Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s8.64

v2.c4.s8.64

Śaṅku in the Rigveda¹ and later² denotes a ‘wooden peg.’ Thus the term is used of the pegs by which a skin is stretched out in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,³ and of the pin of hobbles (Paḍbīśa).⁴ In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad⁵ it may mean ‘stalk’⁶ or ‘fibre of a leaf.’⁷ 1. Śaṅkha in the Atharvaveda,¹ with the epithet Kṛśana, denotes a pearl-shell used as an amulet. In the later literature² it denotes a ‘shell’ or ‘conch’ used for blowing as a wind instrument.