Sthapatya Ved-Vastu Sastra: Ideal Homes, Colony and Town Planning

Sthapatya Ved embraces the concept of the holistic origin of the universe. This concept envisages the view that all forms of creativity originate from transcendental consciousness. In this process it completely unites the mind, the body and creativity. Sthapatya Ved is a branch of one of the principal Veds, the Atharva Ved. It expounds the principles involved in the areas of Vastusastra, Silpasastra, Chitrakala. Viswakarma, the supreme architect of the universe, is considered to be the originator of Sthapatya Ved. Many works pertaining to this branch of knowledge originated during centuries. The most notable, authoritative and exhaustive text in this that exists today, is the Manasara, the essence of measurement. According to some its authorship is attributed to thirty-two ancient sages. The other notable works are the Mayamatra, Samarangana Sutradhara etc. Sthapatya Ved, while expanding its tenets, differs from what prevails in the areas of architecture, sculpture and painting. It envelops within it, the knowledge of Jyotis, Ayurved and Gandharva Ved etc., as these branches of learning too contribute to the final outcome of an undertaking. It also takes into consideration the tenets of Samudrika Sastra and other branches of Vedic knowledge. In this book the introduction and first three chapters are based on Manasara and rest on Brihatsamhita.