of physical exercises that are also
believed to affect the subtle body.
The governing metaphor for this
combination of opposites is the union of
sunand moon. Both the sun and the
moon are connected to other opposing
principles through an elaborate series of
associations. In keeping with this bipo-
lar symbolism, mercury is conceived as
the semenof the god Shivaand thus full
of healing power. It is also identified
with the moon (perhaps through its
bright silvery hue), with healing and
restorative power, and with the nectar of
immortality. Elemental sulfuris identi-
fied with the goddess Shakti’suterine
blood. When mercury and sulfur are
mixed and consumed, the aspirant’s
body is purified and refined, eventually
rendering it immortal. Modern descrip-
tions of this practice warn that it should
only be carried out under the direction
of one’s guru(spiritual teacher); other-
wise these combinations will be harm-
ful, since by itself mercury is a deadly
poison. For further information see
Shashibhushan B. Dasgupta, Obscure
Religious Cults, 1962; and David Gordon
White, The Alchemical Body, 1996.
Meru
Mythical mountain in the center of the
continent of Jambudvipa, the inner-
most of the concentric landmasses that
make up the visible world in traditional
Hindu cosmology; Mount Meru is the
center of the entire world, the pivot of
the entire created order. It is said to
extend far up into the heavens and
have its roots far beneath the earth, and
on its crest is a divine city which is the
home of the gods. The mythical Meru is
often identified with the Himalayan
mountain known as Kailas. For this
reason Kailas has been an important
pilgrimage place (tirtha), despite its
inaccessible location.
Meter, Poetic
Indian poetry has well-developed metrical
forms, basically following two dominant
patterns. The first metric pattern is
based simply on the number of syllables
in a line. In the second pattern, each line
contains a certain number of metric
beats, based on the distinction between
“heavy” and “light” syllables. A heavy
syllable is any syllable with a long vowel
or a consonant cluster and is given two
metric beats; all other syllables are con-
sidered light and counted as one beat.
Sanskritpoetry tends to stress the
former pattern, and has codified meters
ranging from four to twenty-six syllables
per half-line, yet even within these syl-
labic constraints each meter usually has
a prescribed sequence of light and heavy
syllables as well. Two different Sanskrit
poetic meters may thus have the same
number of syllables, but vary in their
syllabic patterns. Although such subtle
differences could generate vast num-
bers of meters, in practice there were
only about a hundred. The vast majority
of Sanskrit texts are written in a single
meter, the anushtubh, which has eight
syllables per half-line.
Later devotional (bhakti) poetry,
particularly in northern India, tend to
favor poetic forms based on the number
of metric beats. The most popular forms
are the doha, which has twenty-four
metric beats in two lines, and the chau-
pai, which has four lines of sixteen beats
each. Although there are several poetic
forms based on the number of syllables
in each line, particularly the savaiyaand
the kavitt, these were used less often.Mewar
In the time before Indian independence
in 1947, Mewar was a princely state in
southern Rajasthan, the capital of
which was in the city of Udaipur. In
the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-
turies, Mewar was one of the important
centers for the Rajasthani style of
miniature painting. The Rajasthani
style is characterized by a flat perspec-
tive. Visual power is derived from vivid
bands of colors that often serve as a
backdrop to the painting.Mewar