Mount Meru

Etymologically, 'meru' in Sanskrit 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". Meru is also the name of the central bead in a mālā. ==Geography==

The dimensions attributed to Mount Meru — which all refer to it as a part of the Cosmic Ocean, 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. Several researchers identify Mount Meru or Sumeru with the Pamirs, northwest of Kashmir. The Suryasiddhanta 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 Narapatijayacharyasvarodaya, a ninth-century text, based on mostly unpublished texts of Yāmal Tantr, mentions: : " Prithvī-madhye shrūyate drishyate na tu" : (Sumeru is heard to be at the centre of the Earth, but is not seen there). 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 Kailasha to the south. == In Buddhism ==

According to Buddhist cosmology, Mount Meru is at the centre of the world, and Jambūdvīpa is south of it. It is 80,000 yojanas 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. It is also believed that Mount Meru is the home of the Buddha Cakrasaṃvara. == In Hinduism ==

Hindus believe Mount Meru to be a stairway to Svarga, a heaven where the devas reside. Meru is considered as the center of the universe and is described as 84,000 yojanas high, about , which would be 85 times the Earth's diameter. One yojana 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 Aryabhatiya, but is said to be 5,026.5 yojanas in the Suryasiddhānta. The Matsya Purana and the Bhagavata 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. 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 Kailasha. Gods and devas are described as frequenting Mount Meru. According to the Mahabharata, 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. The Hindu epic Ramayana describes Kailash and Lake Manasarovar located in the Mount Meru as places unlike anywhere in the world. The mountain is home to four lakes, whose water is shared by the gods and four rivers that originate from the Ganges and flow to the earth. The Vayu Purana describes similarly with the mountain located close to a lake consisting of clear water with lotuses and lilies decked with water birds. The resulting mountain is Mount Semeru, the tallest mountain in Java. == In Jainism ==

from the Samghayanarayana According to Jain cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in the form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojanas. 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 Tirthankara is taken to the summit of Meru by Indra shortly after his birth, after putting the Tirthankara child's mother into a deep slumber. There, he is bathed and anointed with precious unctions. Indra and other Devas celebrate his birth. == Architecture ==

The concept of a holy mountain surrounded by various circles was incorporated into ancient Hindu temple architecture with a Shikhara (Śikhara) — a Sanskrit word translating literally to "peak" or "summit". Early examples of this style can be found at the Harshat Mata Temple and Harshnath Temple from 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 the earliest example of the 5th- to 6th-century depiction. Many other Buddhist temples took on this form, such as the Wat Arun in Thailand and the Hsinbyume Pagoda in Myanmar. File:Angkor Wat-108-Spiegelung-2007-gje.jpg|The five central towers of Angkor Wat, before a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 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 Wat Arun, Bangkok, representing Mount Sumeru File:Min Kun, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (23).jpg|Hsinbyume Pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar, representing Mount Sumeru File:Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, 2022.jpg|The meru of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvathi File:Jambudweep Rachna.jpg|Depiction of Mount Meru at Jambudweep, a Jain temple in Uttar Pradesh == In other languages ==

In other languages, Mount Meru is pronounced: • Assamese: (Meru Pôrbôt) • Bengali: (Meru Porbot) • Burmese: () • Cebuano: • Chinese: (Xūmíshān) • Gujarati: (Meru Parvat) • Ilocano: • Japanese: (Shumisen) ==See also==