Nandi,bull is the vahana (vehicle) of Lord Shiva. Every Shaivite temple has the figure of a white,humped bull reclining on a raised platform and facing the entrance door of the shrine so that, according to tradition, he may perpetually gaze on the lord in his symbolic form, the lingam. Nandi is considered to be one of Shivas chief attendants and occasionally is depicted in sculpture as a bull-faced dwarf figure.
During the churning of the ocean when poison (halahala)came out everybody ran away except Lord Siva, followed by Nandi,came forward to help as He was the only one who could counteract this deadly poison. Shiva took the poison into his hand and drank it,the descent of the poison was in turn stopped at His throat,by His divine consort.Shiva is therefore also known as Nilaka??ha (the blue-throated one).Nandi saw some of the poison spill out of Siva's mouth and immediately drank it off the ground. The devas and asuras watching were shocked and wondered aloud what would happen to Nandi.Lord Siva calmed their fears saying, "Nandi has surrendered into me so completely that he has all my powers and my protection".
Design: Made in heavy shining brass.
Brass is well known for its grasping capacity.It grasps the divine spirit upto 30%, when compared to other metals.The spiritual vibrations are attracted towards these shining idols easily.
Dimensions: 4.75 inches (H) x 5 inches (L) x 2.75 inches (W)
Weight: 900 gms
Importance of Idol worship: Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to and flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it.Regular worship,Puja and other modes of demonstrating our inner feeling of recognition of Divinity in the idol unveils the Divinity latent in it.This is truly a wonder and a miracle.The picture comes to life.The idol speaks. It will answer your questions and solve your problems.The God in you has the power to awaken the latent Divinity in the idol.The lives of Mirabai, Sant Tukaram,Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Shri Yogananda are a few instances to prove the point.They proved beyond doubt that idol worship has its own brighter side and through simple faith and intense devotion one can realize God through it.
Idols are the "finite representation of the Infinite".As per Vishnu Samhita (ch 29, v 55-7), persuasively endorses the use of imagery (idols) and puts it:"Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to,it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber.Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering,however,that the form is a superimposition and not a reality."