Mount Meru, 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.
Mount Kailash is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. The peak of Mount Kailash is located at an elevation of 6,638 m (21,778 ft), north of the western trijunction of the border between China, India and Nepal.
Religious cosmology is an explanation of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe from a religious perspective. This may include beliefs on origin in the form of a creation myth, subsequent evolution, current organizational form and nature, and eventual fate or destiny. There are various traditions in religion or religious mythology asserting how and why everything is the way it is and the significance of it all. Religious cosmologies describe the spatial lay-out of the universe in terms of the world in which people typically dwell as well as other dimensions, such as the seven dimensions of religion; these are ritual, experiential and emotional, narrative and mythical, doctrinal, ethical, social, and material.
Lake Manasarovar, also called Mapam Yumtso locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake fed by the Kailash Glaciers near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The Indus River is near the lake. The lake along with Mount Kailash to its north are sacred sites in four religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Bön.
Mount Meru is a dormant stratovolcano located 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Kilimanjaro in southeast Arusha Region, Tanzania. At a height of 4,562.13 metres (14,968 ft), it is visible from Mount Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and is the fifth-highest of the highest mountain peaks of Africa, dependent on definition.
The Kinnaur Kailasha is a mountain in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As per Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati reside in Kinner Kailash. It is the fourth most important peak among the group of five separate peaks in Himalayas in separate locations collectively known as the Panch Kailash or "Five Kailashas", other being Mount Kailash in first place, Adi Kailash in second, Shikhar Kailash in third, and Manimahesh Kailash in fifth place in terms of importance. As a result, it is deeply revered by Hindus. Kinnaur Kailash peak has a height of 6050 meters and is considered sacred by both Hindu and Buddhist Kinnauris. This mountain is sometimes confused with the Mount Kailash in Tibet.
In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos.
Jambudvīpa is a name often used to describe the territory of Greater India in ancient Indian sources.
Uttarakuru is the name of a dvipa ('continent') in ancient Hindu and Buddhist mythology as well as Jain cosmology. The Uttarakuru country or Uttara Kuru Kingdom and its people are sometimes described as belonging to the real world, whereas at other times they are mythical or otherworldly spiritual beings. The name Uttara Kuru means "North Kuru". The Kurus were a tribe during the Vedic civilization of India. The Uttara Kuru were therefore a population to the north of the Kurus, or north of the Himalayas.
Mount Meru is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru, to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".
Śakra is the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven according to Buddhist cosmology. He is also referred to by the title "Śakra, Lord of the Devas". The name Śakra ("powerful") as an epithet of Indra is found in several verses of the Rigveda.
The Trāyastriṃśa heaven is an important world of the devas in the Buddhist cosmology. The word trāyastriṃśa is an adjective formed from the numeral trayastriṃśat, "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three [devas]". It is primarily the name of the second in the six heavens of the desire realm in Buddhist cosmology, and secondarily used of the devas who dwell there. Trāyastriṃśa is ruled by Śakra, also known as Indra.
An asura in Buddhism is a demigod or titan of the Kāmadhātu. They are described as having three heads with three faces each and either four or six arms.
Several cosmological and mythological systems portray four corners of the world or four quarters of the world corresponding approximately to the four points of the compass. At the center may lie a sacred mountain, garden, world tree, or other beginning-point of creation. Often four rivers run to the four corners of the world, and water or irrigate the four quadrants of Earth.
Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many religions have traditions centered on sacred mountains, which either are or were considered holy or are related to famous events. In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of the deities Shiva and Parvati, and is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered sacred, Mount Etna being believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge.
Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa is a mythical monkey-ancestor of the Tibetan people. With King Gesar and Avalokiteśvara, of whom he is an incarnation, he is one of the most important figures in Tibetan culture. Pha means "father", Trelgen "old monkey" and Changchup Sempa refers to the bodhisattva.
Sumer was the first urban civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia
Jambudweep is a Digambara Jain temple in Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh built by the Jain nunGyanmati in 1972. Jambudweep is a depiction of Jain cosmology Jambudvipa.
