Vastu Purusha Mandala
According to a statement in the Matsya Purana, as Lord Shiva fought and killed the demon Andhakasur, a drop of his sweat (Lord Shiva’s) fell on Earth, and with that sweat, the Vastu Purush was created.
The Vastu Purush was extremely cruel and brutal by nature and ate everything and everybody on his way. This appalled all the deities in Heaven, and under the leadership of Lord Indra, they imprisoned the Vastu Purush in a square pit in the Earth —with his head in the northeast, and feet in the South-west. And that is the posture in which he lies in every single plot of land.
The Vastu Purush thereafter worshipped Lord Shiva, seeking a boon. Pleased with him, Lord Shiva blessed him that whosoever constructed a building would worship him first, and make offerings to him. In return, the Vastu Purush would bless the occupants and protect them from any ill fortune. Since then, the Vastu Purush is called the spirit of the building. To appease him, one must do ceremonies and rituals, and make offerings to satisfy him.
In present living conditions, we must abide by some spiritual rules of life so that we don’t harm anyone. The Vastu Purush has certain marma or delicate points in his body, which should not be hurt and injured while constructing the building.
According to the scripture Maya Mattam — this should be known to every house owner/architect — the Vastu Purush has six bones, a single heart, four vulnerable points, and four vessels. If, through the architect’s ignorance, any one or more than one part of the body gets “injured”, the owner of the structure is or will be, ruined.
The Vastu Purush, laid on the ground/land, is measured in the form of squares. The measurements start from cardinal directions of East to West and North to South. The Mandala of Squares is made in two forms, one is of 64 squares and the other is in 81 squares.
Vastu Mandala
Mandala means configuration, a system that is defined as a network and the common form of the mandala is a square field. Energy networks are expressed graphically in the matrix in the form of squares or any other defined shape. The Vastu Purusha Mandala is a square grid and is said to be a fundamental form in which both architecture and other shapes and sizes can be created. This mandala is oriented to the four cardinal directions.
According to the Vastu Mandala, 32 deities reside in the four cardinal directions, ie, North, East, West, and South. Each direction is divided into nine parts, each of which is occupied by a deity.
The Matsya Purana states that in a square form, there should be a total of 81 parts, all equal to one another, and 45 deities reside in these 81 parts; out of these 45 deities, 32 reside in the outer squares that make up the boundaries, and 13 in the inner squares of the grid. Every deity has its own good or bad attributes.
One should propitiate these deities and chalk out the building plan, entrances and doors according to the Vastu Mandala.