Meru (मेरु, IAST: Meru) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “The cosmic mountain, axis of the universe”. Meru is the name of the golden world-mountain that stands as the axis mundi of Hindu cosmology, and Viṣṇu is identified with it as the unshakeable centre of all existence.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Mount Meru is described in the Purāṇas as the golden peak at the hub of the universe, around which the planets, stars, and continents revolve. When Viṣṇu is called Meru, the name affirms that He is the immovable foundation on which the cosmos is ordered — vast, luminous, and unconquerable. The name itself likely derives from a pre-Sanskrit root connoting height or eminence, reflecting the mountain's unparalleled stature.

Viṣṇu is celebrated as Meru in the Sahasranāma to indicate His role as the cosmological and spiritual axis of existence. Pronounced MEH-roo, it is a crisp two-syllable name that has been in traditional use across Hindu families for generations.

Advertisement

Scriptural source

Meru appears in the Vishnu Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Vishnu.

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Meru aligns with the Magha nakshatra, under the Simha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 8.