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Mount Meru (/: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, and spiritual universes. It is professed to be located at the junction of the four great cosmic continents— Pubbavideha Dīpa, Uttarakuru Dīpa, Amaragoyāna Dīpa and Jambu Dīpa. Despite not having a clearly identified or known location, Mount Meru is, nevertheless, always thought of as being either in the Himalayan Mountains or the (in western India). Mount Meru is also mentioned in scriptures of other, external religions to India, such as —which was influenced, itself, by the arrival of Buddhism in China.

Many Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples have been built as symbolic representations of Mount Meru. The "Sumeru Throne" (; xūmízuò) style is a common feature of . The highest point (the finial bud) on the , a Burmese-style multi-tiered roof, represents Mount Meru.


Etymology
Etymologically, 'meru' in means "high." The proper name of the mountain is Meru (Sanskrit: Meruparvata), to which the approbatory prefix su- is added, resulting in the meaning "excellent Mount Meru" or "sublime Mount Meru".
(2025). 9781932476019, Serindia Publications.
Meru is also the name of the central bead in a .


Geography
The dimensions attributed to Mount Meru — which all refer to it as a part of the , along with several other statements that describe it in geographically vague terms (for example, "the Sun along with all the planets circle the mountain") — make the determination of its location most difficult, according to most scholars.
(2025). 9780415244978, Psychology Press. .

Several researchers identify Mount Meru or Sumeru with the , northwest of .

(2025). 9781409488071, Ashgate Publishing. .

The mentions that Mt. Meru lies at the centre of the Earth ("bhuva-madhya") in the land of the Jambunad (Jambudvīpa). Narapatijayacharyasvarodaya, a ninth-century text, based on mostly unpublished texts of Yāmal Tantr, mentions:

" Prithvī-madhye shrūyate drishyate na tu"
(Sumeru is heard to be at the centre of the Earth, but is not seen there).cf. second verse of Koorma-chakra in the book Narpatijayacharyā
Several versions of cosmology can be found in existing Hindu texts. In all of them, cosmologically, the Meru mountain was also described as being surrounded by Mandrachala Mountain to the east, Suparshva Mountain to the west, Kumuda Mountain to the north, and to the south.


In Buddhism
According to Buddhist cosmology, Mount Meru is at the centre of the world,
(2025). 9781590301005, Shambhala.
and is south of it. It is 80,000 wide and 80,000 yojanas high according to the Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam and 84,000 yojanas high according to the Long Āgama Sutra. At the peak of Mount Meru is Trāyastriṃśa, the realm where the ruler Śakra resides. The Sun and the Moon revolve around Mount Meru, and as the Sun passes behind it, it becomes nighttime. The mountain has four faces — each one made of a different material; the northern face is made of gold, the eastern one is made of crystal, the southern one is made of , and the western one is made of ruby.

In Vajrayāna, offerings often include Mount Meru, as they in part represent the entire universe. It is also believed that Mount Meru is the home of the Cakrasaṃvara.


In Hinduism
Hindus believe Mount Meru to be a stairway to , a heaven where the devas reside.
(1982). 9780708824115, Futura Publications.
Meru is considered as the center of the universe and is described as 84,000 high, about , which would be 85 times the Earth's diameter. One can be taken to mean about 11.5 km (9 miles), though its magnitude seems to differ over periods — for example, the Earth's circumference is 3,200 yojanas according to Varahamihira and slightly less so in the , but is said to be 5,026.5 yojanas in the Suryasiddhānta. The and the , along with some other Hindu texts, consistently give the height of 84,000 yojanas to Mount Meru, which translates into 672,000 miles or 1,082,000 kilometers. The Sun and Moon along with all the planets revolve around Mount Meru which connects the earth with the under world and heaven with Shiva residing on top of the mountain at .
(1996). 9788170173366, Abhinav Publications.
(1998). 9788176250399, Sarup and Sons. .
Gods and devas are described as frequenting Mount Meru.
(2025). 9788187967729, Smriti Books.

According to the , Meru is located amidst the Himavat range between Malayavat and Gandhamadhana mountains. Some scriptures indicate that Shiva resides in a horn of the mountains called as Saivatra. Mahabharata further states that the mountain gleans of gold when the rays of the sun fall on it and is said to contain lovely woods, lakes, rivers adorned with fruit trees, precious stones and life saving herbs. It also describes Meru as the means to reach heaven and only a being without any sins would be able to scale it. Meru is also said to be the residence of who lives near a golden gate with a lake called Alaka adorned with golden lotuses and sweet tasting water from which arises. As per the Mahabharata, the along with their wife , traveled towards the summit of the mountain as a means to reach the heaven but only who was accompanied by a dog, was able to make it.

