The Ancient Science of Vāstu I : The Vishwakarma Prakash Retold

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For Hatha Yoga there is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. For Ayurveda, the Charak Samhita. For astrology, the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. For Vastu, the benchmark text is the Vishwakarma Prakash — attributed to Lord Vishwakarma himself, preserved for generations on household altars, and still part of the curriculum at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi University.

This edition brings all 13 chapters and over 1,400 verses into clear English, with explanation alongside the verses rather than translation alone.

What's inside — all 13 chapters

1. Bhumi Lakshan — Characteristics of the Land. Reading a plot by shape, soil, colour, smell, vegetation and surroundings; six field tests for judging ground; the origin of the Vastu Purush; Bhumi Pujan, where to begin digging, and the omens that follow.
2. Grihadi Vichar — Home Rumination. The longest chapter. Directional knowledge and land tilt; house inception by lunar month and sun sign; Mahadasha, Antardasha and planetary strength; Aayadi dimensional calculations; matching the horoscope of the home to its owner; and Grihavinyas — room layout, verandahs, alleyways, wall, door and pillar dimensions, and one- to four-directional house types.
3. Griha Arambh Muhurat — Auspicious Time for Construction. Day and tithi considerations, the Vastu Chakra, when to begin a water body, the age of a house, inauspicious yogas, and the effects of planets across the houses.
4. Griha Vah Shayan Vichar — Home and Bedroom Consideration. Bed, table and shoe measurements; house names by building material; units of measurement (ungal, hasth, kosh, yojan); Shanku deployment; and Shilanyas — the foundation stone, its symbols, dimensions and consecration.
5. Vastupadvinyas — Division of Land at the Micro Level. The 81-pad grid, Nadis, Marma points and Marma dosha, Vansh and Shira lines, and Shailya effects.
6. Prasad Vidhaan — Temple Rules. Temple construction methods, the parts of a temple, the shilanya process, and the shikhar and mandap.

7. Dwar Nirman — Door Architecture. The main door and every other door — placement, proportion, planetary directions and defects.
8. Jalashay Vichar — Reservoir Contemplation. Location, design and construction of wells, reservoirs, cisterns, lakelets, and underground or overhead tanks.
9. Vriksh Chedan Vidhi — Wood Selection Method. Choosing timber by application, drawing on tensile, shearing and compressive strength.
10. Griha Pravesh — Housewarming. The complete process for moving into a newly built or acquired home.
11. Durglakshan — Fort Characteristics. The Vastu of forts, castles and citadels.
12. Shailyodwar — Subterranean Defects and Remedies. Buried objects — bones, coal, ash, hair, minerals, water — the negative field they create, and how to clear it.
13. Griha Vedh Vichar — Vastu Blemishes. The culminating chapter: internal and external defects not covered earlier, with causes and effects.

Running through all of it: the classical mantras and tantras for energy correction, and the astrological considerations that govern timing.

Who this is for

Vastu consultants and students who want the source text rather than a summary of it. Architects and builders working with traditional principles. Homeowners planning a purchase or a build who would rather get it right at the start than remedy it later. No prior Sanskrit needed.

Why it matters

The Vishwakarma Prakash treats land as something you read, not something you simply buy — and gives you the method. Most Vastu problems are solved before the first brick is laid.

Read a chapter first: Before the First Brick — what Chapter One says about choosing land.

Others in this series

• Vol. II — The Manushyalaya Chandrika Retold: the 16th-century text on residential architecture, entrances, orientation and the home mandir.
• Vol. III — The Rajvallabh Retold: the 15th-century text by Mandan, architect of Kumbhalgarh Fort. Home and temple Vastu, astrology, calculation and defects.
• Vol. IV A — The Samrangan Sutradhar Retold: Bhojadeva's 10th-century masterwork. Creation of the elements, Vastu Pada zoning, Vastupurusha deities.
• Vol. IV B — The Samrangan Sutradhar Retold: house proportions, materials and symbolism, doorway characteristics, and temple architecture.