The traditional science of architecture and space, aligning homes, temples, and entire towns with cardinal direction and cosmic order — the reasoning behind why so many temples on this site's Tirtha chapter face a specific way.
लगभग १–६ठी शताब्दी · circa 1st-6th century CE
Texts like the Mayamata and Manasara Shilpa Shastra lay out proportion, orientation, and site-selection rules built around the vastu-purusha-mandala, a grid diagram treating the building site itself as the body of a cosmic being to be respected rather than merely occupied.
Vastu principles shaped temple construction across the subcontinent for centuries, and the same underlying grid logic connects directly to the Nagara, Dravida, and Vesara temple styles found at sites throughout this site's Tirtha & Devalaya chapter. The tradition remains widely consulted today in home and building design across India.