Main Door in Manayadi Sastram

The main door of the house should be larger than the other doors entering the house.

The main door should have two shutters and open to the inside of the building. Teak is a good material for the entrance door.

It is best that a house has two entrances. The exit door should be smaller than the entrance, and it should have only one shutter. If there are two external doors for the house, they should not be set in a straight line.

When one enters the house, there should not be a wall in front of the entrance. There should be a door that opens to the next room. A shadow should not fall on the main door. The main door of the house should not be below ground. Neither should the main door be in the center of the house, nor in the extreme corners. If the door is set in the north wall, move it east of center; if it’s in the east wall, move it north of center. If it is set in the south wall, it should be moved east of center; if it is in the west wall, move it south of center. Some authorities say that if the house’s entrance is in the west wall. It should be centered. Some Vastu authorities say that to figure out where to place a main door, divide the house into nine parts. The door should be in the fourth section of the house from the left hand side. From the right side of the house, the entrance is in the sixth division from the right.

The main door should not be situated across from the main door of another house. The entrance doors of two houses should not be exactly opposing one another. Neither should two houses share a common entrance.

If the entrance of the house is to the south, there should not be a balcony or verandah in front of the door.

It is good to set gates to both the property and the entrance to the house on the north or east sides. It is also all right to have the main door on the west wall. It is not advised to have the main entrance on the south side.

It is considered auspicious if the entrance to the property and the main door of the house are on the same side. It is not considered good if the main door to the house is on the opposite side to the entrance of the property.

There should not be an underground tank, septic tank, or canal under the main entrance. There should not be any abandoned, wrecked buildings in front of the main entrance.

It is good to decorate a house’s entrance with pictures or statues of Laksmi, Ganesh or Kuvera and auspicious signs such as OM or the Swastika.

Inauspicious pictures should not be on the door.

Shoes should not be kept in front of the door, but to the side.
The door should not be slanted, sliding, or circular.

Bedrooms in Manayadi Sastram

The main bedroom should be on the southwest or northwest side of the house. If there is an upper story in 

the house, the master bedroom should be on this floor, in the southwest corner. Adult married children can

 also use this room. Younger children, however, should not use it because that will cause trouble in the 

household.

Wooden beds are the most preferred types for bedrooms

Bedrooms on the northeast side of the house will also cause trouble.

The children’s bedrooms should be in the northwest or west. The younger children’s bedroom can also be 

on the east side of the house, Newly married couples should not use a bedroom on the east side. Guest 

bedrooms are best located in the northwest corner, but can also be located in the northeast corner.

Bedroom walls should be painted a light rose, dark blue, dark green, gray, etc. Some authorities say that the walls should not be painted white or a light yellow. The door should be set in the east, west or north, and 

should ideally be one shutter.

One should sleep in his own house with his head facing east or south. If one is staying in someone else’s 

house, or while traveling, he should sleep with his head facing west. One should never sleep with his head 

facing north. Upon rising from bed, the right foot should be placed on the floor first. If one is to study in the 

bedroom, the east side should be used. The wardrobe should be located on the northwest or southwest side of the bedroom. TV, heaters, and air conditioners should be located in the southeast corner.

The southwest corner of the room should not be vacant. An attached bathroom could be built on the west or north sides of the room. It is best not to keep the safe in a bedroom, but if this is the only place for the safe, 

it should be located on the south wall, opening north.

Avoid keeping the photo, calendar or idols of any Deities in the bedroom.

At night it is advisable to keep a light (vilaku) burning. Never keep the bedroom pitch dark.

Other Basic Tips

- A bedroom in the North : This is the ideal direction for young couples and also for storing valuables, important papers, cash, jewellery etc.

- A bedroom in the North East : This direction should not have any bedroom since it is the sacred space of 

the house.

- A bedroom in the East : The direction is ideal for unmarried children.

- A bedroom in the South East : The direction is not recommended for having bedroom since it is the 

quadrant of fire and imparts a hot temperament to those occupying it. It also leads to constant quarrels 

between couples and incures excessive expenditure. Children staying in this direction do not take interest in their studies and finds it difficult to get a sound sleep.

- A bedroom in the South or South West : The direction is ideal for having master bedroom and should be 

occupied by the head of the family. It should be larger than the other rooms. In case of a multi storeyed 

building, this room should always be on the top floor.

- A bedroom in the West : The direction is ideal for students. However, it increases the probability of birth of a larger number of girls in the family.

- A bedroom in the North West : The location is the best for newlywed couples.

- Avoid sleeping under beams or slanted ceilings: The remedy is to create a false ceiling.

- Keep the beds 2″ away from the walls: To allow for the free flow of air all around and under the bed, thus creating good ventilation.

- Avoid the bed directly opposite the door: But the bed should be placed in a position where the occupants 

can see anyone coming into the rooms. 

