Shiva on the bull Nandi, carrying the Buddha on his head

The Hindu deity Shiva, riding his usual mount, the bull Nandi, is shown with a small seated Buddha at the front of his crown. The story, which dates from the beginning of the 1800s, emphasizes the Buddha's superiority to the Hindu god. To show off his power, Shiva challenged the Buddha to a serious contest of hide-and-seek. Shiva covered himself with one thousand layers of dirt and hid deep within the earth. The Buddha found him easily. When it was Shiva's turn to search, the Buddha placed himself above Shiva's head. After a long and strenuous search, Shiva still could not find the Buddha and begged him to appear. The Buddha appeared and then preached to Shiva. After the Buddha's death Shiva built a shrine to house a beautiful Buddha image.