The Sanskrit word Vastu means a dwelling or house with a corresponding plot of land or 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 Shastras(literally, science of dwelling) are ancient Sanskrit manuals of architecture. These contain Vastu Vidya (literally, knowledge of dwelling)
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. 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 didn’t 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 Vastupurush mandala 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.
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 Shastras. In this grid structure of symmetry, each concentric layer has significance. The central area in all mandala is the Brahma Sthana. 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 and Upapitha, it occupies one square module, In Mahaapitha, Ugrapitha and Manduka, four square modules and in Sthandila (49) and Paramasaayika (81), nine square modules. The Pitha is an amplified Prithvi mandala 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 land or a building has a soul of its own and that soul is known as Vastu Purusha.
Astrologers are considered in high regard by people as they solve lot of problems with their consultation and guidance.
