For most families the puja room is the gentlest part of Vastu. It is a corner of the home given to devotion, and it is where the advice is least likely to cause worry and most likely to be followed from affection. This page looks at what the classical texts say about the place of worship, where they disagree, and what has been added since.
It is written with respect for the practice. Nothing here suggests that worship depends on a compass direction, or that a puja room in an awkward place is less than a puja room. The tradition itself is more varied than the rules now repeated as though they were one.
The room for the gods in the north-east
The Brihat Samhita names the north-east for the room of the gods. In the Iyer translation the apartment for the Devas is built in the north-east, with the kitchen in the south-east, the store for household utensils in the south-west and the treasury and granary in the north-west (53.118). The Sastri translation calls it the chamber of worship and says the verse is about a house of four halls.
The north-east is the direction of Ishana, a form of Shiva, in the tradition of the eight guardians. It is also where the first foundation stone is laid, with the work proceeding clockwise (53.112), and, in the figure of the Vastu Purusha as the Brihat Samhita draws him, the place of the head. A room for worship in the north-east is therefore consistent with every other part of the picture the Brihat Samhita gives.
The family temple at the centre
Acharya’s summary of the Manasara, in the chapter on the location of houses in a compound, says the central square, the Brahmasthana, is unfit for a residential building and is where the temple of the family’s god is placed. The houses for the master, his wife, the children, the kitchen, guests and the rest are built round it.
This is a different answer. In the Brihat Samhita the gods’ room is in the north-east; in the Manasara, as summarised, the family’s temple stands in the centre of the compound. The two are reconcilable if one thinks of the first as a room in a house and the second as a shrine in a compound, but the texts do not say so, and this page will not pretend they do. The difference is real. A household which keeps its puja in the north-east of the house and a household which gives it a central courtyard are both following the tradition.
How a house was entered
The Brihat Samhita ends its chapter on houses with a note on entering a new house. The house should be entered after worship of the gods with incense, sandal paste and food, with abundant flowers, garlands and water pots, while Brahmins recite the Vedic hymns (53.125). The Manasara devotes a chapter to the first entry into the house, the griha pravesha, with an auspicious day and moment chosen, the masters of the ceremonies leading a procession round the compound, and the householder and his wife as the chief figures. After the worship the goddess of the house, Griha Lakshmi, is prayed to for children, wealth and long life, and the householder feeds Brahmins and gives gifts to the builders (Acharya’s summary of chapter 37).
This is the part of the subject that most clearly survives in practice. A house-warming with worship and a meal is far older than any room chart, and it needs neither a direction nor a consultant.
What modern guides add
Present-day puja room rules are numerous. They commonly say:
- The puja room should be in the north-east, or failing that the east or north.
- The worshipper should face east or north while praying.
- Idols should not face each other, and should stand clear of the wall.
- The room should not be under a staircase, beside or above a toilet, or in a bedroom.
- The shelf should stand a little above the floor, and the lamp should be in the south-east of the room.
- Broken images, dried flowers and unused items should not be kept.
Some of these are the plain good manners of worship, such as cleanliness and not keeping a shrine in a toilet wall. Some follow from the direction scheme. We were not able to trace any of them to a verse in the Brihat Samhita or in Acharya’s summary of the Manasara, so they are presented here as common practice and not as classical rules. The Brihat Samhita’s own rule in this territory is the one about sleeping: no bed at a level above that of the gods (53.124), a point of respect, not of direction.
A quiet place is the real requirement
If one asks what the tradition most consistently wants of the place of worship, it is this: that it be set apart, clean and calm. The Manasara sets the family temple in the central square and keeps the centre free of residence. The Brihat Samhita puts the gods in the quarter of the morning light. Both are saying that the shrine should not be in the path of everyday traffic.
For a flat, where there is usually no choice of direction at all, that is a wholly achievable aim: a shelf, a corner, a small cupboard or a room, kept tidy and used with regularity. The apartments article says more.
If the puja room is not in the north-east
It often is not. Nothing in the classical verses read for this site describes a consequence for a puja room in another direction. Modern guides suggest remedies, and the most useful of them cost nothing. The sensible steps are to keep the shrine clean, put it where it is quiet, and face east or north while praying if the room allows, which costs nothing and is one of the commonest forms of the practice. Nothing needs to be bought, and no idol, yantra or crystal is recommended by the texts read here. See remedies without demolition.
Classical and modern, in one place
| Statement | Status |
|---|---|
| Room for the gods in the north-east | Classical, Brihat Samhita 53.118 |
| Family temple in the central square | Classical, Manasara (as summarised) |
| Worship before entering a new house | Classical, both texts |
| Do not sleep at a level above the gods | Classical, Brihat Samhita 53.124 |
| Worshipper faces east or north | Modern convention |
| Idols not facing each other; shelf height; lamp in the south-east | Modern convention |
| No puja room under a stair or beside a toilet | Modern convention |
Frequently asked questions
↳ Where should the puja room be in Vastu?
In the north-east, according to the Brihat Samhita (53.118). Acharya's summary of the Manasara puts the family's temple in the central square of the compound instead. Both are classical, and they answer slightly different questions, a room in a house and a shrine in a compound.
↳ Which way should I face when praying?
East or north is the usual modern advice. We could not find it in the verses read for this site, and it is offered here as common practice. Facing east is possible in most rooms at no cost.
↳ Can the puja room be under a staircase or near a toilet?
Modern guides say not. The rule is about respect for the shrine and is not in the classical verses read here. If you have no other place, a clean, closed cupboard or shelf in a calm part of the home is a dignified answer.
↳ Do I need to buy anything to correct a puja room?
No. Nothing in the classical texts read for this site asks for an object to be bought. Keeping the place clean, quiet and used regularly is what the tradition most consistently asks.
↳ What do the texts say about entering a new house?
Both describe a ceremony. The Brihat Samhita asks for worship of the gods with incense and food, with flowers and water pots and Vedic chanting (53.125). The Manasara describes a day chosen for the entry, a procession round the compound and prayers to the goddess of the house.
Sources
- Varahamihira, Brihat Samhita, chapter 53, verses 112, 118, 124 and 125. English translation by N. Chidambaram Iyer (1884) at wisdomlib.org, and by V. Subrahmanya Sastri (1946), scanned at archive.org.
- Prasanna Kumar Acharya, Summary of the Manasara, chapter 36 (houses in a compound and the central square) and chapter 37 (first entry into the house).
- The direction the worshipper faces, the placing of idols and lamp and the rules about staircases and toilets are modern convention and are not attributed to a verse.