Mount Meru

Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru (Pāli Meru), to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".[2] Meru is also the name of the central bead in a mālā.[3]

In other languages, Mount Meru is pronounced:

• Burmese: မြင်းမိုရ်တောင် ([mjɪ̰ɴ mò tàʊɰ̃])
• Chinese: 須彌山 (Xūmíshān)
• Japanese: 須弥山 (Shumisen)[4]
• Khmer: ភ្នំព្រះសុមេរុ (Phnom Preah Someru) or (Phnom Preah Somae)
• Korean: 수미산 (Sumisan)
• Pāli: Sineru
• Tamil: மகா மேரு மலை
• Tibetan: ཪི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རི་རབ་
• Malayalam: മഹാമേരു പർവ്വതം
• Kannada: ಮೇರು ಪವ೯ತ
• Telugu: మేరు పర్వతం
• Vietnamese: Núi Tu-di

The dimensions attributed to Mount Meru, all references to it being as a part of the Cosmic Ocean, with several statements that say, "The Sun along with all the planets circle the mountain", make determining its location most difficult, according to most scholars.[5][6]

Some researchers identify Mount Meru or Sumeru with the Pamirs, northwest of Kashmir.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

The Suryasiddhanta mentions that Mt. Meru lies in 'the middle of the Earth' ("bhuva-madhya") in the land of the Jambunad (Jambudvip). Narapatijayacharyasvarodaya,[14] a ninth-century text, based on mostly unpublished texts of Yāmal Tantr, mentions "Sumeruḥ Prithvī-madhye shrūyate drishyate na tu" ('Su-meru is heard to be in the middle of the Earth, but is not seen there').[15]

There exist several versions of cosmology in existing Hindu texts. In one 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 Kailasa to the south.[16]

According to Buddhist cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is at the centre of the world[17] and Jambūdvīpa is south of it. It is 80,000 yojanas wide and 80,000 yojanas high according to the Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam[18][19] and 84,000 yojanas high according to the Long Āgama Sutra.[4] Trāyastriṃśa is on its peak, where 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 lapis lazuli, and the Western one is made of ruby.[17]

In Vajrayāna, maṇḍala offerings often include Mount Meru, as they in part represent the entire universe.[20][21] It is also believed that Mount Meru is the home of the buddha Cakrasaṃvara.[22]

The cosmic tortoise, and Mount Meru

Mount Meru of Hindu traditions is described as 84,000 yojanas high, about 1,082,000 km (672,000 mi), which would be 85 times the Earth's diameter. The Sun along with all the planets in the Solar System revolve around Mt. Meru as one unit.

One yojana can be taken to mean about 11.5 km (9 miles) though its magnitude seems to differ over time periods, e.g. the Earth's circumference is 3,200 yojanas according to Varahamihira and slightly less so in the Aryabhatiya, but is said to be 5,026.5 yojanas in the Suryasiddhānta. The Matsya Purana and the Bhagvata Purana 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.

Mount Meru was said to be the residence of King Padamja Brahma in antiquity.[16]

According to Charles Allen, Mount Kailash is identified with Mount Meru. One description in the Vishnu Purana of the mountain states that its four faces are made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli.[23] It is a pillar of the world and is located at the heart of six mountain ranges symbolizing a lotus.[23]

Depiction of Mount Meru at Jambudweep, a Jain temple in Uttar Pradesh

According to Jain cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa,[24] in form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojans.[25] There are two sets of sun, moon and stars revolving around Mount Meru; while one set works, the other set rests behind Mount Meru.[26][27][28]

The 24th and last Tirthankara, Lord Mahāvīra was taken to the summit of Meru by Indra shortly after his birth, after putting his mother Queen Trishala into deep slumber. There he was bathed and anointed with precious unctions.[29][30]

This mythical mountain of gods was mentioned in Tantu Pagelaran, an Old Javanese manuscript written in the Kawi language from the 15th century Majapahit period. The manuscript describes the mythical origin of Java island, and the legend of the movement of portions of Mount Meru to Java. The manuscript explained that Batara Guru (Shiva) ordered the god Brahma and Vishnu to fill the Java island 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 Jambudvipa (India) and attaching it to Java.[31] The resulting mountain is Mount Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java.

Mount Semeru, a large active volcano on Java, is named after the mount.

The five central towers of Angkor Wat symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru; Angkor, Cambodia.

The concept of a holy mountain surrounded by various circles around it was incorporated into ancient Hindu temple architecture with a Shikhara (Śikhara), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak". Early examples of this style can be found at the Harshat Mata Temple and Harshnath Temple of the 8th century CE in Rajasthan, western India. This concept also continued outside India such as in Bali, where temples feature Meru towers.

In Buddhist temples the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya is an earliest example of the 5th-6th century. Many other Buddhist temples took on its form such as in Thailand the Wat Arun and in Myanmar the Hsinbyume Pagoda.

• 
  Wat Phutthaisawan prang representing Mount Meru
• 
  A Buddhist prang in Wat Arun, Bangkok, representing Mount Sumeru
• 
  Hsinbyume Pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar, representing Mount Sumeru
• 
  The meru of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvathi

• Hara Berezaiti
• Himavanta

• Cort, John (2010) [1953], Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-538502-1.
• Narpatijayacharyā, commentary by Ganeshdatta Pathak, Published by Chowkhambha Sanskrit Sansthana, Varanasi, India, PIN-221001.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mount Meru (mythology).

• Description of Mount Meru in the Devi-bhagavata-purana 12
• Painting of Mount Meru found in Buddhist cave sanctuary in Xinjiang, China
• Mount Meru in Encyclopedia of Buddhist Iconography 12
• Sumeru in Encyclopedia of Buddhist Iconography 12
• Ngari
• Tibetan Cosmological Models
• What is Mount Meru?