicated to this day, particularly teddy bears, Valentine’s cards in the form of hearts, chocolate, sweets, perfume, jewelry heart shaped and all the rest that can be associated with love and romance. To make a good present to your beloved find out what he or she loves most and associates with this holiday. If your relations have just got started you can preset something from those mentioned above and your beloved will be delighted.

Love and be loved.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/relationships-articles/st-valentines-day-symbols-329539.html