Mount Meru
1,00,000 yojana of mountain at the exact centre of Jambūdvīpa. Every Tīrthaṅkara born anywhere is carried here on the night of their birth.
Also called Sudarśana and Mandara. It sinks 1,000 yojana into the earth and rises 99,000 above, tapering from 10,000 yojana wide at ground level to 1,000 at the summit. A slender peak called the Cūlikā of blue beryl stands another 40 yojana on top of that.
Its body is divided into three kāṇḍas of different substances: 1,000 yojana of earth, stone, diamond and gravel below ground; then 63,000 yojana of silver, crystal, gold and gems; then 36,000 yojana of pure gold.
Four forest terraces ring it at different heights: Bhadraśāla Vana at the base, Nandana Vana 500 yojana up, Saumanasa Vana at 63,000, and Pāṇḍaka Vana at the summit. Each carries Jina shrines at the four directions.
In Pandaka vana sit four rock slabs, the abhiṣeka śilās. When a Tīrthaṅkara is born, Śakra brings the infant here and the gods pour a consecrating bath over them. This happens on one of the four slabs depending on which region the child was born in. It is the single most-painted scene in Jain art.
There are five Merus in the human world, one at the centre of each Mahāvideha Kṣetra. This is the tallest; the other four stand 84,000 yojana.
Measurements and counts
| Total height | 1,00,000 yojana |
|---|---|
| Above ground | 99,000 yojana |
| Below ground | 1,000 yojana |
| Width at ground | 10,000 yojana |
| Width at summit | 1,000 yojana |
| Cūlikā | 40 yojana more |
| Forests | 4 |
| Merus in the human world | 5 |
Connected
Bhadraśāla Vana
The forest spread across the plain at Meru's foot, in Mahāvideha itself.
It runs 22,000 yojana east and west of Meru along the Sītā and Sītodā, and 250 yojana north and south toward Uttarakuru and Devakuru. Four Jina shrines stand in it at the four directions.
Both great rivers pass through it as they curl around the mountain.
| Height above ground | 0 — it is the plain |
|---|---|
| N–S extent from Meru | 250 yojana |
| E–W extent from Meru | 22,000 yojana |
| Shrines | 4 |
Cūlikā
A slim spire of blue beryl standing on Meru's summit, 40 yojana high.
12 yojana wide at its base, 4 at the top. It is the highest point of the middle world, and the heavens begin above it.
| Height | 40 yojana |
|---|---|
| Width at base | 12 yojana |
| Width at top | 4 yojana |
| Material | vaidūrya — blue beryl |
Nandana Vana
A ring-terrace 500 yojana wide, cut into the mountain 500 yojana above the ground.
Where the mountain steps in, a shelf 500 yojana broad runs right around it. Nine peaks stand on the terrace and four Jina shrines face the four directions. It is a pleasure-garden of the gods.
| Height | 500 yojana above ground |
|---|---|
| Terrace width | 500 yojana |
| Peaks | 9 |
| Shrines | 4 |
Pāṇḍaka Vana
The forest on the flat crown of Meru, 494 yojana wide, holding the four consecration slabs.
The summit is 1,000 yojana across. The Cūlikā occupies the middle; the forest is the ring around it, 494 yojana wide.
Its four abhiṣeka śilās are the reason this small patch of ground matters more than the rest of the mountain.
| Height | 99,000 yojana above ground |
|---|---|
| Summit width | 1,000 yojana |
| Forest width | 494 yojana |
| Rock slabs | 4 |
Saumanasa Vana
The second ring-terrace, 62,500 yojana above Nandana.
Another 500-yojana shelf, at 63,000 yojana above the ground — the point where the mountain changes from the jewelled kāṇḍa to the golden one. Four shrines again.
Not to be confused with the Saumanasa tusk-mountain down on the plain, which is a different feature with the same name.
| Height | 63,000 yojana above ground |
|---|---|
| Terrace width | 500 yojana |
| Shrines | 4 |