Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Mount Meru (also Sumeru or Sineru or Kangrinboqe or Kailash) is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru (Pāli Meru ), to which is added the approbatory prefix su- , resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".
Bhutanese thangka of Mt. Meru and the Buddhist universe (19th cent., Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan).. Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jainand Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes. [1]
Apkallu or and Abgal (𒉣𒈨; Akkadian and Sumerian, respectively [1]) are terms found in cuneiform inscriptions that in general mean either "wise" or "sage".. In several contexts the Apkallu are seven demigods, sometimes described as part man and part fish or bird, associated with human wisdom; these creatures are often referred to in scholarly literature as the Seven Sages.
The Buddhist cosmology divides the bhūmaṇḍala (circle of the earth) into three separate levels: Kāmadhātu (Desire realm), Rūpadhātu (Form realm), and Ārūpyadhātu (Formless realm). In the Kāmadhātu is located Mount Meru (Sumeru), which is said to be surrounded by four island-continents. The southernmost island is called Jambudvīpa.
Below this is a layer of "golden earth", a substance compact and firm enough to support the weight of Sumeru. It is 320,000 yojanas in depth and so extends to 400,000 yojanas below sea level. The layer of golden earth in turn rests upon a layer of water, which is 8,000,000 yojanas in depth, going down to 8,400,000 yojanas below sea level.
Vaiśravaṇa is the guardian of the northern direction, and his home is in the northern quadrant of the topmost tier of the lower half of Sumeru. He is the leader of all the yakṣas who dwell on the Sumeru's slopes. He is often portrayed with a yellow face. He carries an umbrella or parasol as a symbol of his sovereignty.
The history of Sumer spans through the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with the downfall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BCE.
The concept of seven heavens as developed in ancient Mesopotamia where it took on a symbolic or magical meaning as opposed to a literal one. [4] The concept of a seven-tiered was likely In the Sumerian language, the words for heavens (or sky) and Earth are An and Ki. [5]