invertebrates

[Valerie J Roebuck]

I meant the animal itself, as distinct from its shell, which of 
course is found all over the place. The conch-demon is S'ankhaasura, 
who was defeated by Vishnu in his Fish Avatara. He is certainly 
depicted in painted sets of Avataras from the 18th-19th century, but 
I haven't got an example to hand.

Valerie J Roebuck

At 12:11 pm +0200 23/1/09, Alexandra Vandergeer wrote:
>I guess you mean 'apart from the many conches as depicted as Vishnu's
>attribute'. This conch-demon, obviously I miss something interesting,
>never heard of it. I do know of a Vishnu attacking a giant snake, cq naga,
>often depicted as half human, maybe it's the same episode but in a
>different rendering. Or the 'conch' is the tortoise carapax?
>
>Alexandra
>
>>  While we are pondering the question of invertebrates in South Asian
>>  art, it occurrs to me that I've never actually seen a representation
>>  of a conch--the creature itself, as distinct from its empty shell.
>>  The nearest I've seen is in paintings of the Conch-demon slain by
>>  Visnu: he is shown as a human figure emerging from a conch-shell
>>  where the animal would be.
>>
>>  Valerie J Roebuck
>>  Manchester, UK
>>