Changes

4. Shayana: Couch  

4. Shayana: Couch  

Bhu or the earth is the fundamental Vastu as it is the first of the Pancha Mahabhutas and support of all animate and inanimate objects. Those which emanate from the earth like the Prasadas are the Vaastu which are abodes or planned sites. They are also termed as Vastu as they are things which have a concrete existence and established on Vastu (a real existing thing). Vaastu is fundamentally the planned site of a structure. In most cases, the Vaastu is square in shape and its complete name is the Vaastupurushamandala. This term is composed of three words- Vaastu, Purusha and Mandala.  Vaastu, as Stella Kramrisch puts it, "is the extent of Existence in its ordered state and is beheld in the likeness of the Purusha." (Kramrisch, 21). The image of the Purusha or Cosmic Man is the same and equivalent to the planned site. Purusha is the Cosmic Man- the point of origin for the entire creation. The Purusha is the instrumental cause (Nimitta Kaarana) of all existence and so is the Purusha the material cause of all existence and all the constituents of creation are made from his substance. The plan of the building or temple resembles the Cosmic Man who is none other than the Supreme One (Uttama Purusha). Mandala denotes any closed polygon. The form of the Vaastupurushamandala is square.

Bhu or the earth is the fundamental Vastu as it is the first of the Pancha Mahabhutas and support of all animate and inanimate objects. Those which emanate from the earth like the Prasadas are the Vaastu which are abodes or planned sites. They are also termed as Vastu as they are things which have a concrete existence and established on Vastu (a real existing thing). Vaastu is fundamentally the planned site of a structure. In most cases, the Vaastu is square in shape and its complete name is the Vaastupurushamandala. This term is composed of three words- Vaastu, Purusha and Mandala.  Vaastu, as Stella Kramrisch puts it, "is the extent of Existence in its ordered state and is beheld in the likeness of the Purusha." (Kramrisch, 21). The image of the Purusha or Cosmic Man is the same and equivalent to the planned site. Purusha is the Cosmic Man- the point of origin for the entire creation. The Purusha is the instrumental cause (Nimitta Kaarana) of all existence and so is the Purusha the material cause of all existence and all the constituents of creation are made from his substance. The plan of the building or temple resembles the Cosmic Man who is none other than the Supreme One (Uttama Purusha). Mandala denotes any closed polygon. The form of the Vaastupurushamandala is square. The Vaastupurushamandala underlies all planned Hindu architectural structures. The site plan, ground plan as well as the horizontal and vertical sections of a Hindu structure are monitored by the Vaastupurushamandala. The site plan of the temple is prepared in accordance with the Vaastupurushamandala.

 

 

The drawing of the square Vaastupurushamandala before the commencement of the temple architectural activity was essential. It was mandatory for an architect to be fully aware about the symbolism and actual drawing of the Vaastupurushamandala. All traditional texts on Indian Architecture elaborate upon the Vaastupurushamandala. The 11th century CE was a period when some of the loftiest Hindu Temples like the Brihadishvara Temple at Thanjavur, Kandariya Mahadeva Temple at Khajuraho as well as the Sun Temple at Modhera were constructed. By this time, the drawing of the Vaastupurushamandala on the site where the temple was to be built had become a rule. Whether it was the stretching of the chord to make the square or drawing the lines of the diagram, each step in the procedure was a ritual with its concomitant sacredness. These rites support the building in a similar manner as the actual physical foundation of the temple would support it.