Śuka describes Meru as a “mountain” – giri. This word literally means “something worthy of song,” i.e. “something noteworthy.” Hence, Śuka’s phrase, “foremost of all mountains” (kula-giri-rājaḥ) also means, “the most noteworthy entity.” So he is identifying Meru as the most important part of Ilāvṛta’s geography. It makes sense that he would describe it first.
The word he uses for “foremost” (rāja) also means “brightest.” Thus he is also saying that Meru is noteworthy because of how bright it is. He also describes Meru as sarvataḥ sauvarṇaḥ. This means “entirely golden,” but also means “always shining.”
The word Meru itself means “central.” For example, meru-daṇḍa refers to the spine, meru-cetā to the spinal cord, and meru-tarala to spinal fluid.
If Meru is indeed a mountain of gold, Śuka’s description of it seems crazy. For example, he says Meru is, “at the center of the world” (abhyantara-varṣaṁ). Mountains are on the surface of the Earth, not at the center. He says it, “permeates the entire extent of our world” (dvīpāyāma-samunnāhaḥ). There is no known mountain as tall as the Earth is wide, and if such a thing existed it should not be hard to find – especially if it is made of solid gold! He says it, “creates the center of our lotus-like world” (karṇikā-bhūtaḥ kuvalaya-kamalasya). Mountains don’t define the center of the Earth. He says “it produces a huge dome as it’s peak” (mūrdhani dvā-triṁśat sahasra-yojana-vitataḥ). Mountains have narrow, pointed peaks, not domes that are vastly larger than their base. He says “it encircles through the center of our world” (āntar-bhūmyāṁ praviṣṭaḥ). Moutains don’t do this.
Is Śuka and his Purāṇa crazy? I don’t think so. We just need to make the effort to carefully figure out what he is really talking about.
Let us take Śuka exactly at his word. This is what he says about Meru:
- It is the most important thing defining the structure of Earth. (kula-giri-rājaḥ)
- It is most consistantly bright place on Earth. (sarvataḥ sauvarṇaḥ)
- It is the center upon which the Earth is based. (nābhyām avasthitaḥ, karṇikā-bhūtaḥ)
- It defines the center of the Earth by encircling it. (abhyantara-varṣaṁ, āntar-bhūmyāṁ praviṣṭaḥ)
- It defines the spherical surface of the Earth by extending into a dome at its furthest point from its root at the Earth’s center. (mūrdhani dvā-triṁśat sahasra-yojana-vitato mūle ṣoḍaśa-sahasraṁ tāvat āntar-bhūmyāṁ)
There is a very well-known geographical entity that matches this description: The Equator.
Thus, rather than thinking of Meru as an upside down mountain of solid gold, the size of the Earth, right in the midle of a flat earth – let us take an even more literally faithful interpretation and think of it as the center of the earth, around which the earth is built, and which manifests geographically as the equator.
See Bhāgavatam 5.16.7
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