1. SALIL MOHAN
SHARIQUE AHMAD
VASTU SHASTRA

2. Vastu Shastra- an
inquisitive science of
architecture ,encapsulates the
forces which act upon a given
space through flow of positive
energy. Vastu refers to 'abode' or
mansion and Shastra or Vidya
means science or knowledge,
so Vastu Vidya is the sacred
holistic science pertaining to
designing and building of houses.
The principles of vastu have been
derived from Sthapathya Vedaone of the ancient sacred
books in Hinduism.

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The world comprises of five basic
elements, also known as the
Paanchbhootas. They are Earth,
Water, Air, Fire and Space. Out of
the nine planets, our planet has
life because of the presence of
these five elements.
Vastu Shastra is creating a
congenial settings or a place to
live or work, in most scientific
way taking advantages of the
benefits bestowed by these five
elements of the nature thereby
paving the way for enhanced
health, wealth, prosperity and
happiness in an enlightened
environment.

4. North-east (Eshan) is ruled by Sadasiva
or God Himself. Hence this direction is
paramount, which demands keeping it
scrupulously clean, open and highly
receptive in a welcome "mode" always.
East is ruled by Indra, the chief of the
gods, giver of pleasures. The direction
also represents the realm of the rising
Sun projecting ultra-violet rays, so
essential for health in several ways.
South-east (Agneya) is the habitat of fire,
the storehouse of energy.
South is the abode of Yama, the god of
death.
South-west (Nairitya) is the abode of
Putna demoness.
West is the abode of Varuna, the god of
ocean. It is also the direction of the
setting Sun which gives infra-red
radiation.
North-west (Vayavva) is the abode of
air/wind, the invisible, but the most
effective blessing for all objects in need of
motion/movement for their efficiency.
North is the abode of Kuber, the god of
wealth.

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WATER: Water bodies in north or east are considered
good. As far as the flow of domestic water is concerned,
it should be borne in mind and that such water should
be drained out in North - East. Wells, tubewells,
swimming pools etc. should all be in the North-East. The
water from the toilets and bathrooms, too, should be
drained out in the North- East. The North-East direction
is always auspicious and suitable for water. There are
sewer-systems in the cities. The Septic tanks or the flow
of sewer systems should be towards North - West. The
flow of rain or fresh water should be towards NorthEast.
FIRE: The direction of Fire is South-East. The Kitchen,
fireplace, geysers etc. should be placed only in this
direction. Alternatively these could be placed in NorthWest, because it is at 180 degree to South-East. The
Vastu Fire Element One can take care of the South-East
Corners of all rooms and aim for Hapiness in the family,
Good Health, Sound Finances, and Nice Married Life. As
South-East belongs to Agni he can create enough
trouble for inmates. The South-East corner of every
room should be taken care of it. One can keep Agni Vastu Fire Element cheerful by having a spotlight or
lantern in the South-East corner with light or burning
flame pointing to the roof. One can have the Electrical
gadgets like Television, VCR, Fridge, Computer, Fireplace, Microwaves, radio etc placed in South-East
corner.
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AIR: The air should enter the building from North -East.
All the openings and media for air entry such as doors,
windows, ventilators coolers, air-conditioners,
verandahs, balconies etc. should be in this directions.
SPACE OR OPEN SKY: The open sky influences greatly.
We can get the effect of terrestrial-energies
uninterruptedly. But the buildings prove a barrier to the
effects of open sky. Therefore, the importance of roofs
or lawns gets emphasized, but the Vastu shastra has
refrained from deliberating in detail over it, because it is
related chiefly to building construction and we will
discuss only this aspect. Traditionally every house in
India used to have an open space (Court Yard) in the
center of the house. It provided the dwellers not only
the open sky but also sunlight and cross-ventilation

