Sri Maha Nandi Temple

Sri Maha Nandi Temple is one among the Nava Nandi temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. They are situated at Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh. The place is near to Nalla Mala forest.

Nava Nandi Temples are situated within the radius of 10 Kilometers in and around Nandyal town. While some of the temples are in the town itself, the others are in the surrounding villages. It is important to visit all the nine temples on a single day. The entire area is called as Nandi Mandala.
The centric place for the nine Nandi temples is Sri Maha Nandi.

Legend

As per the legend, the Sage named Silada was living with his wife in the Nalla Mala forest. He had a small cottage.They did not have any progeny. His wife asked him to do penance on Lord Shiva and seek children.So, he did tapas towards Lord Shiva. There was a hole near his penance place.

Pleased with his penance, Lord Shiva appeared before him. The Sage had only asked for the opportunity to serve him forever. He totally forgot about the children.But Lord Shiva knew about the Sage’s desire for children. Hence, he bestowed both the sought and unsought boons and disappeared.

From the hole, a male child appeared. The Sage felt happy. He gave the child to his wife. Both were elated to have a son.They named the son as Maha Nanda. He was given vedic and spiritual education. Even Yagnopaveetham (upanayanam) function was done to him.

When he came of age, Maha Nanda wanted to do penance on Lord Shiva. He sought his parents’ permission. They were proud of their son’s devotion. They blessed him and agreed to his wish.

Maha Nanda did severe penance on Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva was delighted by the ardent devotion shown by the boy. He appeared before him along with his ganas. The boy requested that he always wanted to be with Lord Shiva.So, Maha Nanda offered himself as the vahan (vehicle) of Lord Shiva. The Lord said, “the hole from where you have emerged shall be a holy place. Holy water shall flow through the hole”.

Lord Shiva then turned Maha Nanda into a bull. That bull became the Nandi Vahan of Lord Shiva. He took the Nandi with him to Kailash.

The sacred holy hole place had become Sri Maha Nandi Kshetra.

Once, the Nandyal region was ruled by a King named Nanda. He was the son of Uttungabhoja, the descendent of Pandavas.One day he was surprised see to the cow oozing milk on the anthill which was informed to the King by a child. He along with the child to check thoroughly went close to the anthill.
When he went nearer the bush, the cow got scared. It hit the hole with its hoof and ran away. The child also had disappeared. The King was perplexed.

Same night the King had the darshan of Lord Shiva in his dream. The Lord Said, “I only was drinking the cow’s milk as the child. Build a temple for me at that place. I will prevail in nine temples around this place. Ganga Devi shall also be with me. Your name shall be eternal”.

The next day morning, the King again went to the place. He saw that the hole had become a Shiv Ling. There was a mark of the cow’s hoof on it. As it had formed on its own, it was Swayambhu Linga.

The King Nanda constructed the and named the temple place as Maha Nandi Kshetram. Including the other Eight temples in the region, they are collectively called as Nava Nandi temples.