金牛

The af • fordable, peaceful, ford • ing वाहन • vā́hana

Metal Ox Year

金屬牛年

五―2021―春節―0212―五

नन्दि Nandi - शिव śivá, “the auspicious one”'s mount

And his "door guard" द्वारपाल Dvārapāla, the gate-guardian deity of कैलासा Kailasa, the abode of भगवान शिव Lord Shiva. नन्दि Nandi is usually depicted as a bull.

नन्दीश्वर  Nandīśvara

नन्दि Nandi, the Bull, is Lord महेश्वर maheśvara's (शिव śivá) gatekeeper and mount. नन्दि Nandi is a शिव śivá भक्त • bhaktá (devotee) and the most important of शिव गण gaṇas Shiva's Ganas. Like गरुड garuḍa for विष्णु Víṣṇu, नन्दि Nandi too plays a major role in Shiva's life. One can see a statue of the bull, facing the Lord's idol, in most Shiva shrines. There are several temples built solely to worship नन्दि Nandi as well.

Unlike Garuda, who is a lesser god, नन्दि Nandi is considered a separate, powerful god, whose history can be traced right from the Indus Valley Civilization. Dairy farming was the most important occupation then and so, the नन्दि Nandi was given much respect at that time. There was also a deity, much like Shiva, who was then worshipped as the Pasupathi (the caretaker of herds). 

In some Puranas, the Nandikeswara features as one with a bull's face and human body which is similar to Shiva Himself. He is shown with four hands, two holding the Parasu (axe) and the Mruga (antelope) and the other two folded in prayer. In Sanskrit, the word for 'bull' is वृष 'vrisha', which also means Dharma or righteousness. This is why it is considered appropriate to seek the blessings of Nandi even before bowing down to Shiva! वृष Vṛṣa (वृष).—An incarnation of शिव śivá in the form of an ox. The following is a story that occurs in Śiva Purāṇa, Śatarudasaṃhitā, about this incarnation.

When the Devas and the Asuras united together and churned the sea of milk, ever so many noble objects rose up to the surface of the sea. Several beautiful damsels also came up. Viṣṇu grew amorous of them and thus thousands of sons were born by them. These sons who were born in the Pātāla (Nether world), by and by, came up and began to do harm to the dwellers of the earth. At this time Śiva took the incarnation in the form of an ox to study the situation properly. In this disguise, Śiva entered Pātāla and took by stealth the Sudarśana (the weapon of Viṣṇu) and drove him to heaven. When Viṣṇu had gone from Pātāla, he had advised his sons to stay in Pātāla. Vṛṣa who came to know of this, cursed them:—"Any man, other than the peaceful hermits and Dānavas (asuras) who are born from my portion, who enters Pātāla shall die." From that day onwards, the world of Pātāla became a forbidden place for men.

While the Puranas consider Nandikeswara to be the leader of the Siva Ganas, he is also said to be the principal disciple of Shiva, also a primal guru to Siddhar Thirumulanathar, Patanjalinathar and many others of the ancient Natha / Siddhar tradition. 

Nandi's birth 

There are no accurate records of Nandi's birth. According to some Puranas, he was born from Vishnu's right side, exactly resembled Shiva and was brought up by sage Salankayana. Yet other Puranas say that he was born by the grace of Shiva to sage Silada.  

Popular legends

Nandi cursed the ten-headed asura king, Ravana, that he and his kingdom would be destroyed by a Vanara (monkey). Hanuman was the one that burnt and destroyed Lanka.

Shiva and Parvati once played a game of dice, in which Nandi agreed to become the umpire. Though Shiva lost the game, Nandi declared Him the winner, as he was His favourite. Thereupon, Parvati lost her temper and cursed Nandi that he would die of a terrible and incurable disease. When Nandi begged for forgiveness and told Her he had lied only to protect his Master, Parvati relented and offered him a way of atonement and release from her curse. She asked him to offer his favourite foodstuff (grass) to Her son, Lord Ganesha, on the latter's birthday. Nandi did as he was told and was immediately released from the curse. This is also why people offer Arugampul (a type of medicinal grass) to Ganesha during prayer. 

During the Samudra Manthan (churning of the Ocean of Milk) episode, Shiva swallowed Halahala, the deadly poison that arose from the sea. When Nandi saw a few drops of the poison falling to the ground, he immediately licked it off the ground. All observing were shocked and fearful of Nandi's state after consuming the poison, but Shiva smilingly assured them that the bull would not come to any harm, as he had completely surrendered his will to his lord and master, Shiva.

Nandi's white colour is symbolic of his purity and sense of justice. Even today, women worship Nandi as a bestower of fertility. 

Nandi idols

The largest Nandi idols throughout India can be found at Lepakshi, Thanjavur, Chamundi Hills at Mysore, Bull Temple at Bangalore, Rameswaram and Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, Karnataka. 

Egyptian and Greek mythology

In Egyptian mythology, Apis or Hapis, a bull-diety is worshipped as a major deity in the Memphis area.

Greeks believe that Apis is an incarnation of Osiris. Romans also give Apis a divine status in their culture.