How To Use Vastu Purusha Mandala For Good Home Designs

The concept of Vastu Purusha Mandala extends beyond the mere physical aspects of construction. The mandala provides vital clues for locating the various rooms, habitations and more.

Bangalore Niranjan Babu

There are two specific aspects covering Vastu Purusha Mandala. Vastu Purusha is the mystical or spiritual lord of a Mandala or the enclosed ground area, wherein he lies with his face down. The mandala is a cosmic diagram of the enclosure where Vastu Purusha manifests. Vastu Purusha identifies the importance of an area by placing his head to the northeast (balanced thinking) and his lower body to the south-west (stability and strength). His navel is in the center of the area (cosmic awareness) and his hands to the north-west and south-east (movement and energy). Vastu Purusha is space personified and he is said to have been born from Lord Siva’s perspiration, when the Lord fought the demon Andhaka and ultimately killed him.

Each enclosure, whether it is for human habitation (residences, offices, etc.) or divine habitation (temples and other religious structures) is identified with a plan that is referred to as the Vastu Purusha Mandala. It symbolically signifies the three aspects of a structure para, sookshma and sthoola. Most texts on Vastu Sastra talk about the Manduka mandala (8x8) 64 module plan for temples and shrines and the Peeta mandala (3x3) 9 module plan or the Paramasayika mandala (9x9) 81 module plan for residences and other buildings that are not religious structures. The mandala is an area of space defined by an enclosure. Vastu Purusha is super imposed into the enclosure to indicate the birth of a structure from Nature. The Vastu Purusha is held in place by 45 deities — 32 in the outer enclosure and 13 in the inner enclosures. Food and fruit are offered to these deities before construction to please the Vastu Purusha, who confers health, prosperity, peace and happiness to the residents.