Measurements of Vasthu
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An introduction to the Vasthu units of measurement The units used were based on the sizes of atom, which is very amazing at a time when the whole world was unaware of the atom.
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VASTHU VIDYA follows a special kind of unit of measurement. The measurements adopted by ancient Indians for their calculations were very farsighted as well as errorless.
The units used were based on the sizes of atom, which is very amazing at a time when the whole world was unaware of the atom.
`Mayamata' (One of authentic books on Vasthu) describes an atom as `that which can be perceived by the vision of those who have mastered their senses.'
It says eight atoms are equal to a speck of dust, eight specks of dust make up the size of the tip of hair, eight tips of hair a nit, eight nits a louse, eight louse make a barley grain size and eight barley grains in turn make one digit. Twelve digits make a span, twice of which is a cubit.
So finally, cubit (`Kol') is the main unit and digit (`Angula') is the sub-unit used in Vasthu for analysis.
Types of cubits
There are different types of cubits used for different purposes. Twenty-five digits make a `Prajapatya,' 26 digits makes `Dhanurmushti,' and 27 `Dhanurgruha.'
It is said in scriptures that Prajapatya can be used in relation to `means of transport through air,' Dhanurmushti for measuring all types of buildings and Danurgruha for measuring villages and ponds. Even though 72 types of measuring units are used, the one with 24 digits is commonly used for general measurement.
Nowadays, the use of measuring units is a very debatable topic among Vasthu experts, as some of them insist that the units adopted have to be the same as the ones used in the main temples of the locality.
Since Vasthu is based on a theory of proportion, one has to be careful to use the same kind of measuring units for a complete project inside a particular Vasthu mandala.
It is not necessary to use the same measuring unit as that used in a nearby temple.
In ancient times, as there was no standardisation among architects regarding the units used, it varied from town to town. The standardisation was limited to a town or village based on the measuring units used in the main temple there.
Current standardisation
The current standardised unit arrived at by the Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam, Aranmula, after studying various measuring units used all over Kerala and considering the ease of calculation as well as the size of construction material used is as follows:
1 Angula (digits) - 3 cm
24 Angula (digits) - 1 Kol
(cubits)
1 Kol (cubits) - 72cm
Four cubits makes a pole, also called `Yasti', eight poles make a rope. Pole is the unit used for measuring towns and villages.
Cubits were used for measurements of houses and half of a cubit - span - is used for measurement of seats and vehicles.
The digit is the unit used for smaller objects and barley grain for very small objects.
This shows that the unit of measurements adopted in Vasthu depends on the size of objects.
So for all measurements regarding a building, one has to use measurements based on `cubit (Kol Manom) not the one based on `Digit' (Angula Manom).
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