Vishnu, bathing by the waters led through a shankha is considered like bathing with all holy waters at once. Sankha Sadma Purana declares that bathing an image of Vishnu with cow milk is as virtuous as performing a million yajnas (fire sacrifices), and bathing Vishnu with Ganges river water frees one from the cycle of births. It further says "while the mere sight of the conch (shankha) dispels all sins as the Sun dispels the fog, why talk of its worship?" Padma Purana asserts the same effect of bathing Vishnu by Ganges water and milk and further adds doing so avoids evil, pouring water from a shankha on one's own head before a Vishnu image is equivalent to bathing in the pious Ganges river. In Buddhism, the conch shell has been incorporated as one of the eight auspicious symbols, also called Ashtamangala. The right-turning white conch shell (), represents the elegant, deep, melodious, interpenetrating and pervasive sound of Buddhism, which awakens disciples from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish their own welfare and the welfare of others. Shankha was the Royal State Emblem of Travancore and also figured on the Royal Flag of the Jaffna kingdom. It is also the election symbol of the Indian political party Biju Janata Dal. Shankh was also used by sikh warriors before they started the war. The maryada is still practiced by all nihangs while doing aarti aarta prayer and is used in hola mohalla festival as well. In Hindu iconography and art Shankha is one of the main attributes of Vishnu. Vishnu's images, either in sitting or standing posture, show him holding the shankha usually in his left upper hand, while Sudarshana Chakra (chakra – discus), gada (mace) and padma (lotus flower) decorate his upper right, the lower left and lower right hands, respectively. Avatars of Vishnu like Matsya, Kurma, Varaha and Narasimha are also depicted holding the shankha, along with the other attributes of Vishnu. Krishna – avatar of Vishnu is described possessing a shankha called Panchajanya. Regional Vishnu forms like Jagannath and Vithoba may be also pictured holding the shankha. Besides Vishnu, other deities are also pictured holding the shankha. These include the sun god Surya, Indra – the king of heaven and god of rain the war god Kartikeya, the goddess Vaishnavi and the warrior goddess Durga. Similarly, Gaja Lakshmi statues show Lakshmi holding a shankha