Vastu – Vedic Architecture

Introduction

Vastu, the architectural science of the Vedas is traditionally taught from guru to disciple, generation by generation through a lineage. It deals with all the aesthetic and mathematical aspects of architecture from building houses, temples, villages, ponds to whole villages, towns and city designs.

There is a list of 64 vedic arts and Vastu is one of them. In fact, Vastu is not strictly attached to a certain construction style, and its principles can be applied to many if not most construction styles. Being a vedic science, it is originally created with the all-natural organic construction mindset.

We have created a series of introductory videos to give you a glimpse of the science, please also look at the downloads section for ebooks, 3d example models and vastu formula Excel sheet.

Vastu house types

1.- What is a Vastu house?
House that has been built from the ground up following Vastu principles.

2.- Vastu principles
+Aligned with 4 cardinal directions
+Uses the vastu mandala or grid
+Sensitive points
+Formulas (aayadi sadvarga)
+Height of walls, pillars, basement or footing, etc.
+Rituals
+Auspicious days (Muhurta)

3.- Vastu house types
+Manusyalayacandrika
+Ekaśāla, Dviśāla, Triśāla, Catuśāla

4.- Types of arrangements of four śala (Catuśāla) houses
+Viśuddha bhinna śāla
+Śliṣṭa bhinna śāla
+Samśliṣṭa bhinna śāla
+Śliṣṭa bhinna aṣṭaśāla
+Miśra bhinna śāla
+Sam miśra bhinna śāla
+Miśraka catuśāla
+Catuśāla
+Madhya Prarūdha śāla

5.- Benefits a Vastu house
+Many risks during construction will be avoided:
-Failure to complete construction
-Severe accidents
-Severe problems with weather patterns
-Laborers quarrel
+Effects of living
-Natural feeling of protection and security
-Overall health and well-being
-Encourages pure goodness and spiritual practices
-No excessivee quarrel
-Sinful activity is diminished greatly
-Wealth & financial stabilityhttp://thevedicway.org

Vastu Course – Example of selecting a plot

Selecting an auspicious plot is one of the key decisions to make in the Vastu science from India. In the video I talk about an introductory book, you can find in the download section at the bottom.

In this example, land is sloping North and East. With an overall slope towards Northeast. Two streams flowing on the plot. One is on the East side, and one on the North. We were very fortunate to find such a plot.

The search took about 3 months by renting a house in the region, and looking for property two or three times per week. We strongly recommend purchasing land without a house because most houses are made without following vastu principles.

Leveling the land

Four cardinal directions

The vedas prescribe different methods for determining the four cardinal directions. One of them is by using a tool called “shanku”. This is an example of an actual shanku and a 3d software demonstration showing the method for calculating them.

Vastu Bricks

CEB (Compressed Earth Block) is a method in which you can make your own bricks with the soil available in the near vicinity. The machine we are showing in this video costs $300 USD in Mexico (by sep 2012).

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There are several wonderful verses from Vedic scripture that talk about the auspiciousness of bricks that are marked with auspicious symbols:

praśasta prāni rūpāṇkāḥ
praśasta dravya lāñchitāḥ
yathokta lakṣaṇo petāh
śilām nityaṁ hitāvahāh

Stones that are adorned with markings of an auspicious animal or other auspicious object, and which have the required characteristics that are mentioned in the scriptures, are always considered auspicious. [Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 20.219]

 

Ekavarṇaḥ supakvāśca
supramānā manoramāh
nandyādyāś ca aṣṭakāḥ kāryyāś
caturasrāḥ susammitāḥ

To build a temple for the Supreme Lord, one should use bricks of a single color, which were perfectly prepared, of a proper size, that are beautiful, and are a perfect rectangular solid. [Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 20.221]

 

śikā rūpāḥ smṛtā vidyā
nandādñaśca aṣṭakānvitāḥ
sampūrnāḥ sutalāh snigdhāḥ
suṣama laṣanānvittāḥ

kuśa dūrvvānkita dhanyāḥ
sadhvaja cchatra cāmarāḥ
sāṇkuśas toranopetāh
kūrmma matsya phalāñchitāḥ

A stone used for constructing a temple is considered to be a form of knowledge, and a brick is considered to be a form of bliss. The stone slabs should be flat, unbroken, smooth, attractive, glorious, and decorated with markings of kūśa grass, durvā grass, a flag, an umbrella, a cāmara, an anchor, a pillar, a tortoise, a fish, a piece of fruit, a mirror, an elephant, a thunderbolt, birds, a deer, and an ox. Such slabs and bricks are always auspicious. [Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 20.214-215]

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CEB Brick recipe:

3.5 Wheelbarrows of sand
Half wheelbarrow of clay soil
25 kg of cement

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Compound wall

 

Example concrete house construction process (open courtyard traditional style)

We talk about the general procedure for building a vastu house. In this example we are building a Catussala house (visuddha bhina) with 4 separate houses or “salas”. Each house has a certain main function like kitchen, bedroom, etc.

Also, we talk about the requirements for building an earthquake resistant home, and how we used a technology for roofing with styro-foam panels from the brand Covintec which is not vedic, but was used in this application because of the different challenges presented at the time.

Vastu Formulas and measurements – Ayadi Sadvarga

In a Vastu house, the dimensions of every single element is rigurously calculated mathematically. This approach mimics the beauty of nature, it follows a very precise fractal pattern in its design.

We start by more or less estimating a certain desired perimeter or length of house. Then we use the formulas (known as Ayadi sadvarga) to analyze each perimeter. These formulas are used to calculate different qualities that each house will have. Have you ever walked into a place where you immediately feel peace? or have you walked into a place that no matter how clean you felt claustrophobic and fearful? It is not magic. It is explained very scientifically within the vastu science.

This video is meant to be an overview, and you will require to go deeper into the study of scripture. Please review the download section at the bottom for the files needed.

Downloads – 3D model, Books and Excel Formulas sheet

Here are some relevant files that you will need to understand the videos, and further study the scriptures mentioned in them: