Nandi Vibhuti Holder

This is a wooden carved vibhuti (sacred ash) holder from North Karnataka. On the sliding lid is a beautiful, seated Nandi. Nandi is the sacred bull calf, gatekeeper, and vehicle (vahana) of Lord Shiva. The box is carved in the form of a temple chariot with wheels. Vibhuti is a sacred ash made of burnt dried wood, used in religious worship in Hinduism. Devotees apply vibhuti traditionally as three horizontal lines across the forehead and other parts of the body to honour Shiva.