Vastu geometry: Beyond building codes

Abstract

During the medieval ages in India, no single dynastic power served as the undisputed dispenser of cultural and artistic ideas. However, despite their regional flourishes, Hindu temple designs displayed a remarkable unity of aesthetic purposes. This unified philosophy was codified into a system of rules or canons (a compendium of architectural guidelines) called the Vastushastras. These canons were the purview of the priestly class (Michell 1988), were intentionally made very complex so that they were incomprehensible to even skilled building craftspeople (Grover 1980) and were seldom challenged (C.H.G. Rao 1995; S.K.R. Rao 1995).