Nandīśvara Caritra

The Nandīśvara Caritra is the life of Nandīśvara (Nandī) as the Liṅga Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha) gives it, in Chapters 37 to 44. Nandīśvara tells it himself, in the first person, to Sanatkumāra. It begins with the tapas (austerity) of his father Śilāda and goes on to Nandī’s birth from the ground of a yajña (fire ritual), his testing by Mitra and Varuṇa, Bhagavān Śiva’s darśana and gift of immortality, the five holy rivers formed at his side, his crowning as Gaṇādhipati, and his marriage to Suyaśā.

Śilāda’s tapas

Śilāda was a great ṛshi who wanted a son who would be ayonisambhava (not born from a womb) and mṛtyurahita (without death). He went to Devendra with this wish. Indra told him it could not be done. Even Brahmā is not deathless. He must die at the end of two parārdhas and so cannot give a deathless son. Brahmā was born from Mahāpralaya through the lotus of Bhagavān Vishṇu’s navel, and that lotus itself came from the right side of Maheśvara. So even the four-faced maker is subject to dissolution in the end.

Śilāda did not give up. He did harder tapas toward Parameśvara for a thousand divine years. His body was worn down by his tapas. Plants grew over it, and insects ate his flesh until only bones were left. Bhagavān Śiva appeared, moved by compassion, and touched Śilāda’s body with his divine hand. The body was at once whole again, healthy and shining.

Śiva’s promise and Nandī’s birth

Maheśvara said to Śilāda:

Brahmā and the devas once worshipped me and asked that I show myself as a great purusha. Because of that prayer I will become your son. So you, a mortal, will be the father of the Master of all worlds.

Śilāda was deeply moved and began a yajña. At the very moment the yajña began, Nandī himself rose from the sacred ground of the yajña.

At birth Nandī looked wonderful.

• His body blazed with tejas (radiance) like the midday sun.
• He wore matted locks (jaṭā) and a crown (kirīṭa).
• He had three eyes and four arms, holding a śūla (spear), a ṭaṅka (chisel or axe), a gadā (mace) and a vajra (thunderbolt).
• He had razor-sharp tusks (koralu) like diamond points.
• His voice was like the roar of thunder-clouds.
• He wore golden kuṇḍalas (earrings) set with vajra stones.
• All of these stood round him and praised him, each one in turn: Brahmā, Vishṇu, Rudra, Devendra, Umādevī, Bṛhaspati, Candra, Sūrya, Vāyu, Agni, Īśāna, Nirṛti, Kubera, Yama, Varuṇa, the Viśvedevas, the Ekādaśarudras, the Ashṭavasus, Lakshmī, Śacī, Jyeshṭhā, Sarasvatī, Aditi, Diti, Śraddhā, Lajjā and Dhṛti, and also all the Mātṛs (mother-devīs), Dharma and Vṛshendra.

Śilāda saw his son’s divine form and spoke to him:

Deva-deveśvara! You have become my son, though you are the father of all worlds. I give you the name Nandī, for you have filled me with joy (ānanda) from the moment you were born.

The human form

Nandī went back to the āśrama. There he gave up his divine form and became an ordinary human child. His divine all-knowing power also faded, by the will of Īśvara. Śilāda did the jātakarma (birth rite) and the other saṃskāras in full. He taught Nandī the Ṛk, Yajus and Sāma Vedas, and also Āyurveda and the śāstras. By the age of seven Nandī was a complete master of all learning.

The testing by Mitra and Varuṇa

When Nandī was seven, Bhagavān Śiva sent the ṛshis Mitra and Varuṇa to Śilāda’s āśrama. They tested Nandī again and again, and then gave Śilāda terrible news:

Nandī will live for only one more year.

Śilāda was broken. He fell to the ground and cried, “Hā putra! Hā putra!” (Alas, my son!). The ṛshis of the āśrama forest could not bear Śilāda’s grief. They did a homa (fire offering) of the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra with ten thousand dūrvā shoots soaked in honey, chanting the Tryambaka mantra over the sacred fire.

Nandī’s own tapas and Śiva’s darśana

The child Nandī saw his father lying senseless and his grandfather Pālaṅkāyana in distress. He walked round them in pradakshiṇa and bowed down before them. Then he took up hard Rudra-japa. In his heart he meditated on Bhagavān Śiva in his Tryambaka form, with ten arms and five faces, in the form of Śāntasadāśiva. He entered the pure flowing stream of a river and stood in meditation there.

