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A Vastu house plan places the entrance, rooms, staircase and utilities according to the directional principles of Vastu Shastra. It begins with the plot and the correct directions, then moves to the main door, room zoning and proportions.

Most people start by asking where the kitchen should go. That is usually the fifth or sixth decision. If the plot, directions and entrance are wrong, moving rooms around will not rescue the plan.

This guide follows the order in which a plan is actually built, and it flags the points where Vastu has to be reconciled with structure, plumbing and ventilation. Use it for a new house, a flat purchase, or to check a drawing you already have.

If you are planning the interiors as well, see our residential interior design in Mumbai service.

Entrance zones (padas)
32, each 11.25°
Planning zones
16, each 22.5°
Vastu Purusha Mandala
Usually a 9 × 9 grid
Zones are measured from
The centre of the built-up area

Step 1: Check the Plot Before You Draw

Square and rectangular plots are preferred because the zones stay regular. Triangular and cut-corner plots make zoning difficult.

Many plots in Mumbai and the MMR are irregular because of road cuts and old boundaries. The practical answer is usually to plan inside a regular rectangle and leave the leftover portion as open space or garden.

Record the following before planning starts:

  • Length of every side and both diagonals, to confirm the plot is truly rectangular
  • Road side and road width
  • Slope of the land
  • Statutory setbacks, which decide how much of the plot can actually be built on
Site engineer in a safety helmet marking a measurement along a concrete edge with a tape

A lower north-east and a higher south-west is the preferred slope. If the land falls the other way, the south-west can be raised during levelling. This costs far less before construction than after.

Step 2: Fix the Directions on Site

This is the step where most plans quietly go wrong. Each entrance zone is only 11.25 degrees wide, so an error of a few degrees can move a door out of a favourable zone.

  • Take readings in an open part of the plot. Steel columns, cables and vehicles pull the needle.
  • Take more than one reading and compare.
  • Magnetic and true north differ, and the gap varies by city. Check the value for your location.
  • Practitioners differ on whether to use magnetic or true directions. Ask which one is being followed and use the same method for the whole drawing.
  • In a flat, stand inside at the main door and look out.

Step 3: Choose the Main Door Position

Vastu divides each side into eight entrance zones (padas), giving 32 in total. Each covers 11.25 degrees. The commonly cited favourable ones are:

House facing Favourable padas Where this falls on the wall
North Mukhya, Bhallat, Soma Centre to north-east portion
East Jayant, Mahendra North-east to centre portion
South Vitatha, Grihakshat South-of-south-east portion
West Pushpadanta, Sugriva, Varuna Centre and north-west portion

Classical texts and practitioners do not always list the same padas. Treat the table as a starting point and confirm it against the exact degrees on your drawing.

The door position also has to work with the staircase, the compound gate and the road. A favourable pada that opens straight onto a staircase or a toilet door is a poor trade. In practice, the door is usually fixed together with the internal circulation, not before it.

32 entrance padas diagram for the main door as per Vastu Shastra A ring around the house is divided into 32 entrance zones of 11.25 degrees each, eight per side, numbered N1 to N8 from north-west to north-east, E1 to E8 from north-east to south-east, S1 to S8 from south-east to south-west, and W1 to W8 from south-west to north-west. The commonly cited favourable padas are shaded: N3 Mukhya, N4 Bhallat and N5 Soma on the north; E3 Jayant and E4 Mahendra on the east; S3 Vitatha and S4 Grihakshat on the south; W3 Sugriva, W4 Pushpadanta and W5 Varuna on the west. N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 N7 N8 E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 NE SE SW NW 32 padas 11.25° each N E S W N3 Mukhya · N4 Bhallat · N5 Soma E3 Jayant E4 Mahendra S4 Grihakshat · S3 Vitatha W5 Varuna W4 Pushpadanta W3 Sugriva Commonly cited favourable pada Other
Diagram: the 32 entrance padas, each 11.25° wide and read from the centre of the building. Lists vary between texts, so confirm against your drawing.

Step 4: Apply the Vastu Purusha Mandala and 16 Zones

The Vastu Purusha Mandala is a grid, usually 9 by 9, laid over the plot with 45 deities assigned to its areas. For planning, the useful idea is simple: the centre stays open, the south-west is heavy and stable, and the north-east is light and clean.

Many modern plans refine the 8 directions into 16 zones of 22.5 degrees each, following Vishwakarma Prakash. The zones are measured from the centre of the built-up area, not from the plot corner. Measuring from the wrong point shifts every room by a zone, and this is one of the most common drawing errors.

