The Hindu Temple v1.c5.1

v1.c5.1

Prthivī, the element and goddess Earth (bhū), yields her surface; it is the ground (bhūmi) of architecture ritual, as it is the realm of manifestation, and of bodily existence; "it is the place where mortals and immortals reside (vas). The following four are considered as Vāstu, residences, by the ancients who were experts in architecture: Bhūmi, the ground; Prāsāda, the temple or palace, Yāna, the conveyance, and Śayana, the couch. Bhū, the earth, is considered the main Vastu, it is the underlying stratum of existence. Those that originate therefrom, the Prāsādas and other works of architecture are Vāstu (dwelling places, planned sites), because they are Vastu (existing things) and have their support on Vastu (an existing, concretely real thing)" ('Mayamata', II. 1-3a). Of these four classes, Bhū, the earth, is described first in the 'Mayamata', and the other treatises on architecture because "it is the first of the elemental principles (bhūta) and a support for the existence of the world" (ibid. II. 9).¹