Қасиетті Меру тауы: будда, джайнизм және индуизм космологиясының ортасы

Sacred mountain of Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu cosmology

Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru, or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universes. The mountain is also mentioned in some scriptures of non Indian based religions such as Taoism, which was influenced by the arrival of Buddhism in China. There is no clear identification of Mount Meru with a particular geophysical location but it is always located in Himalayan or Aravali ranges. Many famous Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist temples have been built as symbolic representations of this mountain. The "Sumeru Throne" 須彌座 xūmízuò style base is a common feature of Chinese pagodas. The highest point (the finial bud) on the pyatthat, a Burmese style multi tiered roof, represents Mount Meru.

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

According to Buddhist cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) 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. Trāyastriṃśa is at 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. It is also believed that Mount Meru is the home of the Buddha Cakrasaṃvara.

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.

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 functions. Indra and other Devas celebrate his birth.

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.