Brahma, narrating the story about Sati’s marriage to Shiva in the Shiva Purana, notes that “On hearing these words of Lord Shiva adept in the divine sports I touched my head and in the same manner bowed to Shiva. When I thus touched my head I assumed the shape of his vehicle, the bull.” This instance of Brahma transforming into Nandi relates to one of the eighteen forms of Shiva mentioned in