Nilakanta (Hinduism)
{{Short description|Epithet of Shiva}}
File:Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists - Shiva drinking the World-Poison.jpg
Nilakanta ({{Langx|sa|नीलकण्ठ|lit=blue throat|translit=Nīlakaṇṭha}}) is one of the epithets of the Hindu deity Shiva.{{Cite book |last=Hatcher |first=Brian A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6a7MDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |title=Hinduism Before Reform |date=2020-03-10 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-24711-6 |pages=106 |language=en}}
Legend
{{See also|Samudra Manthana}}
According to Hindu mythology, Shiva gained this epithet when he consumed the kalakuta (poison) that emerged from Samudra Manthana, which rendered his throat blue.{{Cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=Ravi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1WrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition |last2=Valpey |first2=Kenneth |date=2013-03-26 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-14999-0 |pages=7 |language=en}}