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EARTH
ANGLES OF THE PLOT SW
EXACT 90 DEGREE NE LESS
THAN 90 DEGREE NW & SE
AIR
MAY VARY ACCORDINGLY
BALCONY N-E
COW SHED NW
DOOR N-E
FLOOR LEVEL NE LOW
PORTICO N-E-NE
GARAGE NW
VERANDAH N-E
WINDOWS N-E
LAND LEVEL NE LOW
BRAHMA STHAN NO
MAIN GATE N-E
CENTER PILLAR OR BEAM
OFFICE NW-W
FIRE
SERVANT QUARTER NW
GEYSER SE OR NW
SHAPE OF THE PLOT SQUARE GENERATOR SE OR NW
OR RECTANGLE
HEATERS SE OR NW
STORES NW
JUNCTION BOX SE OR NW
STUDY ROOM NE
KITCHEN (FIRE PLACE) SE OR NW
PRESS SE OR NW
SEPTIC TANK NW
TRANSFORMER SE OR NW
URINALS & TOILET W-NW
SPACE
WATER
FACTORY SHED SLOPE SW OR NE
RAIN WATER SLOPE NE
HEIGHT MORE SW
OVER HEAD TANK NW OR W ORMEZANINE FLOOR SW
SW
MASTER BED ROOM SW
UNDER GROUND TANK NE
OPEN SPACE MORE NE
TUBEWELL NE OR E
STAIR CASE SW OR S
SHAPE OF PLOT: Favourites are
regular shaped square or rectangular
plota AND irregular shaped plots are
normally avoided.
OBSTRUCTION: Obstruction like big
trees, open well, pillars and posts
before a arrow like roads are to be
avoided.
IDEAL SITE: A building should be
constructed preferably in a square
plot the house should be
constructed in the for house centre
and in rectangular plot it should be
nearer to construction south, south
west and west sides preferably
leaving more in a plot open space on
north and east. "L" or Considered
not suitable for house as corners will
be "U" shaped missing and
occupants will be missing
opportunities.

7. VEDIC SQUARE
In ancient Indian
mathematics,
a Vedic square is a variation
on a typical
9 × 9 multiplication table. The
entry in each cell is the digital
root of the product of the
column and row headings i.e.
the remainder when the
product of the row and
column headings is divided by
9 (with remainder 0
represented by 9).

8. La Divina Comedia of Dante with the Tower of Babel on
the background. This Ziggurat is a Geometric Structure
highly related to the Vedic Square.
The Sistine Chapel is designed with the Vedic
Square.
The Patterns of Islamic Art are created out of the Vedic
Square

9. Vastu Purusha Mandala
Vastu purusha mandala is the
metaphysical diagrammatic design of
cosmos on which the whole concept of
Vastu Shastra is based. It is believed
that Vastu purusha is lied down on the
cosmos which constitutes energies in a
way that his head is resting in Northeast direction which represents
balanced thinking; lower body facing
South-west which represents strength
and firmness; his navel is in center of
the earth signifying cosmic awareness
and holiness; his hand face North-west
and South-east which signifies energy.

10. JAIPUR
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Jaipur was founded on 18th November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a
Kachawaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. Initially his capital was Amber (now
pronounced as Amer), lies at a distance of 11 km from Jaipur. Maharaja Sawai Jai
Singh II felt the need of shifting his capital city because of safety reasons as it was
likely to be attacked by a Mughal King Bahadur Shah after the death of Aurangzeb,
as well as ever-increasing population and growing scarcity of water also pushed him
to set up a well planned city.

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Reasons for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh to
change his capital from Amber to Jaipur:
Military Reasons
Defence was an important consideration.
A site at the South of Amber ensured greater
distance from Delhi and also prevented the
expansion of the city in that direction.
It was clear that the out skirting hill ranges
(Nahargarh hills) shaped as a horseshoe would
allow the new city to expand only in the South.
So this flat site with a basin like shape was
chosen. It was an open plain bounded on the
north-west and east bay hills.
Earlier Rajputs capitals were established in the
hills, and so moving capital to the plains was an
ex of Sawan Jai Singh's boldness

12. Geographical Reasons
The rocky terrain of Amber restricted expansion.
Jaipur had the potentialities of developing into a
city with adequate drinking water due to the
presence of a perennial stream nearby and good
drainage system.
Its rugged hills also ensured a constant supply of
building material, which might be required in the
times to come
Two significant facts responsible for the
origin of the city and its subsequent layout:
The need of a new capital for 18th century
Dhoondhar as the earlier one of Amber built on a
hill was getting congested.
Sawai Raja Jai Singh’s vision of the new capital
as a strong political statement at par with Mughal
cities and as a thriving trade and commerce hub
for the region.
The site with the natural east west ridge and the
surrounding forts as defense feature

