Yours and Mine Vastu Shastra

Dr Uday Dokras
India has an architectural philosophy called Vastu Shastra. Rather than a rigid design
philosophy telling you to do this and then do that, it's more a set of guidelines to help with
maximizing space, sunlight, and movement within the space, while adding in Hindu and
possibly Buddhist beliefs. This all is characterized by square mandalas, which are very
distinctive grid-like shapes. Many of the greatest architectural achievements in human history
were designed according to Vastu Shastra. Angkor Wat in Cambodia was designed according
to that plan.

But what is Vastu Shastra? One theory holds that Vastu Shastra’s development goes as far
back as 8,000 years ago; many ancient Indian archaeological sites conform to its design
principals. It’s been in continual practice ever since, though it was ignored by a lot of
architects during the British rule of India. Part of the reason Vastu Shastra has remained in
use for so long is its flexibility. The design matrix allows for adaptation: with new building
materials, in more crowded areas, and in non-square spaces. Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple
Siteis the largest religious monument in theworld. This Cambodian temple design template
deploys the same circles and squares grid architecture as described inancient Indian Vāstu
Śastras. The temple has been a perennial focus of art-historical research, with scholars
typically considering it as an architectural and artistic archetype and as a manifestation of a
belief system. The disciplines of art history and digital visualisation, when previously brought
together in relation to the temple, have presented the temple as an isolated artefact. Such
static interpretations deserve to be discarded, as augmented digital visualisations that are now
available offer scholars the opportunity to situate the temple within its historical landscape
with goal seeking animated inhabitants (termed ‘agents’), displays of religious practice,
ephemeral architecture, and vegetation.

Drawing upon recent archaeological findings, a team of researchers from Monash University
has created a dynamic simulation of twelfth-century Angkor Wat where plural
reconstructions can be explored jointly by digital practitioners and Southeast Asia specialists.
In contrast to broad archaeological studies that plot change over decades or centuries, this
simulation re-creates just 24 hours; a day in the life of medieval Angkor Wat. A new model
of Angkor Wat: simulated reconstruction as a methodology for analysis and public
1
engagement.

Having said that, there is much hype made about the Khmer architecture-based on the
findings of the remains of the temples found in the Cambodian plains. Really? Don’t they all
look like Hindu temples? In fact many for few cinturies were in fact Hindu temples. Built
along the Hindu perspective of the Vastu Purusha Mandala. It is another matter that those
who so called: discovered”: them in the Jungles were non- Hindus and had no inkling of the
Sanskrit language, Hindu culture or religion, For personal gain they galloped all over Europe
claiming to be experts on Angkor and holding exhibitions, Talks and writing books.
Tom Chandler, Brent McKee, Elliott Wilson, Mike Yeates, Martin Polkinghorne, Department
of Human Centred Computing, Research output: Contribution to
journal › Article › Research › peer-reviewhttps://research.monash.edu/en/publications/a-
new-model-of-angkor-wat-simulated-reconstruction-as-a-methodolo

What is Vastu Purusha Mandala? Where to Place Vastu Purusha in House?

A lot of people consider Vastu Shastra principles during home renovation. But not many
people understand the significance of various aspects of Vastu. If you are keen to know some
important details, read on.

Vastu Purusha: The Origin of Vastu Purusha Mandala

It begins at the time when Brahma – the creator of The Universe – experiments with some
creatures.

It was Brahma’s thought of creating an Ideal ‘man’ and that is how he created Vastu Purusha.
With all the power from the Gods, Vastu Purusha was not at all an ordinary man. He was
powerful, appeared huge, and had immense powers to take over Lord Brahma.
With time, he grew bigger with his powers, and so did his hunger. He ate everything that
came his way which stressed both Shiva and Vishnu.

Soon, after their panic, they reached out to Brahma and asked him to stop the chaos.
But, Vastu Purusha was too powerful for the Three Divine Gods (Shiva, Vishnu, and
Brahma) to tackle. Therefore, The Trinity asked the God of eight directions (Ashta
Dikpalakas) to help them.
Soon after this, the Gods trapped the man on the ground in a specific position on which the
Vastu Purusha Mandala now exists – head on the North-East and Legs towards the South-
West.

This is how Vastu Purusha came into existence among the mortals and the ‘Mandala’ or Map
was created. The position in which the Gods defeated Vastu Purusha is what the Vastu
Purusha mandala architecture gets its design.

The Scientific Concept of Vastu Purusha

If we look at Vastu Purusha as two individual words, it will be simple to get the definition straight.
A. ‘Mandala’ is the collective name for a chart or a plan that symbolically represents the
universe.
B. ‘Purusha’ alludes to cosmic man, energy, connection, power, or soul.

The Vastu Purusha Mandala is metaphysical planning of building that subsumes the journey
of supernatural forces and heavenly bodies. The Vastu Purusha Mandala is an imperative part
of the Vastu Shastra. Mathematically speaking, it is the diagrammatic representation of the
design of the architectural design in terms of the star and planet movements.
To get a deeper understanding of the Vastu Purusha Mandala, one must understand the tiny
bits of Hindu Cosmology, too.

According to the Hindu Cosmology, the square represents the surface of the Earth, which is
also the foundation of all Hindu forms. Here, it represents the Earth in four corners
explaining a horizontal relationship with the sunset and sunrise (the South and North
direction).
The four corners' diagrammatic representation, or the square representation, is called the
Chaturbhuji. It represents the Prithivi Mandala.