Vastu Purusha Mandala grid placed over a plot for house planning A 9 by 9 grid laid over a square plot, with north at the top. The centre nine squares, the Brahmasthan, are marked to stay open. The north-east block is marked light and clean, and the south-west block is marked heavy and stable. Brahmasthan keep open North-east light, clean South-west heavy, stable N E S W
Diagram: the 9 × 9 Vastu Purusha Mandala over a plot. The centre stays open, the north-east light and the south-west heavy.
Vastu house plan showing 16 zones marked on a rectangular residential layout A rectangular building divided into 16 zones of 22.5 degrees each, drawn as lines from the centre of the built-up area to the walls. Clockwise from the top the zones are N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW and NNW. The centre is marked as the point the zones are measured from. N NNE NE ENE E ESE SE SSE S SSW SW WSW W WNW NW NNW Centre Zones measured from the centre, not the plot corner
Diagram: 16 zones of 22.5° on a rectangular plan, each read from the centre of the built-up area.

Where each room goes

Room Preferred zones Avoid
Master bedroom South-West, West, South North-East
Children's bedroom West, North-West, North South-West
Kitchen South-East, North-West North-East, centre
Living room North, East, North-East South-West
Dining room West, East, near the kitchen In line with the main door
Puja room North-East, East Under a staircase, beside a toilet
Toilet and bathroom West-North-West, South-South-West, East-South-East North-East, centre
Staircase South, South-West, West North-East, centre
Underground water tank North-East South-West
Overhead water tank South-West, West North-East

Where Vastu Meets Construction

A plan that satisfies Vastu but cannot be built cleanly does not help the owner. These are the points to settle with the architect, structural engineer and plumber before the drawing is final.

Plumbing and wet areas

Wet areas work best when they stack vertically and share shafts. The Vastu zones help here. A bathroom in the east-south-east can share one duct with a kitchen in the south-east. A toilet in the west-north-west sits comfortably beside a north-west kitchen.

Check where the municipal sewer or drain connection is. Along with the plot slope, it often decides where the septic tank or soak pit can go. Vastu generally keeps these away from the north-east, the centre and the south-west.

Electrician working on a distribution board and a plumber fitting a drain trap under a sink

  • Structure and the Brahmasthan

    Keeping the centre open does not always mean a column-free centre. In a framed RCC building, a column near the middle may be unavoidable. What matters is that the centre does not carry a toilet, a staircase core or a heavy masonry wall. A passage, a living area or a courtyard works well.

    Beams need attention too. A beam directly over a bed is a Vastu concern and also an ordinary comfort issue. It is easily avoided if the column grid is fixed together with the room layout, and difficult to correct afterwards.

  • Ventilation and monsoon

    A toilet needs an external wall for a window or an exhaust. This is one more practical reason to keep toilets at the edges of the plan, not in the centre.

    In Mumbai, monsoon rain is driven mostly from the south-west and west. A west or south-west wall needs good external waterproofing and a proper drip detail, whatever room sits behind it. West-facing rooms also take strong evening sun, so deep balconies and shading are worth planning from the start.

Room-Specific Notes

  • Vastu for Bedroom

    The master bedroom suits the south-west, with the head of the bed towards south or west. Avoid sleeping with the head towards the north. Because the south-west is also where Vastu prefers heavy structure, place the wardrobe wall there and the bed on the adjoining wall.

  • Vastu for Kitchen

    The south-east is the first choice and the north-west the accepted alternative. The cook ideally faces east. Keep the stove and sink apart and confirm there is an external wall or shaft for the chimney duct before the platform is fixed.

  • Vastu for Living Room and Dining Room

    The living room works in the north, east or north-east. The dining area can sit west or east, close to the kitchen. Avoid placing the dining table in line with the main door.

  • Vastu for Staircase

    Stairs are heavy and belong in the south, south-west or west, rising clockwise. The south-west is also the preferred corner for the master bedroom, so in a compact plan the stair is usually better moved to the south or west. Avoid the north-east and the centre, and avoid placing a puja room or toilet beneath the stair.

  • Vastu for Puja Room

    The north-east is ideal, and the east is a good second choice. Do not place it against a toilet wall or in a basement.

  • Vastu for Toilet and Bathroom

    Prefer the west-north-west, south-south-west or east-south-east. Avoid the north-east and the centre completely.

Vastu for North, East, South and West Facing Houses

The facing is decided by the direction of the main entrance, not simply by the road side.

  • North facing house plan

    The door goes in the north or north-north-east. This gives soft, even light for the living room, with the kitchen in the south-east and the master bedroom in the south-west.

  • East facing house plan

    Morning light suits the living room, dining area and puja room on the east side. Keep the south-west for the master bedroom and heavier storage.