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The town of Jaipur is built in the form of an eight-part "Mandala" known as the "Pithapada". The city was
divided into nine blocks, of which two consist the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven
allotted to the public.
Huge fortification walls were made along with seven strong gates for the purpose of security of the city.
The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are
laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets of 111 ft. 111 is a holy number in Hinduism and hence
considered lucky also. The commercial shops were designed in multiples of nine (27), having one cross
street for a planet. "Nine" signifies the nine planets of the ancient astrological zodiac, and twenty-seven
signifies the 27 nakshatras. This architectural planning on the basis of Indian Vastu and astronomy is the
uniqueness of the architecture of Jaipur.

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URBAN FORM AND ARCHITECTURAL
IDENTITY
ROAD NETWORK
Jaipur’s road network follows a definite
hierarchy. The major east-west and northsouth road form the sector boundaries
and are called Rajmarg as they lead to the
city gates. These measure 33m Wide.
Next there is a network of 16.5m wide
which runs north-south in each sector
linking the internal areas of the sectors to
the major activity spine.
An orthogonal grid of 8.25mx4.00m
roads in the prastara-chessboard pattern
further divide sectors into Mohallas.

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It is a model of town planning- the first planned
city in India. It is based on Hindu systems of
town planning and followed the principles
prescribed in the Shilpa-shastra, an ancient
Indian treatise on architecture .according to this
shastra the site should be divided into grids or
mandalas rangung from 2x 2 to 10 x 10.
Planned according to the Prastara type of
layout, which gives prominence to the cardinal
directions.
Thus plan of jaipur is a grid of 3x3 with gridlines
being the city’s main streets.

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The urban quarters are further divided by
networks of girded streets. Every street is
connected to main road. Because of this sort
of architecture of Jaipur, nobody can wander
in the streets of Jaipur whether he is familiar
with the paths or not. Further, the five
quarters wrap around the east, south, and
the west side of a central palace quarter,
with a sixth quarter immediately to the east.
Now, Jaipur is clearly divided in two parts, an
old "Four Wall City" and a new city; having 5
stars hotels, air port, railway junction, MNCs,
internationally recognized colleges, shopping
malls, hospitals etc. Architecture of new city
is not as per Indian Vastu and astronomy,
but the architecture of new Jaipur is based
on modern architectural concepts. Its really
amazing to have a walk in early morning in
old city when traffic is not much and the old
architecture of Jaipur can be seen and enjoy
easily.

19. Entrance Gates of Jaipur
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The gates used to be closed at sunset
and opened at sunrise. There are only
three gates facing East, West, and
North, while other gates face South.
The Eastern gate of Jaipur is
called Suraj (Sun) Pol (also known
as Galta Gate), while the Western gate
of Jaipur is called Chand (Moon)
Pol and the Northern gate of Jaipur is
known as Zorawar Singh
gate (originally known as Dhruv Pol)
which faces toward the ancestral
capital of Amber. Other entry gates of
Jaipur are known as Gangapol,Krishna
Pol (now known as Ajmeri Gate), Ghat
Gate (originally known as Ram Pol)
and Sanganeri Gate (originally known
as Shiv Pol).

22. INDUS VALLEY
CIVILIZATION

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TIME PERIOD: AROUND 1000
B.C
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION or the
Harappan culture forms the earliest
urban civilization on the Indian subcontinent.
The first site of this civilization
discovered HARAPPA IN PUNJAB and
MOHENJO-DARO IN SIND now both
the sites are in Pakistan.
Since then other sites found in
Punjab, Kalibangam in Rajasthan,
Lothal in Gujarat & Bhanavali in
Harayana.
The Indus valley civilization was by
main river, the Indus River. The river
provided irrigation, and also created
fertile land for farming.

