Vahana / animal · All traditions · Pan-India
Nandini
The wish-granting cow of the sage Vasishtha, daughter of Surabhi, kept at his hermitage on Mount Meru for his fire rites. Her theft by the Vasu Dyu brings the curse that leads to the birth of Bhishma.
Sources: The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer; The Srimad Devi Bhagawatam, tr. Swami Vijnanananda (1921-22) · see Nandini's web