MountIconography
Nandi: Meaning
नंदीNandi is the sacred bull who carries Shiva and guards the gate of Kailash as chief of Shiva's ganas. Born to the sage Shilada through Shiva's boon, he kneels before the shrine in every Shiva temple, where devotees whisper their wishes into his ear.
Borne byशिShiva
What does it symbolise?
Tradition holds
Nandi's patient gaze at the linga is read as the perfect attitude of the devotee: the mind turned constantly towards God, waiting and serving without asking. As a bull he is also strength and dharma; the bull is said to stand on four legs in the golden age and on one in the Kali Yuga.
Whispering a wish into Nandi's ear expresses the hope that a devoted servant will plead the case before the Lord.
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