Vastu Shastra - Representation and Perception of the Hindu Temple

Buddhist mandala containing a circle and four gates.

Vastu Shastra, meaning science of dwelling, are the manuals produced by ancient hindu builders to establish the rules for the design and layout of hindu architecture. There are many variations for these manuals, some informing rules for the design of temples and houses, and some giving instructions to the layout of gardens and cities. For their prominence and significance among the wide variety of buildings comprised by hindu architecture, I chose to focus my studies in the understanding of the geometric rules involved in the conception of temples

Even though there are a few variations the rule, the great majority of temples in India follow a few guideline principles described in some of the Vastu Shastra manuals. One of the most easily observable feature in these temples is the axial organization following cardinal directions. This comes from the understanding that the basic plan of the Hindu temple is an expression of sacred geometry, where the temple is viewed as a Mandala. Mandala stands for circle in sanskrit, and it is a chart or a symbol representing the universe. The most typical Mandala is usually a square containing a circle with four gates. The idea behind the intersection of a circle and a square becomes the perfect representation of the temple, the place where the human comes in touch with the divine. The circle is understood as a representation of the divine - it is a perfect form, with no beginning and no end -, whereas the square becomes a representation of mankind, as it is finite and a product of human thought.

For the conception of temples, ancient hindu builders made use of Mandalas called Vastu Purusha Mandalas. The main aspect of these Mandalas is their division in square modules called "padas". A Pada is obtained according to the possible mathematical division of the original square into other squares. Because of this, there are a variety of Vastu Purusha Mandalas, each with its own name referring to the amount of Padas in it.

This square modular and axial organization applied in the construction of these temples for its mystical and religious symbolism in the time of their conception influences the way the architecture of these buildings is perceived today. A good way to analyze the perception of architecture after its completion is through photography. Architectural photography has the quality of revealing a critical and rationalized view of a building. It shows particular angles and juxtapositions that can or can not have been planned by the architects. By looking into photographs took by many photographers of the Taj Mahal, India's most iconic building, it soon becomes clear how the ideas of axiliaty, symmetry and modularity originally present in the building's planning are translated into the media of photography, revealing how this architecture is perceived.

A great part in the process of designing a building comes from the exploration of perspective. By imagining and drawing perspectives, architects are able to test the building against its foreseen contexts and test its sequential qualities and perceptional narrative. However, creating perspectives can also be deceiving. Even when computational graphics are taken into consideration, perspectives created prior to the construction of a building can reveal less about the final product, and more about the intention of this project. Because of this, photography becomes a good tool for revealing post-completion architecture.

One can say that photography can not belong to the set of tools of creative architectural representation, based on the fact that it can only show what already exists, so there is less space for creative exploration. Or even argue that by the fact that nowadays everyone can produce photography, it does not take thinking into its process. I, in the other hand, believe that every photography has the power of revealing a point of view. Sometimes more and sometimes less critical. By freezing time in a frame, a particular look into a subject is revealed, it can show how a person looks to and perceives an object.

Photography can present aspects of architecture that were not intended by the project's author, like, for example, showing the way people move and occupy spaces, or contrasting it with its surroundings. It can also enhance projectual intentions, like revealing the role of shadows and light in a project, or even presenting how accordingly a project fits to its context. A great effort in creativity is demanded by the photographer in order to show these aspects. Moreover the exercise of photography becomes even harder when the photographer aims to intentionally reveal such pre established aspects.