While being taught about the science behind the Vedic Shastra in Vedic Institutions, there is a mythological bend towards this science which is also being used and configured while designing buildings. Many Shastris use this thought to create a superstition environment and play with the sentiments of the people. This bend reflects around the creation of the Vastu Purusha, the lord of the land who later on turned out to be stronger than the Creator himself. Lord Brahma during the process of creation of the Universe thought of creating a man . This individual began to grow big and at one point of time the man became so big that he started eating anything and everything that would come his way. Lords Shiva and Vishnu saw this as a red flag situation and pressed the Panic button. Lord Brahma too was incapable to control the powers of this huge creation. He then called upon the Gods of Direction ( Ashta Dikpalaka ) to control the creature. With the help of 41 other Gods, the creature was pinned down with his stomach down, head towards the North east and feet towards the South West. Lord Brahma jumped onto the back and held the creature on the ground. The man asked his creator the need for bringing him into existence if this is what was destined for him. To this, Lord Brahma agreed that he would remain immortal and would be worshiped by people. He would remain on every part of soil and any construction that existed on it . Those who defy his rules would be punished and that gave birth to the Vastu Purusha from then on. One would now appreciate the following in context with the mythological background of the Shastra ( we have discussed a few Shastra concepts with respect to orientation of a building and the Cardinal directions):
🤔 Why is the Vastu Purusha always shown face down in any representation
🤔 Why does the shastra insist on the shape of the Plot/building to be square/rectangular (to accommodate the Vastu Purusha from NE to the SW )
🤔 Why cuts and extensions in either of the eight cardinal directions should be avoided ( these results in the cut/extension of the Vastu Purusha. These are aspects of the science that depicts Vastu Doshas)
🤔 With the feet of the Vastu Purusha in SW direction depicting stability, South West becomes the most important direction to be checked and evaluated for compliance and conformance to the rules and norms of the science
🤔 Earth, one of the Panch Mahabhootas, is the element of the SW direction co-relates with the mythological concept of Stability
🤔 The south westerly winds from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea brings the monsoon to the country and therefore the element water. The importance of this direction is therefore accentuated as it contributes to the earth & water elements for the residents of this country.
South West as a direction is gaining importance in our discussions but why is the entrance from this direction avoided......
One may now also wonder about the relevance of the 41 other Gods/Goddesses that were required to pin down the Vastu Purusha. Equal importance is given to each god/goddess and is therefore allocated equal space in the plot/building except for lord Brahma in the centre. There is a mechanism of identifying the "Brahmasthan" which is identified on a case by case basis. These allocated spaces are called Padas and a collection of these is known as the Vastu Mandala. The most widely used Mandala is the Parama Shayik Vastu Mandala. Activities in a Building/plot are in accordance to the Pada and the characteristic of the deity occupying the space. Non conformance to this yields in Vastu Doshas. Dosha Nivaran ( Removal of the Vastu Dosh) in any of these positions is to please the deity in the form of Puja . Yama, the god of death occupied one of the positions in the South and therefore the fear of this direction. However if the entrance to the house is so located that the Yama position is avoided, the entrance in the South direction can yield excellent progressive results. My last post on SOUTH - FRIEND OR FOE would start to make sense now. A typical Vastu Mandala and the deities occupying space is shown above..
SOUTH WEST - MORE THAN NORTH EAST ......WAR OF DIRECTIONS?
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