Angkor Wat, a Hindu-Buddhist temple and World Heritage Site, is the largest religious monument in the world. This Cambodian temple deploys the same circles and squares grid architecture as described in Indian Vāstu Śastras.[1]
Originating in ancient India, Vastu Shastra (Sanskrit: वास्तु शास्त्र, vāstu śāstra – literally "science of architecture"[2]) is a traditional Hindu system of architecture[3][4] based on ancient texts that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement, and spatial geometry.[5] The designs aim to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilising geometric patterns (yantra), symmetry, and directional alignments.[6][7]
Vastu Shastra are the textual part of Vastu Vidya – the broader knowledge about architecture and design theories from ancient India.[8] Vastu Vidya 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 organisation of space and form within a building or collection of buildings, based on their functions in relation to each other, their usage and the overall fabric of the Vastu.[8] Ancient Vastu Shastra principles include those for the design of Mandir (Hindu temples)[9] and the principles for the design and layout of houses, towns, cities, gardens, roads, water works, shops, and other public areas.[5][10][11] The Pandit or Architects of Vastu Shastra are Sthapati, Sūtragrāhin(Sutradhar), Vardhaki, and Takṣhaka.[12]
In contemporary India, states Chakrabarti, consultants that include "quacks, priests and astrologers" fueled by greed are marketing pseudoscience and superstition in the name of Vastu-sastras. They have little knowledge of what the historic Vastu-sastra texts actually teach, and they frame it in terms of a "religious tradition", rather than ground it in any "architectural theory" therein.[13]
^R Arya, Vaastu: The Indian Art of Placement, ISBN 978-0892818853
^Cite error: The named reference narlikar_CUP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Bettina Baumer (2019), Form, Space and Consciousness – Architectural principles in the Vastushastras, in Eloquent Spaces: Meaning and Community in Early Indian Architecture, S. Kaul (Editor), Routledge, Chapter 2, ISBN 9780367225988
^Quack, Johannes (2012). Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India. Oxford University Press. p. 119. ISBN 9780199812608. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
^ abCite error: The named reference pka was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference stellakramrisch76 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference vsgt2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abVibhuti Sachdev, Giles Tillotson (2004). Building Jaipur: The Making of an Indian City. p. 147. ISBN 978-1861891372.
^George Michell (1988), The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226532301, pp. 21–22
^GD Vasudev (2001), Vastu, Motilal Banarsidas, ISBN 81-208-1605-6, pp. 74–92
^Sherri Silverman (2007), Vastu: Transcendental Home Design in Harmony with Nature, Gibbs Smith, Utah, ISBN 978-1423601326
^Vibhuti Chakrabarti (2013). Indian Architectural Theory and Practice: Contemporary Uses of Vastu Vidya. Routledge. pp. 3, 2–4. ISBN 978-1-136-77882-7.
^Cite error: The named reference chakrabartip181 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Originating in ancient India, VastuShastra (Sanskrit: वास्तु शास्त्र, vāstu śāstra – literally "science of architecture") is a traditional Hindu system...
arts" such as kissing, embracing, etc. While Shilpa and VastuShastras are related, Shilpa Shastras deal with arts and crafts such as forming statues, icons...
Feng shui (found in China), Kumalak (found in parts of Central Asia), Vastushastra (in India). The word "geomancy", from Late Greek *γεωμαντεία *geōmanteía...
of ShastrasVastuShastra (treatises on architecture) Vaimānika Shāstra, early 20th-century, sanskrit text on "science of aeronautics" Dharma Shastra: These...
venerated in Hinduism, some schools of Buddhism and Jainism. In the VastuShastra, the north-eastern corner of a plot of land is referred to as "Ishana"...
there. Ancient and medieval Indian texts on domestic architecture like Vastushastra uses the word "Alinda" for this architectural feature. The veranda has...
The Nāṭya Shāstra (Sanskrit: नाट्य शास्त्र, Nāṭyaśāstra) is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its...
of a building or geographical area. Vedic architecture is based on VastuShastra. The brahmasthan is a special central zone in a building. It is free...
Mentioned as one of three styles of temple building in early texts on vastushastra or Hindu temple architecture, the majority of existing structures are...
temple is 1 km from Shiva Temple. This temple is a marvelous example of VastuShastra. Shri Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is 30 kilometers on road from Nashik...
by five different fingers in human body as shown in the table below. Vastushastra emphasizes on the placement of five elements in specified direction...
with other topics. Other ancient Vastushastra works includes Manasara etc. Following the tradition of Vastushastra, several scholars wrote architectural...
The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Sanskrit: बृहत् पराशर होरा शास्त्र; IAST: bṛhat parāśara horā śāstra; abbreviated to BPHS) is the most comprehensive...
destined to die at the age of sixteen. Markandeya mastered the Vedas and the Shastras and grew up to be a great devotee of Shiva. Learning his fate from his...
and design guidelines for temples, objects and house architecture (Vastu-shastra), various types of Yoga, duties and ethics (Dharma) with multiple chapters...
layout of Jaipur and established the city on the principles of VastuShastra and Shilpa Shastra under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya...
styles of temples mentioned in the ancient books on VastuShastra. The Tantrasamuchaya, Thachu-Shastra, Manushyalaya Chandrika, and Silparatna are all architectural...
diamond artifact is part of a scepter that opens a map room built using vastushastra and astronomical positions of that period in a closed part of a sacred...
(reviews and commentaries on Shrutis and non-Shruti texts), The sutras and shastras of the various schools of Hindu philosophy The numerous Nibandhas (digests)...