- The safe box should be in the South-West, opening towards North

- Beds should not be shaky: The mattress should provide good support to the body while resting.   

- Avoid mirror directly opposite the bed

- Avoid storing things under the bed

General useful tips in Manayadi Sastram

If which room should be constructed in which direction is not kept in mind while planning a house, the whole building may go against the principles Vastu Shastra and it will create lot of troubles causing irreparable harms and loss to the owner / inmates.
The other things which must be kept in mind are:

Doors of each room should be facing East.

Bedrooms should be in South and West. Master bedroom in South west.

Placement of mirrors on South and West wall are inauspicious.

While sleeping head should be in South or West but never in North.

Pooja room should be in North East. All idols and photographs should be facing West.

Toilet seat should be in North-South only. It should not be in East-West.

Out houses should not touch the compound wall of North and East side.

Stairs should always be in clock-wise direction.

Anything underground should be in North or East.

Anything above ground should be in South or West.

Porch should not touch the North or East compound wall.

Big trees should not be grown in North or East. They should be in South or West side of the house.

Face East or North while reading or transacting any business deal. Facing East in the morning and West after noon.

Face East while cooking, West is allowed if there is no alternative, but never face South while cooking.

Total number of doors and windows should be in even number for each floor, but should not end in zero like 10, 20, 30. The width of the door should be half the height of the door. The door should not be too high, too low, too wide or too narrow. The doors should be rectangular and square doors should always be avoided.

Ventilation should be looked after and good cross ventilation should be present.

Never put the poster of crying girl, war scene, sexy scenes, angry man, owl, eagle etc. They are inauspicious.

Doors should open inside the room and not outside.

In bed rooms, always use bed of four legs only. Never use box type bed because it stops the air circulation under the bed which is bad for health.

Never eat or drink in standing position.

No room should be built under the stairs.

The cupboard in the wall should be in the Southern or Western part direction of the house.

In these kitchen, grinder, fridge, shelf and other heavy items should be towards South and West wall.

There should be no water body in front of any entrance door of the house.

The ratio between length and breadth of the building should normally be 1:1 or 1:1.5 or maximum 1:2. It should not exceed 1:2 in all circumstances. The building dimension should preferably be longer in North-South, shorter in East-West.

Ground level should be higher in West, South West and South as compared to East, North and North East. It is better to keep North East the lowest

Floor level should be higher in South, South West, South East and Western portion and lower in North, North East and East. The water should flow towards East or North and not in other directions. Central zone should be even.

It is better to keep roofing sloping towards East and North.

Now a days it has become a fashion to keep roofs sloping deeply :

(1.) Keeping the roofs sloppy symmetrically in all sides : or

(2.) If the slope is on East or North sides only, keeping the East or North or both sides down. The idea is to keep South and West heights in level. Slanting towards South or West only should be avoided as that will lead to serious health problems.

There are two options for building height:

(1.) Height can be equal every where in the building.

(2.) Keeping South, South West and West higher as compared to other parts of the building.

Conversely North, North East and East should be lower in heights.

Terrace, portico, porch & balconies should be located only in North, East and North East sides of the building to bring health, wealth and happiness. Balconies should face North and East.

The mezzanine floor should be placed in West or South side of the building.

Normally building cellars and basement rooms etc. below the road level of a house should be avoided. Due to paucity of space now a days building cellars or basement is being widely adopted. Care should be taken to keep the height of the cellar or basement projecting up above the road level to some extent. Cellars or basement covering the entire plot is all right. If it is to be constructed only in a portion of basement it should be located only in North, North East and East sides preferably with entrance from North East. If constructed on South West that should be used for heavy storage. North West and South West portion should be used for servants, car parking etc.

If cellars or basement are built in South, South West and West and used for living that will create mental tension and loss of wealth for inmates.

Placing stair case in North or West zone turning right in the middle and emerging in the first floor facing East or South or South West zone is also auspicious. While climbing one should face West or South up to middle point and after that one can face any direction; emerging at the end at North East portion is considered auspicious.

It will be auspicious to keep doors both at beginning and at the end of the stair case. It is also essential to ensure that the stair case does not touch Eastern or Northern wall.

The steps should be in odd numbers like 11, 17, 23 etc. In other words, if the number is divided by 3, the remainder.

The best place to construct servant quarter is South-East or North-West corners. Care should be taken to ensure (i) not to block the corners at South East or North West. (ii) the quarters should not touch the walls on East or North.

The best place for garage is South-East or North-West and the garage walls should not touch the walls on East or North.
The guard room: A regular concrete shelter or alternatively a wooden chowki is made in South West or other place near main gate. The shelter should be facing East or North. It is important to ensure that the watchman can easily see every movement from a distance itself.

