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मेरु meru, and H. मेरू merū, s.m. "Name of a fabulous mountain, regarded as the Olympus of Hindūmythology (it is said to form the central point of Jambudvīp, all the planets revolving round it; and is compared to the cup or seed-vessel of a lotus, the leaves of which are formed by the different dvīps; its height is said to be 84,000 yojanas (or nearly 672,000 English miles), 16,000 of which are below the surface of the earth; its shape is variously described as square, conical, spherical, or spiral, and its four faces are variously coloured, being white towards the east, yellow to the south, black to the west, and red to the north; the river Ganges falls from heaven on its summit, and flows thence to the surrounding worlds in four streams; the regents of the four points of the compass occupy the corresponding faces of the mountain, the whole of which consists of gold and gems; its summit is the residence of Brahmā, and a place of meeting for the gods, Rishis, Gandharvas, etc.");—name of the highland of Tartary north of the Himālaya;—(in Astron.) the north pole;—an axis;—the neck of a cocoa-nut pipe:—meru-devī, s.f. Name of a daughter of Meru (wife of Nābhi and mother of Rishabha, who was an incarnation of Vishṇu).