The Hindu epic describes Kailash and located in the Mount Meru as places unlike anywhere in the world. Mount Meru is also said to be kingdom of King Kesari, father of .

states that Meru is a pillar of the world, located at the heart of six mountain ranges symbolizing a . It also states that the four faces of Mount Kailash are made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli. It further talks about Shiva sitting in a lotus position, engaged in deep meditation within the confines of the mountain. The mountain is home to four lakes, whose water is shared by the gods and four rivers that originate from the and flow to the earth. The describes similarly with the mountain located close to a lake consisting of clear water with lotuses and lilies decked with water birds. places Kailash as located south of Mount Meru. mentions that the mountain is located amongst the highest peaks, perpetually covered with snow. Mount Meru was said to be the residence of King Padmaja Brahma in antiquity.

This mythical mountain of gods was mentioned in the , an manuscript written in the 15th-century period. The manuscript describes the mythical origin of the island of , as well as the legendary movement of portions of Mount Meru to Java. The manuscript explains that () ordered the gods and to fill Java with human beings. However, at that time, Java island was floating freely on the ocean, always tumbling and shaking. To stop the island's movement, the gods decided to nail it to the Earth by moving the part of Mahameru in (India) and attaching it to Java.

(1973). 979413290X, Penerbit Kanisius. 979413290X
The resulting mountain is , the tallest mountain in Java.


In Jainism
According to Jain cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is at the centre of the world surrounded by , in the form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojanas.Schubring, Walther (1995), pp. 204–246 There are two sets of sun, moon, and stars revolving around Mount Meru; while one set works, the other set rests behind Mount Meru.

Every is taken to the summit of Meru by shortly after his birth, after putting the Tirthankara child's mother into a deep slumber. There, he is bathed and anointed with precious unctions.

(1985). 9780030061141, Metropolitan Museum of Art. .
Indra and other Devas celebrate his birth.


Architecture
The concept of a holy mountain surrounded by various circles was incorporated into ancient architecture with a ( Śikhara) — a Sanskrit word translating literally to "peak" or "summit". Early examples of this style can be found at the Harshat Mata Temple and from the 8th century CE in , . This concept also continued outside India, such as in , where temples feature .

In Buddhist temples, the in is the earliest example of the 5th- to 6th-century depiction. Many other Buddhist temples took on this form, such as the in and the in .

File:Angkor Wat-108-Spiegelung-2007-gje.jpg|The five central towers of , before a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple in , , symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru File:Sunset at Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayutthaya, Thailand.jpg| Prang of Wat Chaiwatthanaram, a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, representing Mount Meru File:วัดแจ้ง2.jpg|A Buddhist prang in , , representing Mount Sumeru File:Min Kun, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (23).jpg| in , , representing Mount Sumeru File:Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, 2022.jpg|The meru of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is dedicated to and his consort File:Jambudweep Rachna.jpg|Depiction of Mount Meru at , a Jain temple in


In other languages
In other languages, Mount Meru is pronounced:
  • Assamese: মেৰু পর্বত (Meru Pôrbôt)
  • : মেরু পর্বত (Meru Porbot)
  • : မြင်းမိုရ်တောင် ()
  • : Bukid Meru
  • : 須彌山 ( Xūmíshān)
  • Gujarati: મેરૂ પર્વત ( Meru Parvat)
  • : Bantay Meru
  • Japanese: 須弥山 ( Shumisen)
  • Javanese: ꦱꦼꦩꦺꦫꦸ (Semeru)
  • : ಮೇರು ಪರ್ವತ ( Meru Parvata)
  • : ភ្នំព្រះសុមេរុ ( Phnom Preah Someru) or ( Phnom Preah Somae)
  • : 수미산 ( Sumisan)
  • Malayalam: മഹാമേരു പർവ്വതം ( Mahameru Parvatham)
  • Mongolian: Сүмбэр Уул ( Sümber Uul)
  • : सुमेरु पर्वत ( Sumeru Parwat)
  • : ମେରୁ ପର୍ବତ (“Meru Pôrbôtô”)
  • Old Maldivian: ސުމޭރު-މަންދަރަ "Sumēru-Mandara" (sometimes spelt as Ṣumeru-Mandara)
  • : Sineru
  • : ਮੇਰੂ ਪਰਬਤ ( Meru Parbat)
  • , , : मेरु पर्वत ( Meru Parvat)
  • : Bulkang Meru
  • : மகா மேரு மலை ( Maha Meru Malai)
  • : మేరు పర్వతం ( Meru Parvatham)
  • : මහා මේරු පර්වතය ( Maha Meru Parvathaya)
  • : ཪི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རི་རབ་ (Wylie: ri gyal po ri rab)
  • : เขาพระสุเมรุ ( Khao phra sumen)
  • Vietnamese: Núi Tu-di

The mountain is also mentioned by as Mēros (Μηρός) and ascribes to /ref>


See also


Notes

External links

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