Many people confuse the murti (vigraha or bimbam or idol) for Nandi with face. It is a very rare Murti of Agni as mentioned in the Rig Veda. The murti is found at the Agnivrush temple in Pateshwar Shiva temple complex at Degaon near Satara in Maharashtra.
Rig Veda 4.58.3 describes Agni as follows:
tridha baddho vrishabho roraviti maho devo martyan a vivesha ||
“Four are his horns, three are the feet that bear him; his heads are two, his hands are seven in number. Bound with a triple bond the bull roars loudly; the mighty God hath entered into mortals.”
Pateshwar Shiva temple complex is located 12 km south-east of Satara at Degaon Village.
Apart from the main Shiva temple with Massive Shivling there are a couple of cave temples, Agnivrush temple, Chamunda temple, Varhadghar temple and many small and medium sized Shiva temples. There are many rare murtis of Mother Goddess, Ganesha and Hanuman. There are also a couple of temple tanks.
Another important carving in the temple is the rare Chaturmukha Brahma.
Please visit Pateshwar Shiva Temple Complex blog post at KevinStandage – An Indian travel photography blog. You will not regret it as the blog page some breathtaking and wonderful images of Pateshwar Shiva temple complex. You will surely want to visit this magnificent and hidden gem.
All images and source of information found on Kevin Standage Blog.