May Indra, whose hands Thunder wield,

Be in the East thy guard and shield;

May Yama's care the South befriend,
And arun's arm the !est defend;
And let "u#era, the $ord of gold,
The %orth with firm &rotection hold'
The above prayer is for the Four Guardians of Mount Meru - the Holiest mountain in Hindu,
Buddhist and Jain cosmologies and Indian equivalent of the Gree Mount Olympus! "eru
is believed to be the abode of Gods and #ith $hristmas in the air, I%m gonna try and find out its
location as #ell as connection #ith the legend of &anta $laus!
"ount "eru'(lympus
The Kurma Puraan states that-
(ambud#i&a lies in the middle of all Mortal )ealms and in its center is the lofty Mt* Meru, bright
as gold* Its height is +,,--- yo.anas, and it e/tends 01,--- yo.anas below the earth; its width at
the to& is 23,--- and at the base is 01,--- yo.anas*
"ost other ancient scriptures also describe Meru as a colossal mountain #ith staggering
dimensions) situated bang in the middle of the planet) inversely coned) e*panding up#ards)
stretching beyond the sies at one end) and penetrating deep into the bo#els of +arth at the other!
"ount "eru ,utting out of +arth%s surface
The ancient Hindu astronomical te*t no#n as the Suryasiddhant, locates "eru at the 'Navel of
the Earth' and describes it as '4assing through middle of the earth5globe, and &rotruding on
either side'! Further ahead, it mentions a "eru in the middle of +arth, a Sumeru at the -orth
.ole and a Kumeru at the &outh pole /#hich may lead us to believe that this structure stretches
from pole-to-pole01
Tibetan Buddhism regards "eru as the $enter of the 2niverse and believes it to be beyond the
physical plane, in a realm of perfection and transcendence! &ymbolic representations of "eru are
frequently found in Tibetan and Bhutanese mandalas designed to aid in meditation!
"eru from a Buddhist Thana #ith Brahma seated on top
3nother ancient &ansrit te*t, the Narpatijayacharya mentions &umeru as being present in the
middle of the +arth, but not seen there!
Interestingly, on my not-so-distant trip to 3F4I$3, I happened to come across a "ount Meru in
Tan5ania, #hich roughly corresponds to the geographic enter of the Earth! The "ountain
is even #orshipped by the local tribes as an abode of Gods11
In the neighbouring country 6enya, #e also find a to#n #ith the same name! 4elation of these
places in East "frica to the "eru from our Hindu te*ts is not clear, ho#ever it may very #ell be
a remnant of the common legends of Humanity from early times #hen entire globe #as a single
continent Jambudveep /7etails in a subsequent post0!
3ncient scriptures describe "eru as the entral Pivot of the 2niverse, sort of lie an Axis
mundi, and claim that the +-TI4+ $(&"(& revolves around it, #ith the &un, "oon and &tars
paying obeisance #hile circum-ambulating the Holy "ountain!
"ount "eru as per the Jain 3gams
So #hat e$actly is Meru then%
"any scholars, presuming "eru to be a mountain, argue for the mountains of Kashmir or
Pamirs as its location! But no mountain on the face of +arth can gro# to such monstrous
proportions as #ell as fit the vivid descriptions of the scriptures!
Is "eru really a mountain or a reference to one of the legendary Pillars of &eaven8 Is it
located at the .ole or at the $enter of the +arth88 For that matter, is it even a physical structure
or ,ust a .(+TI$ allegory for something else888
I had my mind t#isted around this question for a long time and had to comb through a lot
of material to get some sense out of the descriptions!! 3fter a thoroughly challenging /though
invigorating0 analysis of various scriptural sources, I am no# inclined to believe,
that "eru does -(T refer to a mountain at all but instead is an allegory for the Earth's "$is of
'otation11
"eru as +arth%s 3*is
Just as described in the '(e)end of Meru', +arth%s 3*is e*tends TH4(2GH both ends of the
Globe /&umeru-"eru-6umeru0) is -(T visible to the naed eye /beyond the .hysical plain0,
protrudes at the .(934 regions /covers -orth .ole and &outh .ole0, and from the perspective of
a man standing at the .ole, the entire cosmos quite literally revolves around it as #ell11
Thining logically, either of the T:( poles could then be the right location!! Ho#ever, *+r+h
Mihir, the most famous Indian astronomer from ancient times, identified -orth .ole as the
location of "eru in his celebrated #or Panch-siddhntik!
