| Within a radius of
ten miles of Mahanandi there are nine Nandi temples called 1. Padma Nandi, 2. Naga Nandi,
3. Vinayaka Nandi, 4. Garuda Nandi, 5. Brahma Nandi, 6. Surya Nandi, 7. Vishnu Nandi, 8.
Soma Nandi and 9. Siva Nandi. In fact the word Nandyal itself is a corruption of the word
Nandi Alayam. The Sivarathri is the most important
of the festivals here and pilgrims who come to Srisailam usually visit this place. In the
Kartika masa, devout pilgrims start in the early morning, first worship in the shrine of
Mallikarjunaswamy and then worship in the shrine of Padma Nandi which is two miles
thereof. They then come to the Naga Nandi, which is a mile to the west, and from there
proceed to Brahma Nandi, Soma Nandi, and Siva Nandi which are all near about. They then go
to Krishna or Vishnu Nandi, three miles to the north east and from there complete the
pilgrimage by worshipping Vinayaka Nandi, Maha Nandi, and Surya Nandi. The traditional
belief is that the worship of these Nava Nandis should be finished in a day before sunset. |
