‘Shankh‘ is of greater importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. the ‘Shankh‘ is dedicated to Lord ‘Vishnu’. ‘Shankha’ is highly praised in Hindu scriptures as a giver of fame and prosperity. ‘Shankh‘ is of two types one is for blow sound and other for the worship purpose. The daily blowing of the ‘SHANKH‘ does save the person from the heart diseases. The SHANKH held by Vishnu is named Paanch-janya Shankh. 

as per Bhagavad Gita 1.15-16, the name of Shankh ie शंख used by Shri Krishna, Bhishma & Pandavas are …

• Shri Krishna: Panchajanya (पाञ्चजन्य) – Obtained after defeating the demon Panchajana.
• Arjun: Devadatta (देवदत्त) – A divine gift from Varuna, the god of water.
• Bhishma: Gangeya (गंगादत्त) or simply described as sounding like a roaring lion, a “terrific” conch.

Shankh represents a number – one hundred zillion (or 100,000,000,000,000,000) .

• Shankh as per Sanatan is also the name given to one of the nine treasures held by the god of wealth, Kuber.
• There is an attendant of Kuber also called Shankhnidhi, and he is shown as a corpulent dwarf seated in an easy posture holding a conch shell in one of his two hands. His companion is Padmanidhi, who resembles Shankhnidhi in all particulars except that he holds a lotus in his hand instead of a conch shell…

The direction of the space within the Shankh divides it into two types. When the space is towards your right when you hold the Shankh with its tip facing in frontal direction and with the space facing upwards then it is right sided Shankh and if the space faces to left then it is a left sided Shankh. a left sided Shankh is preferred for the puja ritual.

It has been mentioned in ‘Varaha Puran‘ that one should not open the door of temple without first blowing the Shankh. There are three types of frequencies in the atmosphere namely sattva dominant, raja dominant and tama dominant.

When the Shankh is blown before the start of puja energy is emitted from the Shankh. This energy reduces the strength of distressing frequencies. Besides a protective armour of chaitanya (divine consciousness) is formed around the articles of puja. There is another benefit too. That is when the Shankh is blown the activated energy of Lord Vishnu in the universe gets attracted towards the place of worship which is not only beneficial to the person who is blowing the Shankh but also to all those who hear it.

Just as the Shankh is blown before the start of puja, it is also blown before an arti. The objective behind this being to sustain the deity’s chaitanya attracted to the place of puja ritual and the pure atmosphere generated because of the sattvik frequencies, for a long period.

Effect of energy emitted from blowing of Shankh…

As soon as the Shankh is blown the frequencies of divine energy (shakti) are emitted into atmosphere due to sound generated. These energy frequencies are seen in red colour. Along with these energy frequencies yellow circles of chaitanya are also projected in the atmosphere. You can also see the pink particles of Bliss being emitted in the atmosphere. This increases the proportion of shakti (energy), chaitanya and anand in the environment and that is why the negative energies get distressed and run away. Thus it has become clear to us the importance of blowing Shankh during puja ritual.

The blowing of Shankh makes the atmosphere holy and pure and conducive for the spiritual practice (sadhana) of the individual. Thus it becomes easier for an individual to receive maximum sattvik frequencies emanating from the deities.

Important points to be noted while using a Shankh

• Never use Shankh meant for blowing in a puja ritual. They should be separate.
• Never offer water to the deity by Shankh used for blowing.
• Do not keep two Shankhs for worship in a temple room.
• Never touch the Shiva pindi with Shankh during a puja ritual.
• Never use Shankh for giving holy bath to deities Shiva and Sun.