The Geography of the Puranas c12.112

c12.112

Saṅkha Dwīpa signifies 'the island of shells', and the natives of this coast, according to Strabo used to wear large collars of them, but according to some Purāṇas the inhabitants used to live in shells which signifies that they lived in caverns hollowed like a shell. The famous demon Saṅcasūra lived in a shell and was killed by Kṛṣṇa. This Saṅkhamukha Nāga, a giant in the form of a snake, with a mouth like a shell had two countenances, one of a man and another of a snake. The breath of this Nāga was fiery and poisonous which destroyed all vegetation and living beings up to a distance of 100 yojanas. This tradition became current in Arab legends and was kept alive for a long time. The breath of the Nāga evidently refers to the dreadful effect of Samoom or the hot venomous wind which blows from the mountains of Hubab through the whole extent of this region. 'Habab' in Arabic means the 'mountain of the serpent' and the people of these mountains, according to the Abyssinians, have legendary traditions of a snake who formerly reigned over them and conquered the kingdom of Sire. They are famous with their serpentine tribes in oriental tales which appear to have been derived from the Purāṇas.