%0 Generic %D 1986 %T Vastu-Purusha Mandala %A Kapila Vatsyayan %E Carmen Kagal %K Diagramme %K Fashion and Trends in Indian Architecture %K Traditional Architecture of India %K Vastu-Purusha Mandala (VPM) %X

Like the yantras, Vastu-Purusha Mandalas are models of the cosmos. Used as the generating order for both sacred and secular buildings, each is a perfect square, sub-divided into identical squares, creating a series which starts from 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 ….. upto 1024. In temple architecture, the most commonly used mandalas are those of 64 and 81 squares, with the various deities allocated places in accordance with their importance and with the qualities inherent to the diagram. While the temple is an analogue of the cosmos, it is also modelled on Purusha, Cosmic Man, outlined in the mandala at right.

%B Vistāra - The Architecture of India, Catalogue of the Exhibition %I The Festival of India %P 36-37 %8 10/1986 %G eng %! Listings