Nandi at Sri Meenakshi

This is our entry in Dutch goes the Photo!’s Tuesday Photo Challenge – Blue.

In 2013, we visited the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai in the South India state of Tamil Nadu. The Hindu goddess Parvati and god Shiva are known here as Meenakshi and Sundareswarar, respectively. Just outside Sri Meenakshi is a large statue of Nandi, the bull that is the vahana (vehicle) of Shiva. The body of the bull is white, symbolizing purity and justice. While I could not find the reason for the blue highlighting on Nandi’s body, I think that its source is the same poison drunk by Shiva, that also turned Shiva’s throat blue during the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean.

Nandi Statue, Sri Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, India

This photo was taken on March 11, 2103. Specs are:

Olympus TG-1, ISO 100, f/4, 1/1250 sec, 7.9 mm

(With apologies for any inaccuracies in describing the Hindu religion.)