Such a diagram is quite common in astrological or horoscope charts. The square plan tells us
the position of the planets, sun, moon, constellations, and the specific zodiac sign of a person
depending on the time and place of birth.

The Detailing in Vastu Purusha Mandala: Elements, Gods, and Deities

Vastu Purusha was defeated by 45 deities mounted in different positions on Vastu Purusha.
Each part was gold by respective Gods after which the directions and energies get their name.
The outer sector of the Vastu Purusha Mandala has 32 gods, while the inner side has 13 Gods
to suppress the man.
The presence of these Deities adds energies to your life and improves the overall quality of
your living.
That is why people follow the Vastu Purusha Mandala before building their house to not
upset the deities in that area. When you follow the entire 9x9 chart guideline thoroughly, you
are pleasing the deities, in return, they give you wealth, health, and a happy lifestyle forever.

What does the Shastra say?

According to the Vastu Shastra, the entire universe comprises of Panchabhuta or Five
Elements:
 The Sky (Akash)
 The Air (Vayu)
 The Fire (Agni)
 Water (Jal)
 Earth (Prithvi).
1
The Vastu Shastra claims that humans are composed of these five elements from the inside.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. https://theramprules.com/the-lasting-architecture-of-vastu-shastra/
Significance of Vastu Purusha Mandala
It is the complete guide of understanding energy core and distribution in the vastu. It is an
inseparable part of vastu shastra and holds a prime significance while conducting vastu
analysis for residential and commercial properties.
The floor plan of any building, particularly its main gate must be done in accordance
with Vastu Purusha Mandala. If done so, it brings ample prosperity for its occupants.
Usually Vastu Purusha Mandala is often depicted in square charts to represent the usually
shape of the plot. But for better understanding, however, it is drawn in 360 degree chart
format, which is universally more popular.
It comprises of 45 gods, out of which 13 are inner gods and rest 32 are outer gods. They
represent various aspect of life. The placement of rooms and other sections of the home,
channels the attributes of the deity that rules the particular section.
What comprises in the Vastu Purusha Mandala?
In this section, we will elaborate the Vastu Purusha Mandala chart, in brief. Let us list all
these 45 deities, one by one, along with learning its significance at a glance. We will begin
with 13 inner gods.
The inner 13 deities of vastu purusha mandala
1. Brahma- It is the central space of the vastu. It is also known as Brahmasthan. Brahma
is the core creator, main manifesto and root of all the energy in the universe. It is
highly recommended not to mess with it. Thus it is best left void in any vastu.
(From 2 to 5)
From Brahma emerge 4 main energy fields in 4 cardinal directions, i.e. in North, East, South
and

