Indian Architectural Theory and Practice: Contemporary Uses of Vastu Vidya

229 Pages·1998·7.39 MB·English

by  Vibhuti Chakrabarti

Indian
Architectural
Theory
1I1dial1
Architectural
Theory
CONTEMPORARY USES OF VASTU VIDYA
Vibhuti Chakrabarti
CURZON
First Published in 1998
by Curzon Press
15 The Quad~ant, Richmond
Surrey, TW9 1BP
C.
1998 Vibhuti Chakrabarti
Typeset in Perpetua by LaserScript Ltd, Mitcham, Surrey
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
BiddIes Ltd, Guildford and King's Lyn~
All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
no\\' known orhereafter in\:ent~d, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieyal system, without permission
in "'riting from the publishers.
British Libral} CataloBuing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record ofthis book is ayailable fron1 the British Library
if
Libral} Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-7007-1113-9
Contents
List of Plates VB
Foreword by G.H.R.Tillotson xi
Preface xix
INTRODUCTION A Survey ofTexts, Ancient and Modern
CHAPTER ONE Architectural Team 19
The Traditional Team 20
Contemporary Users 22
CHAPTERTWO System ofMeasurement 35
Measurement ofSpace 38
of
Measurement Time 43
Ayadi Formulae 51
System ofRelative Proportion 55
Contemporary Application 57
CHAPTERTHREE Vastu Purusha Mandala 63
The Subdivisions 64
The Body 80
The Lines 82
Contemporary Application 86
CHAPTER FOUR Orientation 101
Eastern Direction 103
Southern Direction 105
Western Direction 106
Northern Direction 107
Orientation ofActivities 108
vi I;\/DIAN ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
Orientation and Vastu Purusha Mandala 113
Orientation and the Aya Formula 115
Contemporary Application 119
CHAPTER FIVE Site Considerations 129
Parameters ofChoice 129
CateBories ofSite 132
Soil Tests 133
Preparation ofSite 135
Contemporary Considerations 136
CHAPTER SIX Building Materials 141
Timber 141
Stone 143
Bricks 144
Contemporary Use 146
CHAPTER SEVEN Defining the Built Form 155
Grammar and ClassifIcation 155
Rasa and Decoration 167
of
Concept AliBnment 168
of
Concept 'Difects' 168
Contemporary Dpnitions 170
Epilogue 195
Bibliography 203
Index 209
List of Plates
1 Lord Vishvakarma, the divine architect 4
2 Sutrashtaka, the tools ofmeasurement 5
3 Determining the cardinal points with a Gnomon 6
4 Vastu Purusha Mandala of91 squares 7
5 Orientation ofvarious functions 7
6 Seven and ten range houses 8
7 Aseven range house ~rith two courts 9
8 Two ways oflooking at the 9X 9 grid 10
9 Two kinds ofplanning principles 11
10 AHaveli in Rajasthan 12
11 Ahouse in Kerala 13
12 Cover ofa contemporary took on Vastu 16
13 Design of a 'modern' house based on Vastu 17
14 Layout ofafactory based on Vastu 18
15 Hasta as a unit ofmeasurement 39
16 Sutrashtaka, the eight tools ofmeasurement 40
17 Hasta scale 41
18 Rashi Purusha 46
19 Nakshatra Purusha 48
20 The three Nadi 48
21 Example ofa Pindasarani table 54
22 Sakala, Pechaka and Pitha Mandala 65
23 Mahapitha Mandala 66
24 Upapitha Mandala 68
25 Ugrapitha Mandala 68
26 Sthandila Mandala 69
27 Chandita Mandala 69
28a Paramashayika Mandala after Brihat Samhita 70
28b Paramashayika Mandala after Manasara 71
28c Paramashayika Mandala after Mayamata 72
"iii INDIAN ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
28d Paramashayika Mandala after SaIDaran8ana Sutradhara 73
28e Paramashayika Mandala after Rajavallabha 74
29 Concentric divisions ofthe Paramashayika Mandala 78
30a The graphic imagery ofthe Purusha 83
30b The graphic imagery ofthe Purusha 83
30c The graphic imagery ofthe Purusha 84
30d The graphic imagery ofthe Purusha 85
31 Geometric interpretations ofthe city ofJaipur and monuments 88
32 The nine squares in the design ofJawahar Kala Kendra 90
33 Concept ofVidyadhar Nagar 92
34 Play ofthe 3X3 Mandala, lIT, Bombay 93
35 Reinventing the Mandala 95
36 Suitable and prohibited locations for various functions 98
37 Kaala Purusha 102
38 Energy channels ofthe subtle body 103
39 9X9 Vastu Purusha Mandala 104
40 Orientation and Mandala 110
