Shloka 12
Bhu-maṇḍala-varṇanam
Description of the Earth-Maṇḍala, the Seven Continents, and Meru
इलावृतमृषिश्रेष्ठ चत्वारश्चात्र पर्वताः । विष्कंभा रचिता मेरोर्योजिताः पुनरुच्छ्रिताः
ilāvṛtamṛṣiśreṣṭha catvāraścātra parvatāḥ | viṣkaṃbhā racitā meroryojitāḥ punarucchritāḥ
O best of sages, in Ilāvṛta there are four mountains. They have been set in place as supporting buttresses of Mount Meru, joined to it and rising up again in lofty height.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It presents sacred cosmology as an expression of divine order (ṛta): the universe is upheld by stable supports, reflecting how Pati (Shiva) sustains and harmonizes all realms.
Mount Meru functions as a cosmic axis; in Shaiva understanding, such an axis mirrors the Linga principle—Saguna Shiva as the perceivable support and center through which the cosmos is oriented and upheld.
A practical takeaway is axis-meditation (dhāraṇā): contemplate Shiva as the inner Meru—steady, central support—while mentally repeating the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”