According to the mythology, ‘Meru’ is actually the name of a mountain in ‘Sorga Loka’. One of the peaks is called ‘Kailasa’, which is where Lord Shiva resides. The mountain was then revealed to the world to become Mount Himalaya in India, Mount Mahameru in Java, and Mount Agung in Bali.
‘Meru’ is one of the sacred buildings for Hindus in Bali, which is very grand, magnificent, and monumental, full of symbolic meaning and religious power contained therein. ‘Meru’ is found in large temples in Bali with a distinctive feature, the roof overlapping is high (the roof reaches 10 m, even more) and the number of roofs is always odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11) and only one has an overlapping roof 2, so that ‘Meru’ becomes a landmark in temple buildings in Bali. ‘Meru’ construction is an earthquake-resistant construction that has proven its reliability compared to temple buildings or other forms.
Based on Lontar Andha Bhuana’s statement, ‘Meru’ has two symbolic meanings, namely ‘Meru’ as a symbol of ancestral origins and as a symbol of the universe. ‘Meru’ has a meaning as a symbol of Mount Mahameru, a symbol of God Almighty (the universe) and Mother and Father (Purusa Pradhana) functioning as a place of worship or Sthana for the gods and goddesses, Bhatara Bhatari, and the holy spirits of the ancestors.
‘Meru’ as a symbol of the universe, and the roof levels are a symbol of the layers of nature, namely Bhuana Agung and Bhuana Alit (big and small or macrocosm and microcosm) from the bottom up as many as eleven levels.
The levels of the ‘Meru’ roof are a symbol of the cultivation of the ten sacred letters (the unification of the ten sacred letters) as the soul (urip) of ‘Meru’ or the universe which is located in the ten corners of the universe including in the middle. The ten sacred letters are ‘Sa’, ‘Ba’, ‘Ta’, ‘A’, ‘I’, ‘Na’, ‘Ma’, ‘Si’, ‘Wa’, ‘Ya’.
For the twin ‘Meru’ in Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati, namely ‘Meru’ with an overlapping/three levels. This three-roofed (3) ‘Meru’ is a symbol of the three letters in the middle (I, Omkara, Ya) which are the symbol of the ‘Tri Purusa’ namely ‘Parama Shiva’, ‘Sada Shiva’, and ‘Shiva’. The twin ‘Meru’ in this temple is the embodiment of several main temples as well as Sthana for Bhatara who resides in the temple. ‘Meru’ on the north side, is symbolic of the ‘Uluwatu Temple’ and the place of worship of ‘Ida Bhatara’ who resides in the temple. While ‘Meru’ on the south side, is symbolic of the ‘Goa Lawah Temple’ and the place of worship of ‘Ida Bhatara’ who resides in the temple.
In Rajendra Prasad’s literature, an explanation was also given regarding the existence of these two twins ‘Meru’. The literary states, “Because the two ‘Meru’, which flank there, are located on each side, they are all the same three-story”.
