Naudi

Naudi is the name of a bull which the Hindus regard as sacred because he is the vahan of Nahardeva, or Siva (q.v.), just as the Egyptians regarded Apis as the soul of Osiris (q.v.). The Egyptians believed that when Apis ate out of the hands of those who went to consult him the answer was favorable. — "The Hindus," says Bartolomeo, "place rice and other articles before their doors as the animal passes along in their processions, and if he stop to taste them, consider it as a fortunate event. This, at least, he is very prone to do, to the serious injury of the Hindu shopkeepers, as he wanders, not in his most sacred capacity, through the streets of Calcutta and other towns." Naudi is held in great reverence among the Hindis, and is one of the most sacred emblems of Siva. Naudi is by some described as the emblem of justice. See Coleman, Mythology of the Hindus, pge 64.