Vastu for Puja Room

Common practice: Start with the outline of the home or premises you actually occupy. Mark the entrance and relevant room boundaries, then record how North was established. A magnetic reading is not automatically true north, and the top edge of a drawing is not proof of direction. Keep uncertain dimensions or bearings marked as uncertain. Use the same boundary and reference for every comparison; changing a drawing to obtain a preferred zone does not change the building. Measure furniture separately when the practical question concerns access or reorientation.

The verse places the apartment for the Devas in the north-east. This source states that function and direction; it does not prescribe modern appliances, furniture dimensions or predicted personal outcomes.

Source: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 53.118 (Iyer 1884, PD)

A shrine in the SW is commonly discouraged; the NE is the favoured place for worship.

Source: Modern Vāstu convention

A shrine in the South (Yama) is commonly discouraged.

Source: Modern Vāstu convention

Ideal placement and its limits

Common practice: North-East is the room direction expressly named in the verse cited below. It describes an apartment for worship, not the dimensions of a contemporary shrine cabinet. If the home has a separate prayer room, mark that room on the full plan. If prayer takes place at a shelf in the living room, record it as a prayer area rather than inventing a separate room. The traditional preference can inform planning while allowing the household to choose an accessible and respectful place for its own daily practice.

Acceptable arrangements in an existing home

Common practice: East or North are common alternatives when a North-East prayer room is unavailable. Label those choices as common practice unless using a specific cited table entry that states them. In a small flat, an uncluttered shelf may be more workable than a cabinet that narrows the passage. Think about who uses the space and whether they pray sitting or standing. Allow access to stored items without stretching over a lamp. The arrangement should fit the home's real rooms and the family tradition rather than a photograph copied at a different scale.

Placements to avoid

Common practice: The South and South-West cautions below are explicitly modern Vastu conventions. Preserve that qualification instead of assigning them a verse number. Practical arrangements to avoid include an open flame under a shelf, incense close to fabric and shrine doors that block circulation. If the space shares a room with other activities, keep the ritual items organized and the route clear. Do not close a ventilation opening, overload a wall shelf or create a fire risk in pursuit of a preferred direction. Keep symbolic arrangements alongside safe building practice.