Nine Nandi Temples, also known as Nava Nandi or Nava Nandulu, are located in and around Mahanandi Village near Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. The temples are dedicated to Nandi, the divine bull and vahana or vehicle of Mahadeva Shiva. The famous Shiva shrine named Mahanandiswara Swamy temple is located in the village. All the nine shrines are dedicated to Shiva with the presence of Nandi. It is believed that Shiva atop Nandi had given darshan to various gods and goddesses in the nine places.
- Mahanandi
- Shivanandi
- Vinayaka Nandi
- Somanandi
- Prathamanandi
- Garudanandi
- Suryanandi
- Krishnanandi
- Naganandi
As per history, the local kings known as Nandas ruled here in 10th century CE and built a number of temples and worshiped their ancestral deity the Nandi, hence the name Mahanandi.
All the nine temples are located within the radius of 10 Kilometers in and around Nandyal town. The entire area is also known as Nandi Mandala.
Story Of Nine Nandi Temples In Andhra Pradesh
Origin of the nine Nandi temples is associated with Sage Silada. He did not have any progeny and on the advice of his wife, he propitiated Shiva and did penance. Pleased the devotion of the couple, Shiva appeared before the sage. The sage forgot to ask for progeny and instead asked for the opportunity to serve Shiva forever. Shiva who knew about the original boon of the sage blessed him and disappeared.
There was a hole where Shiva appeared and from that hole appeared a divine child. Sage Silada took the child home and was happy to get a progeny and they named him Mahananda. The child showed intense devotion towards Shiva and when he became an adult, he took the permission of his parents and went on to perform intense penance for Shiva.
Shiva appeared before Mahananda and as boon he asked that he be made vehicle of Shiva.
Shiva blessed Mahananda and he turned into a bull and thus became the Vahana or vehicle of Shiva.
Shiva also gave the boon that the hole from which Mahananda appeared will be a holy place and water will constantly flow from it. A swayambhu Shivling also appeared at the spot. The Mahanandiswara Swamy temple is located at the spot of the divine hole.
The Shivling was rediscovered during the reign of King Nanda during the 10th century CE and a shrine was built. The temple got renovated many times.
Prathamanandi - Bhagwan Brahma did penance of Shiva at this place. Shiva gave darshan Brahma sitting on Nandi here. As requested by Brahma, Shiva stayed here as Prathama Nandi. The shivling is known as Sri Nandeeshwara Linga.
Goddess Parvati worshipped here as Sri Kedareswari Devi. In the months of Karthika (October – November), the rays of setting sun falls on the Shivling in the sanctum sanctorum.
Naganandi – It is said that a naga or serpent did penance of Shiva here. The snake wanted protection from Garuda. Shiva appeared on Nandi and provided protection to the serpent.
The Shivling is worshipped in the Anjaneya Swamy temple here.
Vinayakanandi – It is said that Ganesha did penance of Shiva here. Shiva appeared on Nandi and gave darshan to Vinayaka here.
Garudanandi – It is said that Garuda, the vahana of Vishnu Bhagavan, did penance of Shiva here. Shiva appeared on Nandi and gave darshan to Garuda here.
Shivanandi or Rudranandi – It is said that Shiva appeared on Nandi here to protect an ardent devotee of his who was being harassed by demons. The shrine is also believed to have been built by Pandavas.
Suryanandi – It is said that Surya did penance of Shiva here. Shiva appeared on Nandi and gave darshan to Surya here.
Krishnanandi or Vishnunandi – It is said that Bhagavan Vishnu did penance of Shiva here. Shiva appeared on Nandi and gave darshan to Vishnu here.
Somanandi – It is said that Chandra, the moon god, did penance of Shiva here. Shiva appeared on Nandi and gave darshan to Chandra here. It is said that Chandra who was cursed to lose his shine was restored by Shiva here.
Mahanandi – This is the biggest temple and it has a Swayambhu Shivling – the Shivling that appeared before Mahananda. This is a huge temple with several ponds and subsidiary deities. The architecture of the temple is also noteworthy
A specialty of the nine temples is that a devotee is allowed to do abhishekam of all the nine shivlings. Usually, in South Indian temples devotees are not allowed to perform abhishekam directly on the Shivling.
Shivratri is the most important festival in all the nine temples.