[3] The name Nandi was widely used instead for an anthropomorphic door-keeper of Kailash, rather than his mount in the oldest Shaivite texts in Sanskrit, Tamil, and other Indian languages.

Shilada underwent severe penance to have a boon– a child with immortality and blessings of Shiva, and received Nandi as his son.

[5] Nandi grew up as an ardent devotee of Shiva and he performed severe penance to become his gate-keeper, as well as his mount, on the banks of river Narmada.

According to regional legend, this site is identified with the Tripur Tirth Kshetra in present-day Nandikeshwar Temple, in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

The Agamas describe Nandi in a zoo-anthropomorphic form, with the head of bull and four hands, with antelope, axe, mace, and abhayamudra.

[17] The Nandi flag used nowadays was designed by Ravindra Sastri of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, according to the request and guidance of S. Danapala, a Sri Lankan Shaiva personage, in the 1990s.

[18][19] Following years, it was declared as the official Shaiva flag in fourth International Saiva Siddhanta Conference, held in Zurich in 2008.

[15] Nowadays, Tamil Shaivas, especially in Sri Lanka, Canada, Australia, UK, South Africa, and Switzerland, hoist the flag in all religious and cultural festivals.