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Shilada

A sage who performed austerities for an immortal son and found the infant Nandi, whom he raised and who became Shiva's chief attendant.

Accounts of this vary across texts and traditions. This entry primarily follows Puranic tradition, with other tellings (Vedic tradition (Rigveda), Regional and sectarian traditions) noted where relevant.

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Relationships

Children
Nandi

Introduction

Shilada is a sage remembered as the foster father of Nandi, Shiva's bull and chief attendant. His story is told to explain how a being who is not Shiva's biological son came to be so closely bound to him.

Family

The wish for a son

Shilada wanted a son who would not die, and performed severe austerities. According to the Puranic account, he first approached Indra, who could not grant immortality, and was directed instead to Shiva. While ploughing the ground in preparation for a sacrifice, Shilada found a radiant infant in the earth, a gift in answer to his devotion.

Nandi

This child was Nandi. Though destined to live only eight years by ordinary reckoning, Nandi's own devotion and austerity so pleased Shiva and Parvati that they adopted him and granted him immortality, making him the foremost of Shiva's attendants (Ganas) and his mount. Shilada is honoured in this account as the one whose devotion made Nandi's birth possible, though the boy's true nature was ultimately divine.

Sources

  1. Shiva Purana (primary text)
  2. Linga Purana (primary text)

This entry is independently written for myVamsam using the sources listed above. Where traditions differ, this entry identifies the relevant tradition rather than presenting one account as universally established fact.