Candraśekhara appeared before Nandī with deep compassion. He said:

Vatsa (child)! What fear of death do you have? I sent Mitra and Varuṇa to test you. The divine form in which Śilāda first saw you at your birth is worshipped by siddhas, gandharvas and dānavas. It is not fit to stay in the world of mortals. Human beings face sukha (happiness) and duḥkha (sorrow) one after the other. So humans must worship me to be free from rebirth, old age, disease and death.

With these words Maheśvara touched Nandī with his hands of nectar and gave him immortality.

He then gave Nandī a splendid divine form, with three eyes, ten hands and the look of a second Śaṅkara. From the holy water held in Śiva’s matted locks he made a river called Jaṭodakā. He said:

Those who bathe in the waters of this river will have all their pāpa (sin) removed.

The five sacred rivers

Parameśvara told Nandī to stand before Pārvatī. The Devī called Nandī her son and drew him to her. Three streams of milk flowed from her hands, and with them she did abhisheka (ritual bathing) on him. The three streams of milk joined and became the river Trisoḥ. Nandī cried out in joy at the Devī’s love, and the sound of his voice became the river Vṛshadhvani.

Maheśvara then placed his own golden crown, set with gems, on Nandī’s head. He dressed Nandī in kuṇḍalas of vajra and vaiḍūrya stones. The clouds poured sweet cool water on Nandī, and this became the river Svarṇodaka. The streams that flowed from the golden crown became the river Jāmbūnadī.

These five rivers are Jaṭodakā, Trisoḥ, Vṛshadhvani, Svarṇodaka and Jāmbūnadī. Together they are known as Pañcanadī, and they flow near the Japyeśvara Liṅga. Those who bathe in these five rivers and worship Japyeśvara reach moksha (liberation) at the end of their prārabdha (karma that has begun to bear fruit).

The Pañcanadī tīrtha

Bhagavān Śiva said to Pārvatī, “I will give Nandīśvara the post of Gaṇādhipati.” The Devī agreed. Maheśvara then called the Pramathagaṇas to him by a thought.

The coronation as Gaṇādhipati

The lords of the Pramathagaṇas came at once before Parameśvara. Each one carried a thousand weapons in a thousand arms, and each had three eyes. Their faces filled even the devas with awe. They were beyond counting. Some sang and danced, and others played musical instruments. They came on chariots, and on lions, elephants, horses and vānaras (monkeys), and in golden vimānas (flying cars).

A grand throne was made ready. It shone like Meru. It had countless pillars, it was golden in its brightness, it was hung with garlands of pearls and covered with gems, and a footstool of blue vajra stone was placed before it. A thousand divine kalaśas (water pots) filled with Gaṅgā water were hung from the maṇḍapa (pavilion). Holy things were brought from Brahmā, and ornaments from Viśvakarmā.

Śrī Hari, Brahmā, Devendra and all the devas came, with Nārada and the divine ṛshis, Daksha and the Prajāpatis. Brahmā did the paṭṭābhisheka (crowning rite) by the Vedic rules. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa himself, with the permission of Bhagavān Śiva, did Nandī’s abhisheka first, and then Brahmā and all the others. The devas and asuras all praised and honoured Nandīśvara. Śrī Hari called out the jayaśabda (shout of victory).

The marriage to Suyaśā

On the command of Parameśvara, Brahmā performed the marriage of Nandīśvara and Suyaśā, the daughter of the Maruts (Marutputrikā). Suyaśā took her seat on the lion-throne beside Nandīśvara. Divine women held a white umbrella, bright as the moon, above her. The Devī Pārvatī gave Suyaśā her own necklace. The Devī Lakshmī dressed Suyaśā with a crown and other ornaments.

Nandīśvara received royal signs of rank: Vṛshendra (the divine bull), a divine elephant, a lion, a banner with the lion sign, and a chariot with a golden umbrella. He declared:

No one in the three worlds is equal to me.

Nandī’s rule on Śiva’s names

After his coronation Nandīśvara told Hari, Brahmā and all the ṛshis how the names of Bhagavān Śiva must be spoken:

When you say the names of Śiva you must always add “namaḥ”, either at the start as “namaḥ śivāya” or at the end as “śivāya namaḥ”. To say the names alone, such as “Śiva!” or “Mahādeva!”, without “namaḥ” is a fault. “Namaḥ” before or after the name brings special fruit (phala) and makes one worthy of Śiva’s grace (anugraha).

Sources

• Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 37–44