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Key Details
Type
MountainMythology
Hindu Pantheon
Realm
Mythological / Non-physical
About This Location
The mountain the heavens turn on
Meru is the cosmic axis in the Mahabharata, the Puranas, and Buddhist cosmology: gods on the slopes, continents petal-fashion around it, polaris above. It is not a Himalayan peak you summit. Jambudvipa lies to the south of it in many schemes. Vaikuntha and Kailasa are sometimes placed in relation to it, sometimes independently. There is no Meru temple with a surviving liturgy in the epics. The mountain is a diagram of order.
Primary Sources
“Meru, the king of mountains, golden, shining like the sun, the resort of gods and gandharvas.”
More from Hindu Pantheon
Mount Kailash
Sacred SiteThe sacred peak in Tibet considered the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati, axis mundi of the cosmos.
Varanasi
CityThe spiritual capital of India, situated on the banks of the Ganges, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities and sacred to Shiva.
Ayodhya
CityThe birthplace and capital of Lord Rama, setting of the great epic Ramayana and one of Hinduism's seven sacred cities.
Vaikuntha
RealmThe eternal abode of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi, a celestial realm of infinite bliss beyond the material universe.
Lanka
CityThe golden island kingdom of the demon king Ravana, who abducted Sita and was defeated by Rama's army.