24. TOWN PLANNING
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CITADEL towards the west side, fortified by walls on which public buildings were
erected. Below the citadel lay a lower town with well settled colonies.
The arrangement of the houses in the cities were on the GRID PATTERN.
Roads were straight and cuts each other at RIGHT ANGLE.
The main street were oriented from north to south and about 30 feet wide
dividing the city into large blocks within which networks of narrow lanes are
running from east to west.
Houses were situated along the roads.
The street layout showed an understanding of the basic principles of traffic with
ROUNDED CORNERS to allow the turning of carts easily.
SEWAGE SYSTEM under the main streets.

25. BUILDING LAYOUT
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Houses were made up of BURNT BRICKS
with good quality.
The ratio of the brick size was 1:2:4.
Every house was furnished with a WELL
AND A BATHROOM.
Houses were of 2 or more storeys.
Planning of a house- SQUARE
COURTYARD surrounded by a no. of
rooms.
The house was planned as a series of
rooms opening on to a central
courtyard. This courtyard served the
multiple functions of lighting the rooms,
acting as a heat absorber in summer
and radiator in winter, as well as
providing an open space inside for
community activities.
•The entrances were usually with side
alleys and no windows faced on the
streets.
•Floors were made up of bricks, walls
were plain outside and inside face is
coated with the mud plaster.
•Architecture suited to the climate.

26. SEWAGE SYSTEM
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Unique sewage system,
bathrooms were provided
with drains which flow to
sewers under the main
streets leading to soakpits
which finally led the dirty
water outside the populated
area.
The sewers were covered
throughout their length by
large brick slabs.
SEWER DRAINS

27. CITADEL
HARAPPA AND MOHENJODARO were well planned
and thickly populated.
• Both the cities were built
on a similar plan.
• Each city had its own well
fortified CITADEL OR
ACROPOLIS towards the
west which was possibly
occupied by the members
of the ruling class.
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CITADEL
•CITADEL was an artificial platform some 30-50FT. HIGH AND ABOUT
400X200YDS. IN AREA, fortified by walls on which public buildings were
erected. Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town with well settled
colonies.

28. GREAT BATH
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GREAT BATH is a BATHING POOL
39x23x8 feets. Which is said to serve
the RITUAL BATHINGS. Around the
pool, verandah and rooms were
arranged said to be the home of
priests.
The great bath at mohenjo-daro had
WATERPROOFED WITH BITUMEN.
The floor of the pool sloped towards
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF THE "GREAT
the drain pool.
BATH"
THE ROUND STRUCTURE TO THE LEFT OF
THE BATH IS THE WELL.
•MASSIVE GRANARY were
located near each of the citadels.
They were build on a raised
platform to avoid floods and was
used for storing the grains for the
ceremonial purposes, times of
shortage.

29. ART & SCULPTURES
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The most notable artistic
acheivement was perhaps in their
seal engravings especially those
of ANIMALS, POTTERY AND
SCULPTURES.
More than 2000 SEALS have been
discovered and these formed the
main body of the pictoral records
of these times.
The square seals were generally
made up of STEATITE AND
COPPER, TERRACOTA AND
AGATE.
The animals engraved were tiger,
buffalow, bull and unicorn.
The seals might be considered
the first art objects in india.

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Sculptural remains were found
among which some of the human
figures are interesting for e.g- the
RED SAND STONE TORSO OF A
MAN AND THE BRONZE
“DANCING GIRL” WITH A
NECKLACE AROUND HER NECK.
Harappan pottery was mature
they created huge, tall,
decorative storage jars, bowls
etc. they also produce terracota
toys.

31. DECLINE OF THE CIVILIZATION
• The decline of the indus valley civilization –
 changing of river system that destructed the agricultural and economics
system,
 invasion of the aryans from the north-west who destructed the daily lives,
 the decreasing fertility, floods and earthquakes which cause changes in the
course of the river indus.
IMPACT OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION ON MODERN TIMES
•The impact of harappan culture can be sensed today as it shows
the earliest use of networks of urban cities with systematic town planning,
extensive brick work,
art of writing,
standard weights and measures.
The practise of ritual bathing are example of continuing traditions of the
harappan culture.

32. BIBLIOGRAPHY
– www.vastushastra.org
– www.shilpshastra.com//
ht.asp
– http://www.indianetzon
e.com/48/vastu_sastra_
town_planning.htm