West. In this sequence this energy fields are-

1. Bhudhar-It offers energy to initiate or begin any work or task.
2. Aryama- It offers the expertise to mingle with people and to establish connections.
 Vivasvan– It offers energy to attain peak of success and fame.
1. Mitra- It offers energy in the form of motivation to take fruitful action.
(From 6 to 13)
From these 4 energies, along with that of Brahma, emerge 8 more energy fields on diagonal
direction (i.e. on NE, NW, SE, SW). These are called the asthsiddhiyan and are named as
follows-
1. Rudra– it offers energy to carry out tasks, without interruption. It also represent
emotional imbalance.
2. Rajyaksma/Rudrajaya– it offers supportive and supervising energy to carry out the
ideas offered by the mind.
These above 2 energy fields are in the North-West zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
 Apa- it offers energy to attain the right way to accomplish a task, find solution of any
problem and to promote healing.
1. Apavatsa- it offers helping energy for apa and also act as a reservoir of nutrition.
These above 2 energy fields are in the North-east zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
1. Savita- only planning is not adequate in life. This field offers motivational energy to
begin any action.
2. Sosa/savitra- it offer supportive energy for savita, and towards managing funds.
These above 2 energy fields are in the South-East zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
 Indra- it offers energy to expand on property and especially, business. Highly
beneficial for business properties.
 Jaya/Indrajaya- it offers helping energy to carry out the tasks of Indra, in the form of
tools, skills and mediums.
These above 2 energy fields are in the South-West zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
The outer 32 deities of vastu purusha mandala
With this, we have listed out all the 13 inner deities of any vastu. Now, let’s list the rest 32
outer deities of the vastu.
We will begin with listing the 16 deities in the 4 cardinal directions, at first.
(From 14 to 29)
1. Mikhya- it is the house of Vishwakarma and offers energy for carrying out the
intended tasks.
 2. Bhallata-it represents abundance and fulfillments of any work. It helps to bag
significant wealth for its occupants.
 Soma- it lies in the house of Lord Kuber and represents the elixir of life. It offers
ample amount of wealth and is highly beneficial for business owners.
1. Bhujanga- it represents the medicine and treatment. It offers healing and also
immunity to keep illnesses at bay.
These above 4 energy fields are in the North zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
1. Jayanta– it offers determination to carry out the tasks in practical life. It contributes
towards shaping the future.
2. Indra/Mahendra-it offers complete control of all the senses and concentrates them
for fruitful work.
 Ravi/surya– it represents the Sun and offers energy to carry out activity. It gives
foresight to complete analyze any situation or task.
 Satya- it represents righteousness. It generates create good thoughts, and morals.
These above 4 energy fields are in the East zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
1. Vitatha– it represents false illusion, and pretension. This energy field can influence
how a person behave and react. It should be avoided without vastu supervision.
2. Grahksta– it represent stability and undivided attention. It gives power to offer best
decision or guidance.
3. Yama- it represents the lord of death and law. It offers principles to lead the perfect
life.
 Gandharva- it is associated with lord Narad. It offers energy to bring out the
creativity, art, connectivity, wisdom etc from a person.
These above 4 energy fields are in the South zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
 Sugriva– it represent Swan and its power. It offers power to get the best of
everything, obtain knowledge and urge to do well in life.
 Pushpadanta-it offers assistance to carry our any task. Any flaw in this field can
cause hindrance to complete any work.
1. Varuna- it represent ocean god. It offers bonding to the earthly affairs and helps to
have control on oneself.
 Asura- it represents delusion, chaos, and unsystematic thoughts. If is left weak, it can
lead to confusion. If it is done right, it can help get rid of false temptations.
These above 4 energy fields are in the West zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
At last its time to list the remaining 16 deities. They lie in the diagonal directional
orientation.
(From 30 to 45)
1. Sosa- it represents removal and elimination of all the negative aspects of your life.
2. Papayaksma- it brings out some negative aspect of life, such as diseases, alcoholism
and weak mindset. It is best left unutilized without vastu correction.
 Roga- it can drain the energy of goo aspect of vastu, if left weakened. If corrected, it
can offer support and destroy illnesses.
1. Naga- it represents Vasuki, the mighty snake worn by Lord Shiva. If left weakened, it
causes jealousy, desire and temptations.
These above 4 energy fields are in the North-West zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
1. Aditi- this is the house of Aditi, the mother of all devas. It offers safety and
confidence.
2. Diti- this is the house of Diti, the mother of all asuras. It offers foresight and wealth,
and clarity of mind.
 Shikhi- it is an attribute to Lord Shiva, represents fire and offers potential to make an
ideal come alive.
  Parjanya– it is associated with blessings of rain and thus offer fertility and offers
good result of any work done.
These above 4 energy fields are in the North-East zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
1. Bhrisa- it offers the triggering energy or force or power that initiates action.
2. Akasha- it represents sky or space element and it creates opportunities to make your
work or activity successful.
3. Anila- it represents the Vayu god and also the fire element in the vastu. It offers
support and energy to uplifts the result of any task.
 Pusa- it represents nourishment and offers strength and energy to carry out any work.
These above 4 energy fields are in the South-East zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
 Bhringraja- it represents a demon of same name. It extracts all the benefits of any
situation for you and eliminates the rest of it.
 Mriga- it evokes the thirst of curiosity and finding the best aspect of it. It represents
both focus and lack of focus for long.
1. Pitra- it represent the ancestral zone. It offers their blessings to the occupants.
 Dauvrika– it represent the sacred Nandi, the doorkeeper of Lord Shiva. It offers
protection and act as a guardian force against negative forces.
These above 4 energy fields are in the south-West zone of the Vastu Purusha Mandala.
It is important to take note that, even though we refer to them all as deities; they comprises of
both devas and asuras. It means that it includes both positive and negative aspect in a given
space. Thus, it is crucial to know which aspects to adapt and which to avoid, and how to
strengthen them, in the Vastu Purusha Mandala.

Seeking vastu for home and other properties has become more popular than ever before. With
increasing awareness among people related to the vastu shastra; people are realizing the
importance of the same. Its trace can be seen throughout the history of Indian civilization.
In fact, in the most ancient civilization, it was sort of customary to implement the guidelines
of vastu shastra for any building itself. The imprint of the same can still be seen in ruins of
Indian architecture and ancient temples that still stands today.
 It is highly recommended to seek vastu
consultant for every property these days, in order to make sure of prosperous living ahead. To
know more about Vastu Purusha Mandala, get in touch with our experts at Vaastu
Mangaal.
If you found this blog useful, don’t forget to share it with your family and friends as well, to
spread this knowledge.
Centuries of commercial and cultural interaction between the Indian kingdoms and the
Khmer Empire led to a fascinating cultural exchange and enrichment, which is obvious in the
magnificent motifs and architectural styles of the temples in both countries.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism carried over from India to various parts of Southeast Asia
during the early Christian era. However, the most influential period of the Indian culture on
Cambodian art was during the rule of Pallavas (3rd to 9th centuries) and Cholas (9th to 13th
centuries). The cultural influence from the various reigns of Indian kings led to a pervasive
influence on the art and architecture of Cambodia. Here, we can see the heavy Indianisation
impact on the architecture and art scene in the Khmer empire.

Indian and Khmer temples are the architectural expressions of a related Hindu cosmogony
accounting for the creation of reality and its different ontological forms or modes of being. In
it, the gods dismember purusha, the Cosmic Man, to create life, the original differentiation of
unity. Ymir plays this role in Norse mythology, while similar sacrificial divinities figure in
the fertility myths of other cultures: Osiris in Egypt, Dumuzid in Sumeria, Adonis and Attis
in Asia Minor, Nanahuatzin in Mesoamerica - perhaps Christ in Christianity. This “primal
debt” has been repaid many times over–first, by human sacrifice, later, animal offerings and,
finally, architectural monuments for the worship of these creator gods, like Angkor Wat.

