Nandi (Hinduism)
Ideological creature in Hinduism and Indic religions, usually depicted as a Bull
Nandi (Sanskrit: नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshvara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana (mount) of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine.
Etymology
The Sanskrit word nandi (Sanskrit: नन्दि) means happy, joy, and satisfaction, which are the properties of Nandi, the divine guardian of Shiva.
The application of the name Nandi to the bull (Sanskrit: Vṛṣabha) is a development of recent syncretism of different regional beliefs within Shaivism. The name Nandi was widely used instead for an anthropomorphic door-keeper of Kailash, rather than his mount in the oldest Shaivite texts in Sanskrit, Tamil, and other Indian languages. Siddhanta texts distinguish between Nandi and Vṛṣabha.
Legend
Nandi is described as the son of the sage Shilada. Shilada underwent severe penance to have a boon– a child with immortality and blessings of Shiva, and received Nandi as his son. Shiva Purana says that Nandi was born from a yajna performed by Shilada.
“Nandi (Hinduism)” enters the record as ideological creature in Hinduism and Indic religions, usually depicted as a Bull. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Nandi, Hinduism and Ideological can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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