North West or South West zones are the right places for overhead tank. Since it is of having weight at a height, South-West is the best. Precaution should be taken to ensure that the overhead tank does not touch the main building.

The right place for underground reservoir or water tank is the North East, the place of Eshwar, the God Supreme. The next choice is East Zone on the Northern side.

The best place to locate a swimming pool is the North East side. It is better to build the swimming pool in a corner ( and not exactly at junction of North and East points ) where privacy is ensured.

For this Southern or Western side should be used. South-West or North-West corners and central place of the house or building should never be used for this purpose. If possible Eastern and Northern side should also be avoided. The person sitting in water closets should face North or South or South-West and never the East Direction.

Vastu concepts regarding the plants and their plantation must be kept in mind so as to make your home not just superficially beautiful, but also Vastu oriented. As a general rule, gardens in homes or factories should always be in the North or West and of the compound. The South-East and South-West are not to be selected for any kind of garden or plantation. Fruit bearing trees or trees with good foliage are always preferred to thorny trees. Care should be taken not to grow trees which have huge penetrating roots as it can prove harmful for the house.

Generally gates in North, North-East and East directions are auspicious and good. Road facing South is not generally preferred. In South road plots, South West gate should be avoided. South-East gate is a better choice. In a plot facing West (road on Western side) South West main entrance gate should be avoided; North West gate is a better option. East or North direction is the best for placing main gate.

Height of the building should be uniform to get the most advantageous results. There must be uniformity among projections or elevations.

It is best if the building’s walls are higher on the west and south sides and lower on the north and east sides. Also, the south and west walls should be thicker than the north and east walls, if possible. The building’s floor and roof should be higher on the south and west sides, lower on the north and east sides. Neither the ground nor the building should be higher in the northeast than in the southwest. Rooms in the House
Furniture, such as sofas, should be placed in the southeast, south, or west sides of a room. The house’s owner should sit facing north or east, and his guests should sit facing west or south.

It is best that the northeast corner of each room in the house be left empty. If furniture must be set in the northeast corner, it should be set 15cm (six inches) from the wall.

Do not align doors within the house. One door should not lead directly into another.

It is best when a student studies that he face north, northeast, or east. Therefore a table in a study room should be placed in the south or west sides of the room. Books should be stored in the southwest side of the room.

Do not keep money in a place facing south.

When one prays, he should face either north or east.
Beds should face either west or south to insure that when a person rises in the morning, he is facing either north or east. While asleep, one should place his head to the south, east, or west, not north.

If one’s place of worship is in the bedroom (in the northeast), one should sleep with his head facing east to avoid pointing his feet toward the altar.

Mirrors should be placed on the north or east walls, not on the south or west walls. Do not keep broken mirrors in the house.
Clocks should be placed on the west, north, or east walls.

Clothes should be washed in the southeast corner of the house.

Medicine should be kept in the northeast corner of the house, and a person should face northeast while taking it. It is best to nurse those who are ill in the southwest corner of the house, although the northwest corner is also good.

Rainwater and wastewater should leave the house from the northeast side. It should flow west to east or south to north.

There should be an even number of columns and beams in the house, not odd.

Doors should generally be made from a single piece of wood and should open on the left side.

A television can be placed in the southeast side of a room. An overhead water tank should be located in the southwest side of a building.

Stairways should be on the south, southwest, or west sides of a building.

Certain pictures should not be hung in a house such as nudes, animals fighting, captured elephants, hunting scenes, trees without fruits or flowers, snakes, owls, bats, vultures and pigeons.

Parijatham - Pavalamalligai plant

Though a native of the sub Himalayan tract, the tree established widely all over the South. It is considered sacred and is grown in temples and gardens. Being a good coppicer, the branches, when cut produce several branchlets that bear many flowers. Planted cuttings and dibbled seeds grow easily and establish. The quadrangular stems droop gracefully to one side. Plant the tree in whatever little space is available for a harvest of happiness. Though a large shrub with no entitlement to be considered a tree, it finds a place here as it grows into a small tree, if properly nurtured. It is a favourite with garden-lovers, mostly because of the fragrance of its flowers in the early hours of the day. The flowers bloom at night and before dawn fall off the tree giving the ground underneath a pleasing blend of white and red. Called Pavalamalligai in Tamil and Coral Jasmine in English, it has a tell-tale botanical name: Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Nyctanthes meaning that which blossoms at nightfall.


Its leaves are large, about 4" long and 2.25" broad. Of significance is the rough and abrasive nature of the leaf, and so employed to scrub metallic vessel, to give them a shine. However, such an employment of the leaf is not advisable where gold and silver are concerned.

The flower is very attractive with a red corolia tube bearing unequally lobed petals at its top. The petals are snowy white with dew drops sitting on them, for flowering occurs in December, when in our clime there is heavy dew in the early hours of the morning.