VASTUSHASHTRA BRIEF SUMMARY

The Sanskrit word vastu means a dwelling or house with a corresponding plot of
land. The vrddhi, vāstu, takes the meaning of “the site or foundation of a house, site, ground,
building or dwelling-place, habitation, homestead, house”. The underlying root is vas “to
dwell, live, stay, reside”. The term shastra may loosely be translated as “doctrine, teaching”.
Vastu-Sastras (literally, science of dwelling) are ancient Sanskrit manuals of architecture.
These contain Vastu-Vidya (literally, knowledge of dwelling).
Vastu shastra is a traditional Hindu system of architecture which literally translates to
“science of architecture.” These are texts found on the Indian subcontinent that describe
principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement and
spatial geometry. Vastu Shastras incorporate traditional Hindu and in some cases Buddhist
beliefs. The designs are intended to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions
of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilizing geometric patterns (yantra),
symmetry and directional alignments.

Vastu Shastra are the textual part of Vastu Vidya, the latter being the broader knowledge
about architecture and design theories from ancient India. Vastu Vidya knowledge is a
collection of ideas and concepts, with or without the support of layout diagrams that are not
rigid. Rather, these ideas and concepts are models for the organization of space and form
within a building or collection of buildings, based on their functions in relation to each other,
their usage and to the overall fabric of the Vastu. Ancient Vastu Shastra principles include
those for the design of Mandir (Hindu temples), and the principles for the design and layout
of houses, towns, cities, gardens, roads, water works, shops and other public areas.
Direction In Vastushashtra

Vastushashtra In History
According to Chakrabarti, Vastu Vidya is as old the Vedic period and linked to the ritual
architecture. According to Michael W. Meister, the Atharvaveda contains verses with mystic
cosmogony which provide a paradigm for cosmic planning, but they did not represent
architecture nor a developed practice. Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita dated to the sixth
century CE, states Meister, is the first known Indian text that describes “something like
a vastupurusamandala to plan cities and buildings”. The emergence of Vastu vidya as a
specialized field of science is speculated to have occurred significantly before the 1st-century
CE
Proposals tracing potential links of the principles of composition in Vastu Shastra and
the Indus Valley Civilization have been made, but Kapila Vatsyayan is reluctant to speculate
on such links given the Indus Valley script remains undeciphered.

There exist many Vastu-Sastras on the art of building houses, temples, towns and cities. One
such Vastu Sastra is by Thakkura Pheru, describing where and how temples should be
built. By 6th century AD, Sanskrit manuals for constructing palatial temples were in
circulation in India. Vastu-Sastra manuals included chapters on home construction, town
planning, and how efficient villages, towns and kingdoms integrated temples, water bodies
and gardens within them to achieve harmony with nature. While it is unclear, states
Barnett, as to whether these temple and town planning texts were theoretical studies and if or
when they were properly implemented in practice, the manuals suggest that town planning
and Hindu temples were conceived as ideals of art and integral part of Hindu social and
spiritual life.

The Silpa Prakasa of Odisha, authored by Ramacandra Bhattaraka Kaulacara sometime in

ninth or tenth century CE, is another Vastu Sastra. Silpa Prakasa describes the geometric
principles in every aspect of the temple and symbolism such as 16 emotions of human beings
carved as 16 types of female figures. These styles were perfected in Hindu temples prevalent
in eastern states of India. Other ancient texts found expand these architectural principles,
suggesting that different parts of India developed, invented and added their own
interpretations. For example, in Saurastra tradition of temple building found in western states
of India, the feminine form, expressions and emotions are depicted in 32 types of Nataka-
stri compared to 16 types described in Silpa Prakasa. Silpa Prakasa provides brief
introduction to 12 types of Hindu temples. Other texts, such as Pancaratra Prasada
Prasadhana compiled by Daniel Smith and Silpa Ratnakara compiled by Narmada Sankara
provide a more extensive list of Hindu temple types.
Ancient Sanskrit manuals for temple construction discovered in Rajasthan, in northwestern
region of India, include Sutradhara Mandana’s Prasadamandana (literally, manual for
planning and building a temple) with chapters on town building. Manasara
shilpa and Mayamata, texts of South Indian origin, estimated to be in circulation by 5th to
7th century AD, is a guidebook on South Indian Vastu design and
construction. Isanasivagurudeva paddhati is another Sanskrit text from the 9th century
describing the art of building in India in south and central India. In north India, Brihat-
samhita by Varāhamihira is the widely cited ancient Sanskrit manual from 6th century
describing the design and construction of Nagara style of Hindu temples.
These ancient Vastu Sastras, often discuss and describe the principles of Hindu temple
design, but do not limit themselves to the design of a Hindu temple. They describe the temple
as a holistic part of its community, and lay out various principles and a diversity of alternate
designs for home, village and city layout along with the temple, gardens, water bodies and
nature.
Links for more knowledge on Vastushashtra to popular news papers

Mandala types and properties

The 8×8 (64) grid Manduka Vastu Purusha Mandala layout for Hindu Temples. It is one of
32 Vastu Purusha Mandala grid patterns described in Vastu sastras. In this grid structure of
symmetry, each concentric layer has significance.

The central area in all mandala is the Brahmasthana. Mandala “circle-circumference” or

“completion”, is a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both
Hinduism and Buddhism. The space occupied by it varies in different mandala – in Pitha (9)
and Upapitha (25) it occupies one square module, in Mahaapitha (16), Ugrapitha (36)
and Manduka (64), four square modules and in Sthandila (49) and Paramasaayika (81), nine
square modules. The Pitha is an amplified Prithvimandala in which, according to some texts,
the central space is occupied by earth. The Sthandila mandala is used in a concentric manner.

