Note 528 — Chapter I

Another mythical mountain is Meru, which is supposed to occupy the centre of the earth.528 The sun, the moon, and all the planets revolve round this mountain, and it therefore plays an important part in the causation of day and night. For night falls on one side of the earth when the sun goes to the other side of Meru; and the day begins when the sun emerges from that side of the mountain. Meru is sixty-eight thousand yojans529 in height, and penetrates the earth to the depth of sixteen thousand yojans. Its eastern side appears white, the southern is yellow, the western is black, and the northern red. The mountain is also believed to consist of gold and gems. The Ganges, in her fall from the heavens, is said to have descended first on the top of this mountain and then to have flowed in four streams in four directions. The southern stream is known as the Ganges; the northern, in Tartary, is called Bhadrasoma; the eastern is the same as the Sitā; and the western is named Chax or the Oxus. The top of this mountain is believed to be inhabited by gods, gandharvas (celestial musicians) and rishis (sages).530 According to the Yoga-vāsishtha, there is a kalpa-vriksha531 on the Lalmani summit of Meru, where a rishi named Bhushundkāk is engaged in devotional prayers since time immemorial.532 The Purānas declare that Vaivaswat Manu, the first man, resided near Meru, and that his descendants migrated to Ayodhyā to found there a kingdom which was afterwards ruled over by Rāma.530