I #ill give you more references clinching the -orthern location, but for no#, if #e accept the
.olar location and combine it #ith the description as the %"bode of ,ods', it #ould imply, that
- North Pole is also the location of &E"*EN--
God%s $ity at the -orth .ole
&urprised888 7on%t be!! at least half a do5en :orld "ythologies locate their sacred lands at the
-orth .ole1
.apanese and hinese "ythologies describe the .alaces of their Gods directly belo# the
.ole &tar and at the same time in the middle of the +arth /,ust lie "eru0! They tal
of "eru as &H2"I&+- and believe it connects the three realms of Heaven, +arth
and Hell!
Norse myths place their '$and of Immortality' at the -orth .ole and their legends tal
about a :orld Tree called ;GG743&I9 that connects Heaven, +arth and Hell ,ust lie
"eru!
,ree/s believed in a fabled perfect land #hich they called H;.+4B(4+3 /above the
-orth-#ind0, #here the sun shines t#enty-four hours a day, indicating a location #ithin
the 3rctic $ircle!
(ettish tales describe many da#ns in their Heaven, a phenomenon observed only at the
.oles!
eltic "ythology tals of a Heaven #ith more than < months of continuous #inter again
suggesting a polar location!
$loser home, the 0oroastrian "vesta revered by the Persians /.arsis0, mentions the Aryanam
Vaijah the ancient land of 3ryans as the Best-of-all-places and situated up in the -orth, above
the other si* #orld 5ones! 3t the beginning of the current age, the god "hura Ma1da #arned of
an impending fierce #inter /Ice 3ge8180 and advised its deni5ens to migrate to other locations!
2s it just me or is someone else thin/in) of the North Pole as #ell 3o4
The 5eni1ens of Meru
The belief in the divinity of "eru #as so much ingrained in the ancient minds that it #as given
architectural form as #ell! Today, this is evident in the construction of all &indu, Buddhist and
.ain temples that mirror the to#ering spies of "eru!
Hindu Temples at $ambodia reflecting the To#ers of "eru
&umeru and its surroundings are home not ,ust of deities, but also other beings of popular
mythology #ho rarely intrude on the human #orld!
3bove "eru is Brahmalo/ or the 'Abode of Brahma' and on its various levels are
present various other demi-gods!
The Highest .hysical Heaven, Tr+yastri 6a or the 'Abode of 22 6e#as', lies on its pea
and is the d#elling place of 2ndra, the 9ord of 7emi-gods!
The haturmah+r+ji/+yi/a or the '7our58uardians5of56irections' /mentioned in
the prayer in the beginning0, live on its slopes!
Belo# them, is the d#elling space of other magical species such as the A&saras,
8andhar#s, %agas, Ya9shas, Siddhas, idyadhars and the "umbhandas!
Belo# all these, in and around the ocean, at the base of "eru, d#ell the "suras!
&ince Tavatimsa &eaven is physically connected to the #orld through &umeru, the demi-gods
are unable to avoid getting entangled in #orldly affairs! They frequently find themselves in
quarrels #ith the "suras, #ho #ere e*pelled by the present 2ndra and hence, eep plotting for
#ays to recover their lost ingdom!
This conflict is very similar to that observed in Gree "ythology bet#een the Titans and the
Olympians!