The most important mandala is the Manduka/ Chandita Mandala of 64 squares and the
Paramasaayika Mandala of 81 squares. The normal position of the Vastu Purusha (head in the
northeast, legs in the southwest) is as depicted in the Paramasaayika Mandala. However, in
the Manduka Mandala the Vastu Purusha is depicted with the head facing east and the feet
facing west.

It is believed that every piece of a land or a building has a soul of its own and that soul is
known as Vastu Purusha.

A site of any shape can be divided using the Pada Vinyasa. Sites are known by the number of
squares. They range from 1×1 to 32×32 (1024) square sites. Examples of mandalas with the
corresponding names of sites include:

 Sakala(1 square) corresponds to Eka-pada (single divided site)

 Pechaka(4 squares) corresponds to Dwi-pada (two divided site)
 Pitha(9 squares) corresponds to Tri-pada (three divided site)
 Mahaapitha(16 squares) corresponds to Chatush-pada (four divided site)
 Upapitha(25 squares) corresponds to Pancha-pada (five divided site)
 Ugrapitha(36 squares) corresponds to Shashtha-pada (six divided site)
 Sthandila(49 squares) corresponds to sapta-pada (seven divided site)
 Manduka/ Chandita(64 square) corresponds to Ashta-pada (eight divided site))
 Paramasaayika(81 squares)
 Paramasaayika(81 squares) corresponds to Nava-pada (nine divided site)
 Aasana(100 squares) corresponds to Dasa-pada (ten divided site)
 bhadrmahasan (196 squares) corresponds to chodah -pada (14 divided sites)

Modern adaptations and usage

Vastu sastra represents a body of ancient concepts and knowledge to many modern architects,
a guideline but not a rigid code. The square-grid mandala is viewed as a model of
organization, not as a ground plan. The ancient Vastu sastra texts describe functional
relations and adaptable alternate layouts for various rooms or buildings and utilities, but do
not mandate a set compulsory architecture. Sachdev and Tillotson state that the mandala is a
guideline, and employing the mandala concept of Vastu sastra does not mean every room or
building has to be square. The basic theme is around core elements of central space,
peripheral zones, direction with respect to sunlight, and relative functions of the spaces.

The pink city Jaipur in Rajasthan was master planned by Rajput king Jai Singh and built by
1727 CE, in part around Vastu Shilpa Sastra principles. Similarly, modern era projects such
as the architect Charles Correa’s designed Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya in Ahmedabad,
Vidhan Bhavan in Bhopal, and Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, adapt and apply concepts
from the Vastu Shastra Vidya. In the design of Chandigarh city, Le Corbusier incorporated
modern architecture theories with those of Vastu Shastra.

During the colonial rule period of India, town planning officials of the British Raj did not
consider Vastu Vidya, but largely grafted Islamic Mughal era motifs and designs such as
domes and arches onto Victorian-era style buildings without overall relationship layout. This
movement, later known as the Indo-Saracenic style, is found in chaotically laid out, but
externally grand structures in the form of currently used major railway stations, harbors, tax
collection buildings, and other colonial offices in South Asia.

Vastu sastra vidya was ignored, during colonial era construction, for several reasons. These
texts were viewed by 19th and early 20th century architects as archaic, the literature was
inaccessible being in an ancient language not spoken or read by the architects, and the ancient
texts assumed space to be readily available. In contrast, public projects in the colonial era
were forced into crowded spaces and local layout constraints, and the ancient Vastu sastra
were viewed with prejudice as superstitious and rigid about a square grid or traditional
materials of construction. Sachdev and Tillotson state that these prejudices were flawed, as a
scholarly and complete reading of the Vastu sastra literature amply suggests the architect is
free to adapt the ideas to new materials of construction, local layout constraints and into a
non-square space. The design and completion of a new city of Jaipur in early 1700s based on
Vastu sastra texts, well before any colonial era public projects, was one of many
proofs. Other examples include modern public projects designed by Charles Correa such as
Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, and Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. Vastu Shastra remedies
have also been applied by Khushdeep Bansal in 1997 to the Parliament complex of India,
when he contented that the library being built next to the building is responsible for political
instability in the country.

German architect Klaus-Peter Gast states that the principles of Vastu Shastras is witnessing a
major revival and wide usage in the planning and design of individual homes, residential
complexes, commercial and industrial campuses, and major public projects in India, along
with the use of ancient iconography and mythological art work incorporated into the Vastu
vidya architectures.

Vastu and superstition

The use of Vastu shastra and Vastu consultants in modern home and public projects is
controversial. Some architects, particularly during India’s colonial era, considered it arcane
and superstitious. Other architects state that critics have not read the texts and that most of the
text is about flexible design guidelines for space, sunlight, flow and function.
Vastu Shastra is considered as pseudoscience by rationalists like Narendra
Nayak of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations. Scientist and astronomer Jayant
Narlikarconsiders Vastu Shastra as pseudoscience and writes that Vastu does not have any
“logical connection” to the environment. One of the examples cited by Narlikar arguing the
absence of logical connection is the Vastu rule, “sites shaped like a triangle … will lead to
government harassment, … parallelogram can lead to quarrels in the family.” Narlikar notes
that sometimes the building plans are changed and what has already been built is demolished
to accommodate for Vastu rules. Regarding superstitious beliefs in Vastu, Science
writer Meera Nanda cites the case of N.T.Rama Rao, the ex-chief minister of Andhra
Pradesh, who sought the help of Vastu consultants for his political problems. Rama Rao was
advised that his problems would be solved if he entered his office from an east facing gate.
Accordingly, a slum on the east facing side of his office was ordered to be demolished, to
make way for his car’s entrance. The knowledge of Vastu consultants is questioned by
Pramod Kumar, “Ask the Vaastu folks if they know civil engineering or architecture or the
local government rules on construction or minimum standards of construction to advise
people on buildings. They will get into a barrage of “ancient” texts and “science” that smack
of the pseudo-science of astrology. Ask them where they were before the construction boom
and if they will go to slum tenements to advise people or advise on low-cost community-
housing—you draw a blank.”

