The Hindu Temple v1.c5.s8.23

v1.c5.s8.23

Brahmasthāna, and assigned to gods, men and demons respectively, according to their distance from the centre, differs from the Vāstumaṇḍala on which the 45 Vedic gods dwell. There, two belts surround the Brahmasthāna, the one of the ‘internal divinities’, the other of the Padadevatās and the extent of the plots occupied by each divinity is variable and consequently also the pattern of the plan; here however the three classes of beings are assigned their residence within unchangeable limits. Two different methods of concentration (dhāraṇa) and of site planning, two different traditions are represented in the Vāstumaṇḍalas of 64 and 81 squares on the one hand, of 49 squares, etc., on the other. The latter bears no direct relation to the legend of the Vāstupuruṣa.