Kañkaṇa

By Swami Harshananda

Kañkaṇa literally means ‘that which expresses auspiciousness’.

Images of gods and goddesses including the minor deities are often shown with several ornaments. One such ornament is the kaṅkaṇa. It is the bangle or bracelet. The number varies from two to seven on each hand. The material used for making the bangles may be gold (suvarṇa) or conch-shell studded with pearls.^[1]

The shape of kaṅkaṇa may be round^[2] or like a lotus-stem.^[3] It is said to signify auspiciousness.^[4]

References[edit]

↑ Pearls are known as maṇi-kaṅkaṇa.
↑ Valaya means round shape.
↑ Mṛṇālavalaya is the lotus stem.
↑ Kam means śubha or auspiciousness; kaṇa means to produce by sound.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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[1] Pearls are known as maṇi-kaṅkaṇa.

[2] Valaya means round shape.

[3] Mṛṇālavalaya is the lotus stem.

[4] Kam means śubha or auspiciousness; kaṇa means to produce by sound.

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