Background: In the Upanishads (TPQ 1000 B.C.E.,) sometimes referred to as "the last
chapters" or "highest purpose" of the Vedas, purusha becomes an abstraction, Brahman, an
a-theistic, dimensionless, formless, absolute, a universal spirit, self or consciousness,
unknowable, but from which all else emanates, literally, ex nihilo. In the dvaita (dualistic)
Shakhya schools, purusha or Brahman animates and differentiates prakriti, amorphous
matter or substance; in advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta schools, prakriti is equated
with maya, phenomena, ontic or "mind-created being" and, as such, illusion, insofar as it is
not seen as the projections of this non-manifest absolute. These ideas were later assimilated
into Saivite and Vaisnavite Hinduism, as well as, Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism, as
practiced in India and Angkor during the “Classical Period" (600-1200 C.E.)

In the orthodox Shiva Siddhanta tradition, the supreme deity, Parashiva,

without skalas (parts, form, differentiation) skandhas (the attributes or mental categories of
"attributed being") or tattvas, "thisnesses" or qualia, manifests the universe through five
aspects or pentads (analogous to hypostases and personifications:) Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra,
Mahasvara and Sadashiva, oscillating continually between emission and reabsorption,
creation and destruction. This is symbolized in the five-fold articulation of Shiva's originally
aniconic linga into a pancha-mukha-linga, representing Sadashiva ("completed Shiva,”) and
anthropomorphically, with ten arms and five head or in his twenty-eight avatars. This same
ontology of emanation is represented by the primordial bindu or drop from which the
universe ripples out, still commemorated by the dot many Hindus place on their foreheads
every morning, as well as, by the primordial sound, the tri-syllablic A-U-M or Om,
reverberating time and space or space/time down to this moment.
Hinduism and Buddhism attempt to recapitulate this cosmogenesis in brick and mortar when
they build their temples, one more emanation of the non-manifest “ground - (or
groundlessness-) of - being.” This intimate connection between religion and architecture is
inscribed in the Sanskrit distinction between a sthapaka, an architect/ priest, usually
a brahmin, permitted access to the secretly transmitted Vedic texts, who designates a temple’s
form, proportions and siting according to religious principles, and a sthapati, a general
contractor with expertise in building, who is entrusted with materializing
the sthapaka’s abstract concept. The two most widely consulted Indian architectural texts,
the Vastu Shastra and Mahasara, distinguish the sthapaka as responsible for a building’s jiva,
its immortal essence or energy (analogous to Brahman, purusha, the “male principle,” spirit,
form and abstraction.) The sthapati's sphere, in contrast, is a temple’s prakriti (prakrti,) the
physical substrate, malleable, amorphous matter, associated with the female principle and the
receiver of purusha, through which the idea is given substance. This apophatic Indic deity,
ironically, permitted the proliferation of voluble manifestations of this inexpressible, non-
manifest oneness – avatars, gods, bodhisattvas, parallel worlds and universes, easily confused
with polytheism – which could coexist with little doctrinal controversy or competition. The
architectural counterpart of this multiplicity were temples of overwhelming formal complexity
and visual density, in contrast with the monumentality and unity expressed pre-eminently by
the dome in Mosaic monotheism’s churches and mosques, a form unknown in pre-Islamic
(1092) India and to the Khmer. This in no way contradicted Hindu and Buddhist epistemology,
since these monuments, their shrines and the deities who inhabited them were ultimately
illusions or maya, “dependently originated” from the dimensionless “non-manifest.”
Enlightenment, satori, and salvation, moksha or nirvana, came with the realization of one’s
own and the world’s sunyata or emptiness; in the words of the Heart Sutra, “form is emptiness,
emptiness form,” certainly, a paradoxical foundation on which to build an architecture.

The Vastu Purusha Mandala

One way sthapakas re-enacted creation by emanation was by constructing their temples out
of aedicules – small buildings, shrines, simulacra or replica of the structures of which they
formed a part, in other words, buildings built of buildings. In his path-breaking
studies, Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation (Indira Gandhi Center for the
Arts, New Delhi, 1995) andThe Temple Architecture of India (Wiley, Hoboken NJ, 2008,)
Adam Hardy describes this method of generating architectural space as
“aedicular expansion,” not just the use of an Albertian grid or Corbusian modular but the
replication of a repertory of shrine types each with its celestial tenant. The first-time visitor to
Khajuraho, Halebidu or Madurai is often struck by a superabundance, bordering on optical
overload, which threatens to vitiate the coherence and solidity of the structures they
comprise. These temples’ matrix of multiple rathas, latas or pagas (vertical facets,
projections, corners or angles) and pidas, bhumis or talas (horizontal stories, levels or tiers)
can result in an initially “jittery” or pulsating impression, a sense of motion rarely
encountered in architecture, a prolixity rarely indulged to the point where it drowns out its
own utterance, because, in the end, all words are echoes of each other, and of the A-U-M.