Indra and other divinities on top of "eru
&o#ever7 for me7 it #as difficult to envision the "rctic fri)idness of North Pole supportin)
the '&eaven' of our ancients!!
The 3rctic region today, comprises of ilometers thic sheets of Ice spread for miles together,
#ith hardly any land or vegetation on it!! But, #hat if the -orth .ole, at some time in its history,
did support land as #ell as vegetation888
"y research, turned up evidence that -orth .ole I-7++7 boasted of a continent right until the
Miocene Period #hich ho#ever, got submerged during the subsequent Ice-3ges /110! 3ccording
to latest geological evidence, the last Glacial period closed about =>,>>> years ago and the
geographical distribution of land then, #as radically 7IFF+4+-T from #hat it is at present!!
.re-glacial coastline of the :est coast of 2&3
This land supported a temperate climate, e*tremely conducive for the sustenance of various
species of plants and animals and of course Humans and semi-divine beings! In fact, in the early
geological ages, the high mountains of "lps #ere lo#, the &imalayas had not yet heaved, and an
equable climate had prevailed over the +-TI4+ globe1
The onset of 2ce8")e destroyed this genial climate and rendered polar regions unsuitable for
habitation of tropical plants and animals!
Temperate climate of -orth .ole before the Ice-3ge
!
The same conclusion #as arrived at by the late Indian Historian and Freedom-fighter,
9omanya Bal ,an)adhar Tila/!
In his phenomenal #or titled, 'The "rctic &ome of the *edas', #ritten in late =?>>s,
9omanya Tila gives an e*tremely detailed as #ell as convincing account based on the literary
evidence of various Shlokas from Rig Veda and the @oroastrian Avesta that point to an 3rctic
Home of the ancient 3ryans111
9omanya Tila%s "asterpiece
The boo/ places the ori)inal home of "ryans at the North Pole7 from #hich they had
to emi)rate due to the 2ce delu)e 9:7::: years a)o--
3round ?>>> B$+, the age of migration from the original home began #hen the survivors
roamed over the northern parts of +urope and 3sia in search of lands suitable for ne#
settlements! If #e accept this scenario, #e can easily understand the legends of Noah and Manu,
the progenitors of manind in this current age! AFor more on "anu, the First "an, chec out the
post - reation by BrahmaB!
"ncient Map of the North Pole
In my quest for no#ing everything possible about "ount "eru and the -orth .ole, I stumbled
upon yet 3-(TH+4 startling find!!
,erardus Mercator, a Belgian Geographer and $artographer, had prepared a 'Map of the
"rctic' in =C<D #hich actually sho#s a continent at the -orth .ole #ith a mountain in its
center11
"ercator%s "ap of the -orth .ole
$ompare the map #ith this interesting detail from *ishnu Puraan -
:The A9ash 8anga, flowing from the feet of ishnu, falls around the city of Brahma, on to& of
Meru* ; twice5born ones, she then subdi#ides into 7;<) ri#ers, di#iding the land into 7;<)
continents**:
Is it another one of those incredible co-incidences that eep cropping up in my research or #as
the Map of Mercator actually based on the descriptions of "eru888
"ercator couldn%t have had direct access to the descriptions as the Puranas #eren%t even
translated from &ansrit till that time! .robably the (e)end of Meru #as prevalent in some of
the .agan religions of +urope before the $hurch became more rigid in its approach!
"ercator, in a letter to a friend, mentions a gentleman responsible for passing him the
information for this map, but stops short of naming him! I%m sharing the magnified version for all
to appreciate the similarities again!!
-orth .ole according to "ercator

For me, the most interesting part is the $+-T439 mountain #hich may very #ell represent our
o#n "eru and the F(24 rivers running out#ards from it #hich fit the description from Vishnu
Puraan! I find the similarity quite intriguing and #ould lie to believe that +arly +uropeans #ere
more accepting of other religions% beliefs than those from the %:itch-hunting% eras!
