I am Shankara.
I am the wind instrument.
Like the flute, I had to endure pain before I was created. A hole is drilled near the tip of my apex so when air is blown through this hole, it travels through the whorls of the shankha, producing a loud, sharp, shrill sound called Shakhand.
This sound is the reason why I was chosen as a war trumpet, I am loud and clear enough to be heard by the warriors on the battle front, to summon help for the wounded on a barren land far away.
For a long time I only travelled to the battlefield, watched the soldiers bleed and put up a brave fight with their enemies. I am Shankara…I am evident everywhere in the temples…On the pillars, on the temple walls, on the temple gopuras. The city of Puri where Lord Jagannath resides is celebrated and recognised as shankha-kshetra. I am also connected to Shaligrama, another form of Lord Vishnu.
Shaligrama stones are usually found in the Gandaki River in Nepal are worshipped by Hindus as a representative of Vishnu.
The way to recognise a Shaligrama is it has marks of shankha, chakra, gada, and padma arranged in this particular order and which is why Shaligrama is seen as an avatar of Keshava.
Keshava: A Magnificent Obsession available on https://amzn.to/2vogOtk
@bhawanasomaaya