Nandikeshwar

Nandi idol at Shri Sai Temple at Dapoli, Maharashtra.
Courtesy: Shri Sainath Maharaj Trust Dapoli

Sri Nandikeshwara or Nandi is a very important deity, since he is the only witness to the creation of the Universe and all beings therein through Shiva-Shakthi. So praying to him will bestow us with spiritual knowledge, and enhance our receptiveness of the Lord's grace. Nandi is also the embodiment of intuition and instinct. That is why it is said that we should look at Lord Shiva from in between Nandi's horns. That way, we can perceive and receive the Lord's grace by maximizing our instinctive and intuitive abilities. 

An idol of Nandi is commonly seen at all Shiva temples facing Lord Shiva, signifying constant and silent conversation with the Lord. He is regarded as the Lord's mount, is the foremost of the Ganas (followers of Shiva), and is a gatekeeper at the Lord's door. He is most often depicted as a Divine Bull, and sometimes as having a human body with a Bull's face. There are temples in India solely dedicated to Nandi. Devotees are often seen whispering their wishes in Nandi's ears, since it is believed that all sincere & pure wishes conveyed to him will be granted. According to shaiva siddhanta Nandi is the chief Guru of 18 siddha munis. The word Nandi is derived from sanskrit word which means happy or joyous person.

Mythological Legend 

To obtain the nectar of immortality Devas and Asuras performed the churning of the ocean using Mount Mandara for a churning rod, perched on Maha Vishnu in the form of the Kurma (Tortoise) Avatar for stability; and the serpent Vasuki for a churning rope. The asuras pulled the head-end of Vasuki, and the Devas took the tail-end. Several cosmic forces and divine objects emerged from the ocean. 

During the process, Vasuki - the King of the serpents emitted out the deadly poison Hala-Hala, which represents the remaining karmic residuals of all living beings in the past creation and dissolution cycle, and which would have wiped out all earthly creations, and threatened the very existence of all divinities. Lord Shiva came to the rescue, along with Nandi. Lord Shiva collected the poison in the palm of his hand, drank it, and held it in his throat. Hence, he is also known as Neelakantha (one with a blue throat). At that time, Nandi observed some poison spilling out of Lord Shiva's mouth, and immediately drank it to prevent it from harming others. The Devas and Asuras were at once concerned if Nandi could survive the poison. Lord Shiva assured them that Nandi was so steeped in devotion towards him, that he had access to all of Lord Shiva's powers and his complete protection. 

According to another legend Sage Shilada meditated on Lord Indra and did a severe tapasya to have a child with immortality. Indra advised him to pray to Lord Shiva to get the boon. After a long period of tapasya the body of the sage was eaten away by termites. Lord Shiva gave darshan to the sage and restored him to his old form. He gave him the boon to have a child with immortality. Shilada performed a yagnya for getting a child. From the yagnya a child appeared clad in the armor made of diamonds. After some years the deities Mitra and Varuna informed the sage that the boy would have a short life. Worried by the message of the deities Sage Shilada did tapas to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva blessed the child and declared that he would be worshipped along with him and will be his mount. There are other instances in the purana where Nandi is mentioned. In almost all the Shiva temples Nandi is located in front of Shiva Linga. Some puranas mention Nandi as the chief of Shiva’s army. Spiritually, Nandi represents an individual jiva (soul) and the message that the jiva should always be focused on Atman (Paramatma).

Some of the famous temples of Nandi are 1) Brahadiswara temple in Tamil Nadu. Chamundi hills in Mysore. Rameshwaram temple and Nandi temple at Khajuraho.