41 Superimposing the Mandala 113
42 Eight types of Aya 116
43 Division ofsite into eight quarters 120
44 Changes suggested for afactory 124
45 House designed by amaster craftsman 125
46 Charles Correa's plan for the ja",rahar Kala Kendra,
Jaipur (1986) 127
47 First set ofsixteen Ekashala houses 157
48 Second set of Ekashala houses 158
49 Third set of Ekashala houses 158
50 Fourth set of Ekashala houses 160
51 Fifth set of Ekashala houses 160
52 Sixth set ofEkashala houses 161
53 Seventh set of Ekashala houses 161
54 Some Ekashala houses of Mayamata 164
55 Smallest type of one storeyed building by P.K. Acharya 166
56 Smallest type of one storeyed building by Ram Raz 166
57 Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi 171
58 Comparing the built form of old and ne\v 176
59 The modern 'auspicious' house 182
60 Tools 187
61 Geometric construction ofapattern 187
62 Circle offour serpents 187
63 Wooden joinery 187
64 Design of aborder 188
LIST OF PLATES ix
65 Motif ofa flower 188
66 Decorated door surround 188
67 Designs oflow chairs 188
68 Construction ofa trellis 189
69 Trellis for light 189
70 Cupboards 189
71 'Fancy' piece offurniture 189
72 Stone flooring 190
73 Geometric construction ofan arch 190
74 Chhajja with foliage design 190
75 Geometric construction ofa minaret 190
76 Angrezi Angithi or English Hearth 191
77 Instructions for lathe work, polishing and colouring 191
78 Instructions for holding and drawing with a quill 191
79 'English' wooden three sided window 191
80 'American' design 192
81 Some images ofthe affluent part ofNew Delhi 194
82 The theme of Vastu Purusha Mandala 196
83 Invention ofa Vastu rationale behind Chandigarh 197
Note: Sources of Plates are given in the captions in the text. For
permission to reproduce certain images, the author gratefully acknowl
edges Sri B.N. Reddy; Sri N.K. Jhajharia; the Sitaram BhartiyaInstitute for
Scientific Research; the Tantra Foundation (Delhi); and the editor of
+
Architecture DesiBn.
Fore-vvord
G.H.R.Tillotson
Vastu Vidya is an Indic theory ofarchitecture. The Sanskrit term describes
a body of knowledge, sustained, developed and modified by successive
generations ofarchitects throughthe course ofmanycenturies. The term is
not the name ofonly one book or text; itimplies atradition ofknowledge
which has at various times been ordered and expressed (and so is handed
down to us) in arange oftexts, with avarietyoftitles. Some ofthese texts
have formed afocus ofstudy- by linguists interested in investigating their
literarycontent, byarthistorianshopingtofind inthemkeyswithwhichto
unlock some of the problems of interpreting the great monuments of
India's past, and (more lately) by architects and others in search of
assistance in meeting the challenges of the present and the future. This
timely book by Vibhuti Chakrabarti makes important interventions in a
number of continuing debates around these texts and their uses, and it
draws attention to the relation between these so far somewhat disparate
debates in ways which are illuminating to - and certainly ought not to be
ignored by - anyone who is interested in Indian thought or design.
The first thing which distinguishes this book from previous studies of
Vastu Vidya is the range of texts that are considered. Many of the most
scholarly works to date focus on individual texts to furnish us with
translationsandmuchvaluableinformationregarding(forexample)specific
iconographicalprescriptions; naturally, manyhave noticed the parallels and
even common material that exist between various texts, and they have
commented on them; but this is the first work to take a broad range of
texts and explore their commonalityby means ofspecifictextual reference
and detailed analysis. The texts used here include six that are amongst the
best known and most complete - the Mayamata, the Manasara, the
SamaranBana Sutradhara, the Rajavallabha, the Vishvakarmaprakasha and the
Aparajitaprccha; butbesides this canonicalgroup, manyother cognate texts,
and works on other related topics, have also been referred to.