Understanding Vastu

What Vastu Shastra is

Vastu Shastra is India's classical body of knowledge about buildings: how to place them on a site, which way to face them and how to arrange the spaces inside. The word vastu comes from a Sanskrit root meaning 'to dwell', and shastra means a teaching or manual. Put simply, it is the traditional Indian study of the dwelling.

Its ideas are recorded in Sanskrit treatises on architecture written over many centuries. Commonly cited texts include the Mayamata and the Manasara from South India, the Samarangana Sutradhara from 11th-century Malwa, and the architecture chapters of the Brihat Samhita, from around the 6th century CE. Tradition names the divine architect Vishwakarma as the original source of the knowledge.

The texts mix practical building sense (sunlight, airflow, drainage, proportion) with religious ideas about the directions and their guardian deities. Historians disagree about how old the tradition is, and the texts don't always agree with one another. Today many architects treat Vastu as flexible guidance rather than a rigid code. For a buyer in Chandigarh, Mohali or Zirakpur, it usually comes down to simple questions: which way does the door face, where is the kitchen, and is the north-east open?

The five elements (Panchabhuta)

Like much of classical Indian thought, Vastu describes the world as built from five elements, the Panchabhuta: earth, water, fire, air and space. A balanced home is one where each element sits in the part of the plan that suits it.

This corner-based mapping is the one most present-day consultants use. Some older and scholarly descriptions link the elements to the four main directions instead, for example water with the north and fire with the south, and treat the corners as blends. Both versions point the same way in practice: keep the north-east light and open, make the south-west solid, and put fire in the south-east.

The Vastu Purusha Mandala

At the heart of Vastu is a square diagram called the Vastu Purusha Mandala. In the legend behind it, a shapeless being who troubled the world was pinned face-down to the ground by the gods, with Brahma at the centre and other deities holding down different parts of its body. The mandala records where each deity sits. The story is a religious one; the grid is the practical tool.

The square is divided into small cells called padas. The texts describe many grid sizes, but two matter most:

• ·The 64-pada grid (8 × 8, called Manduka or Chandita) is traditionally linked with temples. Its centre covers 4 cells.
• ·The 81-pada grid (9 × 9, called Paramasayika) is the one usually applied to houses. Its centre is a 3 × 3 block of 9 cells.

That centre is the Brahmasthan, the place of Brahma. In the 81-pada grid it takes up 9 of the 81 cells, roughly one-ninth of the plan. Older homes often left it open as a courtyard. In a modern home the usual advice is to keep it light and free of heavy walls, toilets, staircases and clutter.

The outermost ring of cells is used to judge door positions. Texts differ on which grid suits which building, so treat these as conventions, not fixed laws.

TIP · You don't need to memorise 81 cells. For a quick read, picture your plan as a 3 × 3 noughts-and-crosses grid: eight outer boxes for the eight directions and one middle box for the Brahmasthan.

The eight directions

Vastu works with four main directions and four corners. Each one has a guardian deity, one of the Dikpalas, and a character of its own. Most room-by-room advice follows from this table.

Consultants differ on details (some accept a toilet in the south or a kitchen in the north-west, for example), but the overall pattern holds: a light, open north-east and a heavy, closed south-west.

The main entrance

Vastu treats the main door as the mouth of the home and judges it two ways: which side it is on, and exactly where along that side it sits. North, north-east and east entrances are the most widely preferred; they catch the morning sun and face the directions linked with growth, wealth and the gods. South and west doors are often treated with caution, but they are not automatically bad.

That is where padas come in. The outer ring of the 81-pada grid gives 32 possible door positions, eight on each side, each ruled by a deity. Positions often described as favourable include Jayanta and Mahendra on the east, Mukhya, Bhallata and Soma on the north, Vitatha and Grihakshata on the south, and Sugriva and Pushpadanta on the west. Schools disagree on exactly how many of the 32 are good, so you will see different lists.

The useful takeaway: a well-placed door on a 'difficult' side can be perfectly acceptable, while a poorly placed door on a 'good' side can still draw comment.

TIP · In a flat, the door that counts is your flat's own front door, not the tower lobby or the society gate. Stand in the doorway facing out: the direction you are looking is how the entrance is usually described.

Room-by-room basics

• ·Kitchen: the south-east is ideal and the north-west is the usual second choice. Many consultants suggest cooking while facing east, and keeping the stove and sink apart because fire and water are opposites.
• ·Master bedroom: the south-west, for stability. Sleeping with your head to the south or east is the common advice; head to the north is usually discouraged.
• ·Pooja room: the north-east, or at least the north or east side, so you face east while praying. Avoid placing it under a staircase or against a toilet wall.
• ·Toilets and bathrooms: the west or north-west are preferred, and many accept the south. Avoid the north-east and the centre.
• ·Living room: the north, east or north-east, where it stays bright. Heavier sofas and units can line the south and west walls.
• ·Children's room: the west or north-west are common choices, with a study table facing east or north.
• ·Guest room: the north-west.
• ·Staircase: the south, west or south-west, ideally rising clockwise. Keep it out of the north-east and the centre.
• ·Water tanks: an underground tank or borewell in the north-east or north; an overhead tank on the south-west of the roof, where its weight suits the zone.
• ·Balconies and open areas: the north and east are best, giving morning light and keeping the north-east open. Large south-west balconies are less favoured.

