Essay name: Architectural data in the Puranas
Author:
Sharda Devi
Affiliation: Himachal Pradesh University / Department of History
This essay studies ancient Indian architectural science as found in technical treatises and the Puranas, with special reference to the Matsya, Garuda, Agni and Bhavishya Puranas. These texts detail ancient architectural practices, covering temple and domestic designs, dimensional specifications, and construction rules.
Chapter 2 - What is Vastu
3 (of 52)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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term v膩stu has been used as a synonym of silpa and v膩stu艣膩stra is called
艣ilpa艣膩stra. 18 The following reference occurs in Rgveda: 19
'V膩stospate pratij膩n墨hyasm膩n
Sv膩ve艣o anam墨vo bhav膩nah'
This means that 'O God of the house! you protect us.' The expression
v膩stu signifies the site or building in which being dwell. The derivation of
the word is as Vasanti pr膩峁噄na岣� yatra - the rott being vasa in the sense of
niv膩sa. 20 V膩stospati as the protector of house (g峁沨a) or site on which the
house rests (g峁沨a-k峁tra) is intimately related to stars and planets above
guardian deities around. The association of v膩stu with Jyoti峁 dates back
to early Vedic period. More significantly, the expression 'v膩stu' is
associated with the Vedic god Rudra, who is described as 'Vastavya' in
the Satapatha Br膩hma峁嘺 21 and the Taittiriya Br膩hma峁嘺 22; and the
膧pastamba 艢rauta S奴tra 23 speaks of V膩stospati as the lord of
house (g峁沨a-devat膩) as also of the site on which it stands (g峁沨a-k峁tra-
诲别惫补迟腻).
Pur膩nas and the Smrti texts extended the scope of v膩stu to include
not only residential buildings but all constructions for private and public
utility. The GP takes the word v膩stu in the sense of building, houses,
hamlets and mansions, formation of townships, laying out of parks and
