When the devas, and the asuras joined together on a rare occasion to churn the ocean with a mountain to obtain the nectar of immortality they utilized Vasuki, the serpent, as the rope. Lots of precious herbs and gems were produced during the Churning and one of them was a poison, halahala.
This "poison" was so dangerous that none of the devas or asuras wanted to go near it. It was extremely sticky and coming into contact with this poison would drag the divinity down to the realms of human suffering and ego. Lord Shiva, followed by Nandi, came forward to help as he was the only one who could counteract this deadly poison.
Shiva took the poison into his hand and drank it. The descent of the poison was in turn stopped at His throat, by Maa Parvati. Shiva is therefore also known as Neelkantha (the blue-throated one) and Vishakantha (the poison-throated one).
Nandi saw some of the poison spill out of Shivas mouth and immediately drank it off the ground. The devas and asuras watching were shocked and wondered aloud what would happen to Nandi. Lord Shiva calmed their fears saying, "Nandi has surrendered into me so completely that he has all my powers and my protection".
Nandi serves as the mount of Shiva and as the gatekeeper of Shiva and Parvati. In Hindu Religion, he is the chief guru of eighteen masters (18 Siddhar ) including Patanjali and Thirumular. Temples venerating Shiva display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine.
There are also a number of temples dedicated solely to Nandi. The doorways of pre-tenth-century North Indian temples are frequently flanked by images of Mahakal and Nandi, and it is in this role of Shiva’s watchman that Nandi figures in Kalidasa’s poem the Kumarasambhava.
Om Nandishwaraya Namah ~ Shivaya Namah
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