Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c54.2

v1.c54.2

The defects of the house are principally associated, not only with the untraditional way of placing the doors etc., but also with breakage i. e. Bhaṅga, in any component part. It is bad and deemed as defective and is enjoined the Śāntika, a brief enumeration of which will follow in the preceeding paragraphs. The most prominent orbit of defects round which they revolve is the doctrine of Vedha—the obstruction as a result of the non-conformity of the mystic ideas of Hindus in the realm of architecture. We have already taken notice of such obstructions in a previous chapter (vide Dvāra-vedha) in connection with the door. Another source of defects is the masonry and material as well as the decorations and non-decorations and we have also taken into account the defects associated with them. Here in this chapter, we have, therefore, to confine ourselves to general defects, the avoidance of which gives us a perfect code of architectural canons, thereby furnishing us with a set of rules of House-Architecture, to be adopted as building byelaws in modern terminology. These building byelaws as they emerge from the complicated study of the defects, have been tabulated in a previous chapter—vide House Plans and Building Byelaws). Thus the universe of discourse of this chapter becomes limited and easy to handle. The greatest share of the defects in a house is associated with Bhaṅga—breakage (already referred to) The S. S. has devoted as many as four chapters (42, 43, 46 and 47) to the most exhaustive and copious description of this Bhaṅga in relation to a big list of the manifold parts and mouldings of the house. It also speaks of resultant evil-consequences such as death, misery and misfortune. The list is too big to be dealt with here. Among them the Toraṇa-bhaṅga (the breakage of the arch) is of special notice. The text says, that the breaking of an arch is a bad omen indicative of the breaking up of the Nation (vide 46. 9). Another bad omen is the entry of a dove—Kapota, into a house which is said to bring the greatest calamity. The bird is described as death incarnate, the abode of impurity and sins It is of four kinds—Śveta, white; Vicitra-kaṇṭha, of variegated neck; Vicitra, variegated all over, and Kṛṣṇaka-black. Their entry is regarded as a very bad omen and not only is an expensive Śāntika enjoined, but it is also directed that the owner of the house has to part with one-fourth of his wealth to the Brāhmaṇas if the entry in question is of the first variety of the devil dove—the white one, otherwise one-half, three-fourth or the whole of it is to be distributed respectively, if the entry in question is of remaining varieties of the bird—the Vicitra-kaṇṭha, the Vicitra and Kṛṣṇa (S. S. 46, 32-33).