The Vastu Shastra, the Indian equivalent of Vitruvius, Serlio and Palladio in the West, except
with divine sanction, provides precise directions for a temple’s spatial projection based on a
revised version of the creation myth of the purusha or Cosmic Man. Brahma (the creator god,
not to be confused with Brahman or brahmins) conceived a primitive giant, the vastu purusha,
whose, unrestrained (“male”) libido wreaked chaos and disorganization over the passive,
(“female”) earth. He therefore ordered the other gods, men and demons to confine this
untamed, literally undomesticated, “wild man” within a domicile, an ordered square, a built
space. This is the perfect or ideal shape in Hinduism because of its orthogonal, four-fold
symmetry, in contrast with biomorphic, formless prakriti which needs to be ruled - both
measured and dominated. The vastu purusha was so powerful he had to be pinned down in a
grid of 8 x 8 or sixty-four squares or padas. Brahma held him in the middle four, the gods in
the surrounding twelve, humans in the twenty beyond those and the demons in the outer
twenty-eight. The myth conflates an unusual combination of
familiar topoi: (a) the purusha’s dismemberment, the primal fall from unity into
multiplicity; (b) Freud’s sublimation of libidinous energy to the “demands of reality” and social
life; (c) patriarchal domination of inchoate, “female” physicality by “male” rationality; (d) the
“civilization” of untamed space or wilderness by an architectural regime. The vastu
purusha or manduka mandala became the prototype for all the other architectural mandalas or
grids regulating the “aedicular expansion” of Hindu and Buddhist temples, private houses and
even cities, all theoretically emanating from a single dimensionless point, where the planar axes
cross. The Vastu Shastra alone lists thirty-one other mandalas, ranging from a single square to
a 32 x 32 or 1024-pada (210) grid, including circular mandalas and combinations of the two.
FIGURE 3 A - F: GENERATION OF AN 8 x 8 PADA MANDUKA MANDALA FROM A
POINT

Reckoning with Rathas

The terminology for Indian temple architecture can often be confusing because of the
different traditions which have developed across the subcontinent; they are, however,
essential for referring to the parts of these highly detailed building.
Ratha, for example, has two distinct meanings in Hindu architecture: 1) the chariot of a god
carried in a procession or a replica as a fixed part of a temple, e.g. the jagamohana of the
Surya (Sun) Temple at Konark, Odisha (Orissa;) 2) a vertical projection, (angle, facet, offset,
redent, ressaut or result) tangent to a notional circle circumscribing a square core,
(shrine, prasat, prasada, cella, garbagriha, shikhara, rekha deul, vimana;) rathas may also
be called pagas or latas in the Nagara tradition. Both vimana and prasada can also have the
same double meaning as rather.
Rathas, in this second sense, may be orthogonal (at right angles to the vertical and horizontal
axes) resulting in cruciform, staggered or stepped outlines, or rotated at an angle to those
axes, producing stellate shapes. The most common plans have 3, 5, 7 and 9 projections
referred to by their Sanskrit names: triratha, pancharatha, saptaratha and navaratha, but
some stellate forms have as many as 24, 32 and 48 rathas, for example the Doddabasappa
Temple at Dambal in Karnataka with 24.
The number of rathas is conventionally counted between the diagonals of the square core
from which the rathas project, (not from between its cardinal axes;) only one diagonal corner
per quadrant is counted, so the number of rathas is always odd. The standard Khmer shrine
module, for example, is pancharatha, with five rathas: a central square with two broad but
barely-emerged (shallow, slightly-projecting) crosses superimposed on it. Portals (jambs,
colonettes, pilasters,) may or may not be included as rathas; the indentations of
the varandika (cornice) or jagati (stylobate, base molding) can provide an indication of their
number.
In a pancharatha shrine,the outer, corner or first ratha ( is called the kanika, konaka or karna
ratha; the two intermediate rathas (2 and 5,) the anuraha or anardha rathas, while the two
central rathas (3 and 4,) the raha rathas or bhadra. In saptaratha shrines, the rathas, (2 and
7,) adjacent to the corner or kanika rathas can be called pratirathas, as the rathas (4 and 5)
adjacent to the the central strip, the bhadra or raha rathas, are sometimes called lata rathas.
All these terms are subject to local usage.

A vastu purusha manduka (8 x 8-pada) or paramasayika (9 x 9-pada) mandala can be generated

from a point, as in figure 3, by projecting a line in one direction from the primal dot or bindu,
creating the first dimension, then three more in the other cardinal directions, creating an x- and y-
axis, a plane and a second dimension. If each of these four lines then projects a line laterally on either
side of it, (that is, at right angles to itself,) at equal distances from the axial crossing, they will form
four squares or a single larger square whose center is the axial crossing; It appears that the earliest
Hindu shrines were square wattle or mud brick huts with curved thatched or bent bamboo roofs. A
model of this type has been preserved, the Draupadi Ratha, figure 3D above, carved from a solid
granite outcrop at Mamallapuram (formerly Mahabalipuram) on the Coromandel Coast of Tamil
Nadu near Chennai (formerly Madras,) one of five monolithic temple “prototypes” or rathas at this
site. These early shrines are also thought to be recalled in the rounded roofs of the chaitya halls of
early Buddhist cave temples, such as those at Ajanta in Maharashtra near Mumbai (formerly
Bombay.) A square shrine or cella with a roof gathered at the center like a “cap” placed on top of
solid walls or pillars constitutes a Dravida or Southern Indian alpa vimana or kuta, one of the most
common shrine “types” in Hindu architecture.

