Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus c4.38

c4.38

The third chapter of the *Mánasára* professes to treat of the nature and qualities of the ground on which buildings are to be erected. It opens with the definition of *vástu*, a term used to express the ground on which any superstructure is raised, as signifying that which is inhabitable, and directs a careful examination of the site to be selected for building, as to its fitness for the purpose from its colour, smell, taste, form, and touch. It then goes on to divide the soil into four sorts, and to point out in the order of superiority what is considered auspicious for the residence of each of the four classes, with reference to the five qualities above-