  • South facing house plan

    These plots are often rejected without good reason. The door must sit in a favourable pada at the south-east end of the south wall, and the south-west must stay strong. With that done, a south facing home works well.

  • West facing house plan

    Place the entrance in the central or north-west part of the west wall, and shade the west side against heat and driving rain.

North facing house plan with main door, kitchen and master bedroom positions An illustrative north facing plan with north at the top. The main door is in the north wall near its centre and opens into the living room, which runs across the north and north-east with a puja room in the north-east corner. A children's bedroom is in the north-west with a toilet in the west-north-west, and the staircase is on the west. The centre is left open. The dining area is on the east, next to a bathroom in the east-south-east that shares a duct with the kitchen in the south-east. The master bedroom is in the south-west, with the wardrobe on its west wall and the bed head to the south, and a toilet in the south-south-west. A utility room sits on the south. N Main door Children's bedroom North-west Living room North, north-east Puja NE Toilet WNW Stair West Open centre Brahmasthan Dining East Bath ESE Shared duct Kitchen South-east Utility South Toilet SSW Master bedroom South-west Illustrative layout, not to scale
Diagram: one way to zone a north facing house. The door sits in the north wall near the centre, the kitchen in the south-east shares a duct with an east-south-east bathroom, and the master bedroom takes the south-west.

Ayadi Calculation

Ayadi is a set of checks on the length, width and area of a building. The points include Aya, Vyaya, Amsa, Nakshatra, Vara, Tithi and Yoga, though texts differ on the exact list and method. The most discussed pair is Aya (gain) and Vyaya (loss), where gain should exceed loss.

Do not run Ayadi on guesswork. Ask the consultant to share the working so you can see which method was used. If a result is unfavourable, a small change in length or width is often enough, which is why it must be checked before the drawing is frozen and not after the foundation is cast.

Vastu for Flats in Mumbai

Most Mumbai families live in flats where the layout cannot be changed freely.

  • Judge the flat by its own main door and its own centre.
  • Check the main door, master bedroom and kitchen first.
  • Never break structural walls for a Vastu reason. It is unsafe and usually not permitted by the society.
  • If a room falls in an awkward zone, change its use before changing its construction. A south-west master bedroom is better than a south-west guest room, for example.
  • A north-east toilet is the hardest problem in flats. Discuss the options with an experienced consultant and avoid costly fixes that do not solve it.

When buying, check Vastu along with RERA carpet area, society approvals and natural light. A good Vastu plan on paper does not help a flat with poor ventilation.

Common Mistakes

  • Measuring zones from the plot corner and not the building centre
  • Fixing the main door by looking only at the road
  • Placing the puja room in the north-east while leaving a toilet or septic tank in the same zone

Is Vastu Scientific?

Vastu Shastra is a traditional system of architecture. Some of its ideas match sound building practice: using morning light, controlling afternoon heat, ventilating the home and keeping the centre open. The claims about energy fields and deities are matters of belief and tradition, and they have not been established by scientific testing.

Many families follow Vastu for cultural comfort and peace of mind, and that is a reasonable choice. It should never come at the cost of structural safety, legal approvals or basic comfort.

Vastu Plan Review Checklist

Tick each point as you go through your drawing.

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Send us your plot size, facing and current drawing. We will mark the zones, flag what needs to change and tell you what is practical to build. Contact us to book a consultation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Vastu house plan?

It is a home layout that follows Vastu Shastra for plot shape, direction, main entrance, room zoning and proportions, so that each room sits in the zone best suited to its function.

Which direction is best for a house to face?

North and east are most often preferred for their light. A south or west facing house can also be Vastu compliant if the main door sits in a favourable pada and the rooms are zoned correctly.

What are the 16 zones in Vastu?

They divide the building into 16 sections of 22.5 degrees each, measured from the centre, giving finer room placement than the usual 8 directions.

Where should the main door be?

In a favourable pada for the facing. Commonly cited ones are Mukhya, Bhallat and Soma for north, Jayant and Mahendra for east, Vitatha and Grihakshat for south, and Pushpadanta, Sugriva and Varuna for west.

What is the best place for a kitchen?

The south-east first, then the north-west. Avoid the north-east and the centre.

Can I follow Vastu in a flat?

To a good extent. Judge the flat from its own door and centre, focus on the door, master bedroom and kitchen, and avoid structural changes.

What is Ayadi calculation?

A set of mathematical checks on a building's length, width and area, using points such as Aya, Vyaya and Amsa. It should be done before the drawing is finalised.

Can I use a free Vastu plan from the internet?

Only for ideas. The right plan depends on your plot shape, facing and road side, and it should be adapted by a qualified person.