nandi
also known as Nandikeshvara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana (mount) of the Hindu god Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. (nandi, Tamil: நந்தி)
Nandi (Brihadesvara Temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram)
‘joyful’ – calf-bull associated with Shiva form from earliest period, when he was probably also understood as a form of Shiva; later seen as Shivas mount but still worshipped in own right