Continuing the dynamic of “aedicular expansion,” each of these four squares projects one additional
square along each axis to form a Greek or equal-armed cross with eight squares. The four
central padas constitute the garbagriha, “womb chamber’, sanctuary or cella, while the added eight
form four, 2-pada porches. Since the square module or aedicule from which they emerge is 2 x
2 padas and since they are only 2 x 1 padas, they have emerged only partially, half-way or 50% of
their width. The sanctuary and its four porches of Thommanon, figure 3E, a small temple built just
before Angkor Wat, approximate a Greek cross. Projecting one more aedicule, not just axially but
laterally results in a central square with four rows of four padas each with a superimposed, equal-
armed cross, two padas wide and six padas long, producing a staggered or
redented, triratha outline, with three rathas or angles in each quadrant. A very large example of
a triratha shrine would be Candi Siwa, figure 3F, a Saivite complex at Prambanan in southern Java
(c. 850 C.E.,) a date when it could have influenced the earliest temples at Angkor. Adding another
square to those above, results in two rectangles, 4 x 6 padas at right angles to each other forming a
broad cross on which a narrower, equal-armed cross, 8 x 2 padas is superimposed, as in figure 3G.
This can then be expanded laterally to form a manduka mandala of 8 x 8 squares or padas,
composed of four concentric squares of 4, 12, 20 and 28 padas around their edges, figure 3H.

A paramasayika mandala is employed almost as frequently as a manduka; it begins from a single

square (red in the diagram below, cf. figure 3D) rather than a point, which emanates four squares or
porches (blue) forming an equal-armed Greek cross three padas wide. Following the process of
aedicular expansion, it adds green, yellow and oranges squares resulting in concentric crosses 3, 5, 7,
and 9 padas wide, containing 5, 13, 25, and 41 padas respectively. The last consists of one cross 9 x
1 padas long, superimposed on another cross, 3 x 7 padas long, both superimposed on a 5 x 5-
pada square, resulting in a pancharatha shrine, that is, with five rathas (numbered on the diagram,)
the most common Khmer shrine. This cross’ forty-one padas can then be expanded into a 9 x 9-
pada square with 81 padas, a paramasayiika mandala, consisting of five concentric squares of 1, 8,
16, 24, and 32 padas. Indian architects discovered they could increase the number of facets by using
overlapping aedicules, that is, aedicules only partially emerged, ⅛, ¼ and ½ their
width (see figure 3E and figure 8.)

It should be noted here that the Khmer throughout their nearly 500 year floruit employed essentially
the same “aedicule,” actually a L. > “aedes” or building, the ubiquitous pancharatha (with
five rathas) prasat Sans. > castle, palace, temple > Sans. prasada, dwelling, residence (of a god,)
temple. This consisted of a garbagriiha, the shrine, sanctuary or cella, with a shikhara, tower or
superstructure, of four compressed tiers, each repeating the outline of the shrine beneath it; these
qualify as the only strictly defined aedicules used in Khmer architecture. This “aedicule, in the larger
sense, was then cloned and projected at unprecedented dimensions. Viewed strictly from the
perspective of “aedicular expansion,” the pre-eminent Khmer monument, Angkor Wat, might be
described as three, immense, identical tiers or talas, (its terraces,) each with eight identical prasats or
“aedicules,” (its towers,) linked by endless harantaras, (its galleries) with the garbagriha or cella,not
underneath the talas, but at their tip like a giant stupi. This reductio ad absurdum results from
reading one “architectural language” in terms of another, a danger given the lack of a Khmer building
lexicon.
Architecturally, the Angkor Wat shares many common features with both Pallava and Chola
temples. Like the Vaikunta Perumal Temple (Kanchi) and the Sundara Varada Perumal
Temple (Uttaramerur) of the Pallavas, the Angkor Wat consists of three levels or tiers, each
of the upper tiers slightly smaller than the one below it, giving the structure the look of a
pyramid.
 The Vaikuna Perumal Temple in Kanchi, India

The Sundhara Varada Perumal Temple

Uttaramerur, India

Similar to the Chola Brhadisvara Temple of Thanjavur, Angkor Wat was also conceived to
represent the Mountain Meruin the Himalayas, which is known to be the home of the Hindu
deities in Hindu mythology. It is believed that the king built this temple as per the guidelines
provided by an Indian priest, Damodara Pandita, who was a Brahmin scholar and the chief
priest of the King. Hence, the temple is based largely on South Indian architectural style,
resembling the Indian temples of the South Indian Kingdoms.

There are also unmistakable parallels between the art of Angkor Wat and Pattadakkal.
Pattadakkal is a village in India, which houses many precious artefacts such as inscriptions
and temples. The bas-reliefs in Angkor Wat and The Virupaksha Temple of Pattadakkal both
depict the scene of Samudramanthan, the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean by the gods and
demons. This scene is portrayed on the face of a column in the temple in Pattadakkal, while it
is carved onto the walls of Angkor Wat. Style-wise, the sculptures in both temples are
remarkably similar.
 The Churning of the Ocean Bas-relief in Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal
These monuments give us a very eye-opening, astounding view of Indianisation, and the
Indian cultural elements that had engulfed the Cambodian architectural and art scene. They
show us the unique blend of both cultures together, resulting in amazing architectural and
motif masterpieces that never fail to awe anyone who may see it.