Why do we have Nandi in a Shiva Mandir?
Nandi is Shiva’s vahana or vehicle. A bull also has a lingum shaped hump by coincidence. The bull also symbolizes restrained power. Why do we have a turtle at the temple? A turtle is usually situated between Nandi and the lingum. This turtle is Kurma. The turtle could be the great Akupura on whose back rests the entire cosmos. Some believe that this turtle is Kurma, Vishnu’s avatar who held aloft mount Mandara, which the gods used as a churning staff when they churned the cosmic ocean. The turtle is also a symbol of Pratyahara or a yogic practice by which mystics dissociated themselves from all sensory stimulation and regressed into the world within, like the turtles could. Turtle is also a symbol of longevity in almost all Eastern cultures. Why do we offer Bel-patra to Shivji? The leaves and fruit of the bel or bilva tree are very dear to Shiva. Some say that this tree grew out of Parvati’s sweat. According to a folk story, once a tribal lost his way in the jungle and took shelter on
