A Meru tower or pelinggih meru is the principal shrine of a

Balinese temple A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple, and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built in accordance to rules, style, guidance and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island o ...

. It is a wooden,

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

-like structure with a masonry base, a wooden chamber and multi-tiered thatched roofs. The height of Meru towers represent the Hindu

Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), 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 spiritu ...

. Meru towers are usually dedicated to either the highest gods of the

Hindu pantheon Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...

, the local pantheon, or a deified person. The Meru tower is the equivalent of the

shikhara ''Shikhara'' ( IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chambe ...

(north India) or

vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also men ...

(South India) in Indian

Hindu temple architecture Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''garbha griha'' or womb-chamber, where ...

Description

Meru towers consist of a masonry base of about a meter height. Above this platform is a wooden chamber raised on stilts. The wooden chamber is surmounted by a series of fiber thatched roofs of diminishing size. The multi-tiered meru towers usually uses ''ijuk'', which is black ''

aren Aren may refer to: People ; Given name * Andreas Arén (born 1985), Swedish ski jumper * Aren b, also known as Brendan Vintedge, American singer-songwriter * Aren Davoudi (born 1986), Armenian basketball player * Aren Kuri (born 1991), Japanese ...

'' fibers as thatched roof material. Various sacred objects were buried or placed in parts of the meru. A Meru tower is identified with the

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

, the abode of the Hindu gods. They are always positioned in the innermost sanctum (''jero'') of a Balinese temple. Individual meru tower is dedicated to a specific

Hindu gods Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...

, a deified ancestor, or to a local deity of a particular location (Sthana Devata) or high geographical features usually a local mountain. The meru would serve as the "temporary palace" for the gods, which is based on a Balinese idea that a god would take a temporary palace in the meru during certain ceremony. The multi-tiered thatched roofs is the most recognizable feature of the meru towers. The number of roofs is always odd and reflects the status of the deity to whom the shrine is dedicated. The lowest meru contains three tiers, while the most prestigious meru contains 11 tiers. A three-tiered meru tower is usually dedicated to a deified ancestor. The central shrine of the

Pura Luhur Uluwatu Uluwatu Temple ( ban, Pura (Luhur) Uluwatu) is a Balinese Hindu sea temple (''Pura Segara'') located in Uluwatu ( South Kuta, Badung). The temple is regarded as one of the '' sad kahyangan'' and is dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in his ma ...

is a three-tiered meru tower dedicated to 12th-century reformer priest Dang Hyang Nirartha (later deified as Betara Sakti Wawu Rauh). The low-tiered meru towers of

Pura Taman Ayun Pura Taman Ayun is a compound of Balinese temple and garden with water features located in Mengwi subdistrict in Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia. Henk Schulte Nordholt wrote in his book ''Negara Mengwi'' that Taman Ayun was renovated in 1750. T ...

are dedicated to the old kings of the Kingdom of

Mengwi Mengwi is a district (''kecamatan'') in the Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia and also covers Bali's heaviest tourist regions, situated to the north of Kuta District and North Kuta District (including Seminyak Seminyak is a mixed tourist resi ...

. Other three-tiered meru is dedicated for the local god of Gunung Lebak, Bhatara Danu. A five-tiered meru tower is dedicated to the god of

Mount Agung Mount Agung ( id, Parwata Agung; ban, ᬕᬦ ᬆᬕ) is an active volcano in Bali, Indonesia, southeast of Mount Batur volcano, also in Bali. It is the highest point on Bali, and dominates the surrounding area, influencing the climate, especiall ...

, Bhatara Mahajaya. An eleven-tiered meru towers is usually dedicated to the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. The eleven-tiered meru of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and his consort

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. The

Pura Meru Pura may refer to: Places * Pura, Kushtagi, a village in Koppal district, Karnataka, India * Pura, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Pura, Tarlac, a municipality in the Philippines * Pura, Switzerland, a municipality in Ticino, S ...

Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

contains three meru towers dedicated to the

Trimurti The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of de ...

Construction

The construction of a meru requires a special construction rite. Three pripihs must be properly placed in a meru: at the peak of the roof, in the wooden main chamber, and beneath the base. Objects were in various places of the meru to enable a meru to become a proper receptacle for gods to enter the meru tower. The most important objects to be prepared in a meru is the pripih. A pripih serves as a receptacle for the god's intrinsic essence. It is prepared in a meru so that a god can lodge himself into the meru. A pripih is basically a thin plate made of five pieces of metal ('' pancadatu'', of iron, copper, gold, silver and lead) on which

cabalistic Cabalist or Cabalistic may refer to: *Cabal, a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community *Christian Kabbalah, an incorporation of Jewish Kabbalah ...

symbols ('' rajahan'') have been inscribed. A pripih would then be wrapped up in alang-alang grass, flowers, herbs, and cotton cloth, all tied together by a red, white, and black string (''tridatu'' string). The pripih is essentially more important than a statue representing the god physical form ('' upami''), and for this reason a pripih is much more usual than an image of a god in a meru. The pripih is fixed to a base made of small coins and placed in either a ''cucupu'' (a box made from gold, silver, or a stone) or a ''sangku'' (an earthenware vessel). This container will be placed in the meru's wooden chamber or buried in its base. If the pripih is properly placed, the temple will be safe from destruction. Also in the wooden chamber, various objects representing miniature furnishings (paměrah) necessary for the daily requirements of a god are prepared. Another pripih is placed on the top of the meru. Where the rafters of the uppermost roof meet, there is a vertical column with a cavity ('' pĕtaka'' meaning flag) into which is placed a small box containing nine precious stones (''

navaratna ''Navaratna'' ( sa, नवरत्न) is a Sanskrit compound word meaning "nine gems" or "ratnas". Jewellery created in this style has important cultural significance in many southern, and south-eastern Asian cultures as a symbol of wealth, st ...

''). The central precious stone represents the god Shiva, while 8 precious stones surrounding represent the eight gods of the heavenly direction. Excavations in Java reveal similar ritual practices were employed in the construction of the great Hindu-Buddhist temples of Indonesia's classical era.

References

Cited works

* * * * {{coord missing, Indonesia Archaeological sites in Indonesia Hindu temples in Indonesia Javanese culture Balinese culture Cultural Properties of Indonesia

Description

Construction

See also

References

Cited works