Chapter 7

Entrance Padas & the Bṛhat Saṃhitā

The texts place a door by its position along a wall, not by its angle from the middle of the house. Each wall is divided into eight padas, and the Bṛhat Saṃhitā gives every pada a deity and a reading. Modern practice reads several doors differently, so the two are set side by side, each with the source it rests on.

How a door is counted

A wall’s eight door positions are its eight outer deities, counted clockwise from the corner where that wall’s list begins: the east wall from the north-east corner, the south wall from the south-east, the west wall from the south-west and the north wall from the north-west. Iyer’s translation reads “8 eastern squares beginning from the north-eastern corner”, and Kern’s 52.69 counts the results from Śikhī.
The labels E1 to N8 are the modern practice’s. They follow the text’s deity order, which is an inference: it rests on a modern practitioner site pairing E8 with S1 beside the south-east corner.
The Mayamata names the door places Mahendra, Gṛhakṣata, Puṣpadanta and Bhallāṭa — position 4 on each wall — which matches the Bṛhat Saṃhitā’s auspicious E4, S4, W4 and N4 (Mayamata 17.47b–49 and 9.57–60, Pandey’s edition and Dagens’ translation).
Some modern practice divides each wall into nine parts, in which the last part belongs to the next wall’s first pada. The engine supports both eight and nine.

The thirty-two doors

The text’s words are reported here as history: what the Bṛhat Saṃhitā says of each door, traditionally read as it is written. They are not predictions about any household, and Pūjāvāni makes none.

Verse numbers follow the edition named in each row (Kern/Yano–Sugita numbering; 53.72–75 in Sastri–Bhat, 1946).

The two readings differ on 3 of 32 doors; each is marked.

East wall — E1 to E8, counted clockwise from the north-east corner

The eight doors of the east wall: the Bṛhat Saṃhitā’s deity and reading, and the modern practice beside it.
Door	Bṛhat Saṃhitā	Modern practice
E1	Śikhī Traditionally read as: danger from fire (a variant reading has wind) Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	AgniProhibited Traditionally associated with fire risk and instability; an avoided door.
E2	Parjanya Traditionally read as: birth of daughters Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73 A historical reading that reflects its period's values; reported for scholarship, not as a prediction.	ParjanyaNeutral Traditionally associated with excess expenditure; a middling door.
E3	JayantaNamed auspicious Traditionally read as: great wealth Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	JayantaHighly Auspicious Traditionally associated with success and recognition.
E4	Indra (Mahendra)Named auspicious Traditionally read as: royal favour Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	IndraHighly Auspicious Traditionally associated with patronage, standing and prosperity.
E5	Sūrya Traditionally read as: irascibility Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	SuryaInauspicious Traditionally associated with temper and domestic friction.
E6	Satya Traditionally read as: untruthfulness Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	SatyaNeutral Traditionally associated with broken promises and disputes over agreements.
E7	Bhṛśa Traditionally read as: cruelty Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	BhrishaInauspicious Traditionally associated with restlessness and hasty decisions.
E8	Antarikṣa Traditionally read as: theft Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	AkashaProhibited Traditionally associated with theft and loss of assets.

South wall — S1 to S8, counted clockwise from the south-east corner

The eight doors of the south wall: the Bṛhat Saṃhitā’s deity and reading, and the modern practice beside it.
Door	Bṛhat Saṃhitā	Modern practice
S1	Anila Traditionally read as: few sons Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73 A historical reading that reflects its period's values; reported for scholarship, not as a prediction.	AnilaInauspicious Traditionally associated with family hardship and disputes with authorities.
S2	Pūṣan Traditionally read as: servitude Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	PushanInauspicious Traditionally associated with dependence on others.
S3	Vitatha Traditionally read as: lowness of station Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	VitathaHighly Auspicious Modern practice reads this door as prosperity; the Bṛhat Saṃhitā reads it as inauspicious. Differs from the Bṛhat Saṃhitā
S4	BṛhatkṣataNamed auspicious Traditionally read as: more food, drink and sons Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	GruhakshtaHighly Auspicious Traditionally associated with abundance and a flourishing household.
S5	Yama Traditionally read as: ferocity Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	YamaProhibited Traditionally associated with debt and adversity; an avoided door.
S6	Gandharva Traditionally read as: ingratitude Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	GandharvaNeutral Traditionally associated with loss of standing.
S7	Bhṛṅgarāja Traditionally read as: poverty Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	BhringarajaInauspicious Traditionally associated with financial loss.
S8	Mṛga Traditionally read as: ruin of sons and vigour Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73 A historical reading that reflects its period's values; reported for scholarship, not as a prediction.	MrigaProhibited Traditionally associated with weakening of the family line; an avoided door.