The hristmas onundrum
:ith $hristmas fast approaching, another $43@@@@; thought has come to my I-&333-+
mind1
$ould it be, that Mount Meru, #ith its mystical significance, -orth .ole location, and
Ine*haustible riches, #as also the (4IGI-39 inspiration for the legend of &3-T3
$932&118811
&ince around early =?>>s, the tradition of Santa laus has been prevalent in the :estern :orld
and -orth .ole is considered to be his fabled home #here he d#ells #ith his magical
+lves! &anta is typically depicted as a pot-bellied, bearded, ,ovial benefactor accompanied by
polar animals lie 4udolph the reindeer!
&anta #ith his .olar companions
Ho#ever, both the location and the description, bring to my mind, the legend of 62B+4, the
Hindu 9ord-of-4iches and the Guardian-of-the--orth-.ole11
Just lie &anta, Kuber is traditionally sho#n as a fair-comple*ioned, bearded, pot-bellied man
#ith abundant #ealth that he shares only #ith the deserving!! 9ie &anta again, he is
accompanied by magical beings called ;a/shas and is considered the 9ord of mythical animals
and semi-divine beings1
The reference to anthropomorphic forms could easily cover the .(934 fauna as animals lie
reindeer, .olar bears, &eals etc! are not found in other parts of the #orld and may actually seem
mythical to a person seeing them for the first time11
6uber, the 9ord of -orth .ole
In the *ishnudharmottara Purana, 6uber is described as hanadhipati or the 9ord-of-
:ealth and hanada or the Giver-of-:ealth! Buddhist and Jain mythologies also no# him as
Vaishravan and Panchanubhuti!
'amayan states that 9ord Brahma, pleased #ith 6uber%s penance, conferred upon him the riches
of the #orld) inclusion into the eva .antheon) and the famous flying chariot no#n as
Pushpa/ *iman! 6uber then ruled in the golden isle of (an/a /#hich BT: is the cut top of
"ount "eru10 till his step-brother 'avan defeated him and overtoo all his riches!!
The mention of the flyin) chariot Pushpak Viman is a)ain interestin) as Santa also travels
on a flyin) slei)h-
&anta%s sleigh or .ushpa Eiman88
:hatever the relationship bet#een these ancient legends, I believe the similarities
deserve "(4+ than a passing thought! The mysteries of "eru are not easy to unfold, yet, I have
tried my best to clear some cob#ebs from this topic, and I hope I #as able to present to my
readers something ne# and thought-provoing!!
For no#, let us en,oy the $H4I&T"3& revelry and stuff ourselves silly #ith puddings and
caes, a#aiting the beginning of a -e# ;ear!! "ay the &eavenly ,lo# of Meru and the
Northern (i)hts, eep us all #arm in the coming #inters Fo0
"erry $hristmas and a .rosperous G>=G from &anta'6uber
I #ish you all a very Happy upcoming -e# ;ear and conclude this post #ith a $hristmas poem
remembering the magical city at the -orth .ole #hich someho# seems quite fitting here-
7ollow the %orth, as far as it will go,
To a city built on the Earth=s &ole,
A chilly city with frost that bites,
It glitters in snow, day and night*
8ingerbread houses, &e&&ermint trees,
>otton candy clouds and sym&honies,
)at5a5tat5tat with lolli&o& stic9s,
)ooty5toot5toot horns and &uc9ered li&s*
Into a garden of $o#e and 4eace,
!here Time began and will ne#er cease,
8od=s hea#enly 9ingdom of endless (oy,
Better than e#en the >ity of Troy*
This night is blessed for children of 4eace,
7or $o#e, 7amily, Angels and Trees,
7or ?o&e for %ations; 7or You and for Me,
7or %orth is further, than our eyes can see'
!
"um Shanti< Shanti< Shanti<
!
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9abelsF Heaven at the -orth .ole8
9ocationF "ulund :est, "aharashtra, India