Finding Vastu

Let us go back approximately 4500 years back in time. When the humanity was still young and the skies shimmered with the untouched glow of cosmic light, the sages of India—sat in deep meditation, seeking to understand not only the stars above but also the world they lived in.

They saw that everything—sunrise and sunset, wind and water, fire and space—had a pattern, a balance. Life thrived where there was harmony. Villages that faced the rising sun flourished. Homes with proper ventilation stayed cool even in summer. Temples aligned to the cardinal directions felt alive.

But these weren’t just coincidences. The Rishis began recording these patterns in chants and hymns—the earliest form of sacred knowledge, later called the Vedas. We must remember that the Vedas were orally transmitted for centuries before being written down through various techniques like Padapatha (word-by-word recitation), Krama-patha (reciting words in pairs). Writing systems in ancient India developed relatively late compared to when the Vedas originated. Many years later, around the 1st millennium BCE to the early centuries CE, as writing systems like Brahmi and later Kharosthi and Devanagari developed, the Vedas began to be written down. Different regions in India preserved different recensions (shakhas) of the Vedas. Gurukuls and temples were responsible for making their copies and keeping them safe. Unfortunately, these early texts got lost in time.

The why behind it is important to understand at this point. Early manuscripts written on palm leaves, birch bark, or coarse paper could not withstand hot humid Indian climate, fires, floods and insects. Especially when making copies was a very slow manual process. Different regions had different version of it. With all the historical disruptions- all the wars, invasions, political upheavals, cultural changes inevitably led to many parts being lost over time.

What we get to read today is a compilation of bits and pieces available from different regions, different languages, information available in different mediums (oral & written) by various scholars like Sayanacharya, Shaunaka, Panini, Yaska, Jaimini, Sankara, Max Müller, Ralph T.H. Griffith, Sri Aurobindo, Dayananda Saraswati etc. Translation and interpretation based on their understanding, their cultural context, their philosophical biases and belief system.

Hold the above thought and let us talk about the elephant that we want to fit into every room- Vastu Shastra. What once was said to be started by Mansara (mana= measurements, sara= essence hence, the essence of measurements) or as gen-z may call it Vastu 1.0, like all the other ancient texts, got transformed, lost and changed during the course of many centuries. Up until recently in 20th century when P.K.Acharya located, compiled, and studied various manuscripts of the Manasara, which had largely fallen into obscurity. He then published a critical edition of the Manasara in Sanskrit.

“I have made an effort to revive the architectural science of India” – Preface, Architecture of Manasara, Vol IV

“This work has been compiled from old and fragmentary manuscripts discovered in different parts of India.” – Preface, Architecture of Manasara, Vol IV

“Except one, all other manuscripts are fragmentary and none contains any commentary, drawings, diagrams or sketches.” – Preface, Architecture of Manasara, Vol IV

(A total of eleven available manuscripts were gathered from various parts of the country)

“If, after making allowance for existing conditions and requirements, the methods and principles, as well as the rules and regulations laid down in the standard treatise, are found to be scientifically sound and suitable for modem buildings, big and small, they may be experimented with” – Preface, Architecture of Manasara, Vol IV

Architecture of Mansara was an honest attempt to revive what got lost in in time by stitching together the pieces left behind. It never claimed to represent the entirety of its original form.

While we should be thankful to Acharya for his years long work and dedication to get us closer to our roots and we must understand his intentions behind the work.

Be it our Vedas, be it Mansara or any other text available on the subject is subjected to understanding and interpretation of the scholars who translated and compiled the left behind parts of it.

Context and relevance of these fragmented texts started changing with advent of technology and modern lifestyle. Be it invention of electricity or discovery of modern-day fuel. Be it industrial revolution or economic revolution but villages started migrating to cities. Cities that offered a life along the road network and not along river basins. Cities that offered a sphere of digital communication. Cities that introduced modern day building materials like cement, steel, aluminum, glass, etc.

While sitting in our air-conditioned room with floor to ceiling and column to column sized system windows, satin-finish painted walls, drinking a chilled glass of R.O. water, getting intimidated by the TV ads of expensive sanitary ware brands for our bedroom-attached toilet, asking Siri about the directions to the nearest tile showroom, if we think that Vastu can alter our lives for good or bad then perhaps we need to take a moment to reflect—not just on the alignment of doors and the direction of our beds, but on the irony of seeking cosmic balance while living in meticulously engineered, climate-controlled spaces. Maybe it’s not the placement of a room but the displacement from reality that needs rebalancing. Perhaps it’s not cosmic forces we need to tune into, but common sense and conscious living. Maybe it's not the energy of the house, but the intent of the design and functionality.

Believing that lack fragmented rules and principles of once supremely powerful knowledge base can bring us harm is like fearing the shadow of a broken compass—misguided, misplaced, and missing the point. The wisdom that once guided civilizations was rooted in context, climate, culture, and a deep connection to nature—not in rigidly applying relics of it to glass towers and marble-floored homes. What was once holistic has now been hollowed into superstition. And in clinging to fragments, we often lose sight of the whole.

It is still may be relevant while designing a traditional temple or seeking a life our sages lived hundreds of centuries ago. P.K. Acharya in his series himself called it science of architecture. What science is good without context? Which form of science is constant? Is it even science if it is not ever evolving in accordance with changing problem statements?

The father of present day Vastu Shastra (as we know it) said- it can be experimented with if it fits into the current context and requirements of the modern-day buildings. Maybe because being a well renowned scholar he knew that change is inevitable. He knew that in times to come, the needs, requirements, problems and solutions of a modern-day building will be immeasurably different from what was described in the ancient texts.

What we must carry forward from this exploration is not the unyielding application of ancient prescriptions, but the spirit behind them—a profound observation of the existing world and an intent to live in harmony with it. The sages, rishis, and architects of ancient India weren’t creating any rulebook; they were discovering patterns in life, climate & energy and documenting what worked for their time, geography and materials. To apply their knowledge today without acknowledging our own vastly different context is to misunderstand both their wisdom and their intentions. True homage to Vastu Shastra and similar traditions lies not in rigid replication, but in reinterpretation—rooted in relevance, not reverence alone. When we reduce such knowledge to superstition or marketing gimmicks, we strip it of its true value. But when we see it as a foundation—a starting point for thoughtful, adaptive design—we keep its spirit alive.

We must embrace the essence of what once was—a sensitivity to space, light, orientation, and human well-being—and apply it to the present reality with creativity, logic, and responsibility. If we are to build wisely today, it will not be by tracing ancient footprints step for step, but by understanding why those steps were taken in the first place. The aim is not to discard tradition, but to evolve it. Not to fear what we don’t fully grasp, but to study, question, and adapt it with informed intent. In doing so, we move not away from our heritage, but toward a future where design, like wisdom, is living—responsive to time, space, and the people it seeks to serve.

In a world shaped by steel and concrete, perhaps the most powerful Vastu we can practice is intentionality: designing with awareness, building with empathy, and living in harmony with both nature and need. The sages sought balance, not just in space, but in thought. That balance is still worth pursuing—not in the direction a door opens, but in the direction our understanding evolves.