Few real homes match every line. Check the big items first (entrance, kitchen, master bedroom, toilets, pooja room) and don't chase perfection on the rest.

Cuts and extensions (missing corners)

Vastu assumes a square or rectangular footprint. When part of the shape is missing, that zone has a cut. When part of it sticks out beyond the main outline, it has an extension. L-shaped flats, angled towers and corner balconies often create one or the other.

• ·North-east cut: taken most seriously, because this zone is meant to be full, open and bright.
• ·North-east extension: generally welcome, and often the one extension consultants are glad to see.
• ·South-west cut or extension: both are disliked, because this corner should be solid and complete.
• ·South-east or north-west extension: usually seen as a minor excess of fire or air rather than a serious fault.

Consultants use different thresholds for when a projection counts as an extension rather than a cut in the rest of the plan. What matters most is the zone affected and the size of the piece compared with the whole home. When comparing plans, a clean rectangle usually leaves fewer points to argue over.

Apartments vs independent houses

The classical texts were written for plots and whole buildings. With an independent house or villa you can apply them directly, because the plot, the building and its main gate all sit on one grid.

Flats are less straightforward, and consultants differ. The most common approach is to treat your own flat as the unit:

• ·Direction: usually the way you face when stepping out of the flat's main door. Some consultants use the side with the main balcony or the largest open face instead, so ask which convention is being used.
• ·Which door counts: your flat's entrance door. The building entrance and society gate carry less weight, and you can rarely change them anyway.
• ·The centre: find the middle of your flat's own outline, not the tower's, and lay the grid from there. Your Brahmasthan is the centre of your home.
• ·North: take compass readings inside the flat, away from steel almirahs, the fridge and concrete columns, and repeat them in two or three spots.

TIP · The north arrow on a brochure plan can be approximate. Check it with a compass on site before you rule a flat in or out on Vastu grounds.

Simple, non-destructive remedies

If a home has a Vastu concern, the sensible first step is a gentle change, not a hammer. Common suggestions include:

• ·Lighting: brighten a dark zone, especially a cut-off north-east corner or a gloomy entrance.
• ·Colours: earthy tones in the south-west, light shades in the north-east, warmer colours around a south-east kitchen.
• ·Mirrors: usually suggested on north or east walls to make them feel brighter and larger; most advice says not to hang one facing the bed.
• ·Plants: a tulsi or other healthy plant in the north or east; thorny plants are usually kept outside.
• ·Furniture and weight: move heavy wardrobes and storage towards the south and west, and keep the north-east light.
• ·Clutter: keep the centre and the entrance open and tidy.

Pyramids, metal strips, salt bowls and coloured tapes are also widely sold as corrections. These are disputed even among practitioners, and there is no scientific evidence that they work. If one gives you peace of mind and costs little, that is your choice, but there is no need to spend heavily on them.

Myths and sensible expectations

Vastu is traditional guidance, not a guarantee of health, wealth or happiness, and scientists and rationalist groups regard its stronger claims as unproven. A home with a near-perfect Vastu layout can still be poorly built, badly ventilated or in the wrong location.

That said, a lot of Vastu advice lines up with good climate design for North India: morning light from the east, open north and east sides, heavier walls and storage on the south-west where the afternoon sun is harshest, and a bright, uncluttered centre. Many people value it for those reasons as much as for tradition.

• ·Myth: one Vastu flaw will ruin a home. In practice the whole plan is weighed, and many concerns are minor.
• ·Myth: a south-facing home is always unlucky. A great deal depends on the exact door position and the rest of the layout.
• ·Myth: you have to rebuild to fix a problem. Changes in room use, furniture and lighting are the usual first step.
• ·Myth: all experts agree. Schools and consultants differ, sometimes sharply.

TIP · Don't demolish or rebuild a home purely for Vastu, and never touch columns, beams or load-bearing walls. When buying, weigh Vastu alongside the builder's record, approvals, construction quality, light, ventilation, location and price.

How vesma reads your plan

vesma applies the broad ideas in this guide to your floor plan in a consistent way:

• ·North first: the plan is turned to match North, based on the compass direction you give or mark.
• ·The centre: vesma finds the centre of your home's outline and checks what sits in the Brahmasthan.
• ·Zones: a 3 × 3 grid is laid over the home from that centre, giving eight directional zones and the middle.
• ·Main door: the entrance is located and its direction noted.
• ·Rooms: each room is scored on how well its zone suits it, such as a kitchen in the south-east or a toilet in the north-east.
• ·Shape: missing corners (cuts) are flagged by zone; extensions are not scored yet.

Want a reading of your own plan? Upload a brochure floor plan or your own drawing, mark North and the main door, and vesma will show how your rooms line up with the zones, what works well and what simple changes could help. Treat it as a starting point for family discussion, and speak to an architect before any building work.