There is a beautiful story in Bhagavatam centred around Parijatham. An original inhabitant of Indra's Garden, Nandanavanam, its flower was gifted to Krishna by Narada. At the time, Krishna was with Rukmini and naturally, the flower went into the hair-do of Rukmini, put there by Krishna with his own hands. A maid in the service of Satyabhama was a witness to the scene. She reported the matter to her mistress, no doubt adding some pepper and salt. Satyabhama felt slighted, perhaps more than necessary. Mischief was set afoot. And of course, all as per the plan of Narada. He wanted to prove a point. Krishna, who is none other than God Himself, could be won over only by pure devotion and total surrender. Neither beauty nor wealth would entice him. Satyabhama had both and was under the impression that Krishna was more attached to her: after all, she was the most beautiful of all the consorts of Krishna and richest too, thanks to the Samanthaka Mani which her father, Satrajit owned. One day, Narada proclaimed in the presence of all, Krishna would belong to the person who gave him unstinted devotion and love, with no element of Quid-pro-Quo involved.

To prove this point, Narada enacted the game of Parijatham. One thing led to another and a great comic act of auctioning Krishna was organized. A balance was brought and Krishna sat in one of the pans. Narada urged Satyabhama to outweigh Krishna with all her possessions. She used all her gold and other wealth but the pan in which Krishna was seated would not move up even by a millimetre. It was now the turn of Rukmini. The pan containing all that Satyabhama put into it was emptied and Rukmini put a single Thulasi Dalam, an apical leaf cluster of basil, the sacred Thulasi. Lo! The pan with Krishna in it, jumped up. Narada was vindicated. Of course, later Krishna defeated Indra in a duel and brought the Parijatham plant itself and presented it to Satyabhama!

The tribals of Dandakaranya have a more poignant story, which explains why Parijatham blooms only at night and the flowers fall away at sun-rise. The story goes thus:

They call Parijatham, the tree of Sorrow. The daughter of a tribal chief fell in love with the Sun-God. The God reciprocated the love, but soon betrayed her by deserting the girl. She died of grief and her body was cremated. The ashes blown by the wind fell all over Bharatavarsha and a tree grew wherever a portion of the ashes fell. That explains the distribution of the plant all over India. Not only that. The flower, which personified the love the girl bore for the Sun God would not like to see Him again. So, the tree flowers during nights which fall away at sunrise. What a beautiful story!

Parijatham has many medicinal uses: antibacterial, antiinflammatory and anthelmintic. Further, a dye extracted from the corolla tube is used to lend colour to Tussore Silk. Was it used as a surgical tool in ancient India to remove catract? I remember to have read something to this effect.

Surely, many home gardens in Chennai, have a Parijatham, for it is a much sought after plant.

Trees and Plants in Manayadi Sastram

Trees & plants: Plants should be planted during auspicious constellations. It is ideal to plant during the bright half, i.e., close to full moon. Saplings should first be planted in clay pots and only later placed in the ground. This enables them to grow better.


It is always good to grow a Tulasi plant on one’s property. Tulasi should be located on the north, northeast, or east sides of the house, or in front of the house. Trees should not be planted directly in front of the house’s main entrance. There should be an even number of trees on one’s property, not an odd number. Trees should be planted on the south or west sides of the house. Ideally, they should be planted on both these sides rather than on only one side. It is not good to plant a tall tree on the north, northeast, or east sides of a building.

Smaller trees may be planted on the east or north sides, but no trees should be planted in the northeast corner. Tall trees should not be too close to a building as they block the sunlight. A tree’s shadow should not fall on the house. Large trees should not be located too near the house as their roots can damage the foundation and compound wall. Also, the roots of large trees absorb sunlight quickly, meaning these positive rays will not be received by the building. Do not allow tree branches to touch the house.
Stone sculptures and rock gardens should be located on the southwest side of the house because they are heavy.

Thorny plants should not be planted near the house. Cactus should not be planted at all. Thorny plants other than roses have a negative energy. Ideally all thorny plants should be pulled up and destroyed.

A list of good trees to plant: coconut, neem, betal, sandalwood, lemon, pineapple, bilva, almond, jackfruit, pomegranate, mango, amla, and katha.
Banyan and Pipal (Aswatha) are sacred trees; they should usually only be planted near a temple or at a sacred place.

Creepers or other plants should not be grown by using the building or compound wall as support. Creepers should only be grown in a garden, and they should have their own independent supports.

If a tree must be removed because it is inauspicious or for other reasons, it should be removed in the months of Magh or Bhadrapada. The day before cutting the tree, worship it and express regret that it must be removed from its rooting. Promise to plant a new tree in its place. Do so within three months. When cutting the tree, it should fall east or north, not south or west.