As per Vastushastra, the main deity of a building is its Vastu Purush. To quote the Rig Veda,

"TAVA TVAM VAASTUNYU IMASI GA MADHYE?YATR GAVAU BHURI SHRINGA AVASAH,"

meaning Vastu has a very close relation with the ‘Grihadevata’ or the deity of the house. As per my knowledge of the ancient scripture named Shatpath Brahmin, Vastu forms the ruling deity of the animal stock and humans living within a structure.

As per Hindu scriptures, in a close encounter with the demon Andhakasur, Lord Shiva perspired profusely and out of the droplets of his sweat, the Vaastu Purush came into being. He pleased Lord Shiva and got himself his blessings to defeat and rule over the three worlds, viz the terrestrial, celestial and the demon world. Pride overpowered him and he started to devour everything that came in his way. All the deities, headed by Lord Indra, arrested the Vaastu Purush and threw him into a square pit dug on the earth’s surface with his face down, head in northeast and feet in southwest direction respectively. This marked the origin of the Vaastu Purush who was christened the “spirit of the Building” since then. By nature, it is believed that if the Vaastu Purush of a given plot is left hungry and unattended, he would go to the extent to ruin its owners. So, in order to appease him, plot owners should perform special ceremonies and rituals right from the time of acquiring a piece of land or plot. Also, while getting construction done on the plot, it should be deeply noted not to hurt or twist the delicate parts of the Vaastu Purush’s body or else it would bring about devastation for its possessor.

Lord Vishwakarma is regarded as the father of Vastu Shastra. In his treatise, Vishwakarma Prakash,, he wrote about the origin of VASTU Purush:

TAMEV VAASTU PURUSHAM BRAHMA SAMA SRIJATPRABHUH |?KRISHNPAKSHE TRITIYATA MASI BHADRPADE TATHA ||

The different body parts of the VaastuPurush

As quoted in the Maya Mattam, the Vaastu Purush has six bones, four vessels, four vulnerable points and a single ruling heart. Special care should be taken to keep these key portions of his body free from any kind of defect by the architect while undergoing construction or else the Vaastu Purush would ruin its proprietor.

Measurement of the body parts of the Vaastu Purush

When laid on the ground, the VaastuPurush is measured in the form of squares. These measurements begin from the cardinal directions, i.e. from East to West and from North to South. As mentioned in the Britha Samhita, 45 deities occupy his body. The square map of his body is made in two forms consisting of 64 and 81 squares respectively