West wall — W1 to W8, counted clockwise from the south-west corner

The eight doors of the west wall: the Bṛhat Saṃhitā’s deity and reading, and the modern practice beside it.
Door	Bṛhat Saṃhitā	Modern practice
W1	Pitṛ Traditionally read as: affliction to sons Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73 A historical reading that reflects its period's values; reported for scholarship, not as a prediction.	PitriProhibited Traditionally associated with hardship and conflict in the family; an avoided door.
W2	Dauvārika Traditionally read as: increase of enemies Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	DauvarikaNeutral Traditionally associated with instability in work.
W3	Sugrīva Traditionally read as: no gain of sons or wealth Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	SugrivaHighly Auspicious Modern practice reads this door as growth; the Bṛhat Saṃhitā reads it as without gain. Differs from the Bṛhat Saṃhitā
W4	Kusumadanta (Puṣpadanta)Named auspicious Traditionally read as: sons and wealth prosper Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	PushpadantaHighly Auspicious Traditionally associated with prosperity and fulfilment.
W5	VaruṇaNamed auspicious Traditionally read as: wealth Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	VarunaNeutral Modern practice reads this door as volatile; the Bṛhat Saṃhitā reads it as wealth. Differs from the Bṛhat Saṃhitā
W6	Asura Traditionally read as: fear from the king Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	AsuraInauspicious Traditionally associated with fatigue and trouble with authorities.
W7	Śoṣa Traditionally read as: loss of wealth Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	ShoshaInauspicious Traditionally associated with loss and low spirits.
W8	Pāpayakṣmā Traditionally read as: disease Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	PapayakshmaProhibited Traditionally associated with misfortune; the least favoured west door.

North wall — N1 to N8, counted clockwise from the north-west corner

The eight doors of the north wall: the Bṛhat Saṃhitā’s deity and reading, and the modern practice beside it.
Door	Bṛhat Saṃhitā	Modern practice
N1	Roga Traditionally read as: death or captivity Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	RogaProhibited Traditionally associated with hostility and misfortune; an avoided door.
N2	Ahi (Nāga) Traditionally read as: increase of enemies Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	NagaInauspicious Traditionally associated with rivalry and envy.
N3	MukhyaNamed auspicious Traditionally read as: sons and wealth Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	MukhyaHighly Auspicious Traditionally associated with wealth and opportunity.
N4	BhallāṭaNamed auspicious Traditionally read as: all virtues Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	BhallataHighly Auspicious Traditionally associated with good fortune.
N5	SomaNamed auspicious Traditionally read as: sons and wealth Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	KuberaAuspicious Traditionally associated with generosity and prosperity.
N6	Bhujaga Traditionally read as: enmity with one's son Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	BhujangaInauspicious Traditionally associated with discord in the family.
N7	Aditi Traditionally read as: faults of women Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73 A historical reading that reflects its period's values; reported for scholarship, not as a prediction.	AditiNeutral Traditionally associated with restlessness.
N8	Diti Traditionally read as: poverty Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.70–73	DitiNeutral Traditionally associated with thrift turning to miserliness.

What stands in front of a door

The Bṛhat Saṃhitā (52.74–79 in Kern’s numbering) reads a door “pierced” by a road, a tree, a corner, a well, a pillar or a drain unfavourably, and finds no fault if the obstruction stands farther away than twice the door’s height. Kern’s 52.76 adds a shrine; Sastri–Bhat (53.76) lists a road, tree, corner, well, pillar and water-sluice. The text also states effects for each kind of obstruction; this reference does not repeat them, and neither does the engine’s reading.

To read a door on your own plan, open the Vaasthu studio; how well each rule is evidenced is graded in the rule corpus.