Bull

Although the cow is the Hindu symbol
for motherhood, with all of the
emotional baggage that accompanies it,
the associations connected with bulls are
not nearly so important. In a religious
context, the bull is associated with the
god Shiva because his animal vehicle is
the bull Nandi, who can invariably be
found guarding the door at Shiva’s
temples. In pre-modern times, of course,
adult bulls were a relatively small
percentage of the total cattle population,
since most young bulls were routinely
castrated to become the oxen that were
essential agricultural work animals.