The Rule Corpus & Its Evidence Classes
The engine’s place-making rules are held as data, each with the text it comes from, a citation, and a class that says how well it is evidenced. This is the whole corpus. A located verse and a modern reading are never weighed alike, and a citation the engine could not check against an edition is marked so on the rule itself.
The classes
What the evidence classes mean
- Class A: Located verse
- Stated in a located verse of a classical text, and cited by chapter and verse in the numbering of a named edition.
- Class B: Traditional practice
- A traditional practice whose source text is not named, or was not located.
- Class C: Testable
- Something measurement of heat, light, air or sound could test, and which has not been measured here.
- Class D: Building science
- A measured building-science effect stands behind it: daylight, ventilation, solar heat gain or shade.
- Class E: Practitioner school
- A modern reading, or the practice of one school, that is not stated in a located verse.
- Class F: Disputed
- The sources conflict, or no support for the claim could be found.
A class says how well a statement is evidenced, not how good the advice is. It grades the engine’s rules; the A–F badge on the chapter pages grades how a statement is attested in the texts, on a scale of its own.
The corpus
Where the corpus stands
18 rules in the corpus, and 10 classical sources listed beside them. 11 of the citations could not be checked against an edition and are marked so below.
- Class A: 6
- Class B: 1
- Class C: 4
- Class D: 4
- Class E: 3
- Class F: 0
The classical sources
| Source | Traditional author | Era | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bṛhat Saṃhitā | Varāhamihira | 6th Century CE | Vāstu, Vṛkṣāyurveda, Kāla, Jyotiṣa |
| Mānasāra | Mānasāra Ṛṣi | 7th–11th Century CE | Vāstu, Śilpaśāstra, Settlement Planning |
| Mayamata | Mayāsura | 9th–12th Century CE | Vāstu, Śilpaśāstra, Town Planning |
| Viśvakarma Prakāśa | Viśvakarmā | 10th–12th Century CE | Vāstu, Residential Planning, Remedies |
| Vṛkṣāyurveda | Surapāla | 10th–11th Century CE | Vṛkṣāyurveda, Arboriculture, Agroforestry |
| Kṛṣi Parāśara | Parāśara Ṛṣi | 4th–8th Century CE | Kṛṣi (Agriculture), Meteorology, Water Systems |
| Nāṭyaśāstra | Bharata Muni | 2nd Century BCE – 2nd Century CE | Nāṭyaśāstra, Performance Spaces, Stage Acoustics |
| Caraka Saṃhitā | Maharṣi Caraka | 300 BCE – 100 CE | Āyurveda, Dinacaryā, Environmental Health |
| Arthaśāstra | Kauṭilya (Cāṇakya) | 4th Century BCE | Town Planning, Gośālā Administration, Fortification |
| Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra | Rājā Bhoja of Dhārā | 11th Century CE | Vāstu, Mechanical Engineering (Yantra), Śilpa |
Authors and eras are the traditional attributions; several are disputed.
Class A — Located verse (6 rules)
- VASTU-SITE-001VāstuConfidence: High
Bhūmi-plava-lakṣaṇa: Land sloping towards the North and East is auspicious (Gomukha / Jala-pravāha).
What it asks: Site gradient should incline downward towards North or East.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.113–115 (Kern; 53.115–117 in Sastri–Bhat): ground raised in the east or north is inauspicious; Mayamata 3.20: the best site is raised in the south and west, its water flowing east and north
- VASTU-BRAHMA-001VāstuConfidence: High
Brahmasthāna-rakṣaṇa: The central spatial core corresponds to the Akasha tattva and must remain unencumbered.
What it asks: The central nine cells of the 81-pada mandala (1/9 of the plot) — or the central four of the 64-pada (1/16) — must carry no load-bearing column or sanitation.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.64 (keep Brahmā's area within the house free of impurity) and 52.57–58 (no pillar, peg or vessel on a marma); Mayamata 7.53–55 (the marmas and the heart at the centre, not to be pressed by the members of the house)
- VASTU-ENTRY-001VāstuConfidence: High
Dvāra-pada-vibhāga: Entrance placement in the auspicious padas the Bṛhat Saṃhitā names — Jayanta and Indra (E3, E4), Bṛhatkṣata (S4), Kusumadanta and Varuṇa (W4, W5), Mukhya, Bhallāṭa and Soma (N3–N5).
What it asks: Main entry threshold in E3, E4, S4, W4, W5, N3, N4 or N5 of the wall it opens in (the fourth pada of each side in the Mayamata).
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.69–73 (Kern; 53.71–75 in Sastri–Bhat); Mayamata 17.47–49 and 9.57–60 name the door places Mahendra, Gṛhakṣata, Puṣpadanta and Bhallāṭa
- VASTU-FIRE-001VāstuConfidence: High
Agni-koṇa-vinyāsa: The kitchen belongs in the South-East (Āgneya) sector.
What it asks: Kitchens occupy the Āgneya (SE) quadrant; modern practice extends the rule to boilers, furnaces and heating equipment.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.116 (Kern; 53.118 in Sastri–Bhat): the kitchen in the south-east; Viśvakarma Prakāśa 2.94; Matsya Purāṇa 256.33–34
- VRIKSHA-TREE-001VṛkṣāyurvedaConfidence: High
Diśā-vṛkṣa-niyama: Directional compatibility of large canopy trees with the house.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Banyan (Vaṭa) in East, Peepal (Aśvattha) in West, Udumbara in South, and Plakṣa in North. Never plant invasive tap-roots within 5m of plinths.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.83 (Kern; 53.85 in Sastri–Bhat): plakṣa, vaṭa, udumbara and aśvattha are auspicious to the north, east, south and west, inauspicious to the south, west, north and east; Surapāla Vṛkṣāyurveda vv. 25–29 (not verified against an edition)
- IND-ARTHA-001ArthaśāstraConfidence: Low
Karmānta-vinyāsa-vidhi: State workshops, metallurgy kilns, and manufactories segregate fire, effluent, and heavy storage.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Metal smelters, furnaces, and heating ovens must be clustered downwind in South-East away from administrative chambers and granaries.
Citation: Arthaśāstra Bk. 2 Ch. 12 (Ākarādhyakṣa) & Ch. 23 (Sūtrādhyakṣa) (not verified against an edition)
Class B — Traditional practice (1 rule)
- NATYA-MANDAPA-002NāṭyaśāstraConfidence: Low
Raṅgapīṭha-Nepathya-saṃyojana: Separation of active stage, elevated sounding board, and backstage dressing chambers.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Divide the hall into equal halves: Front half for stepped audience seating (Prekṣaka-gṛha), rear half split between stage and Nepathya.
Citation: Nāṭyaśāstra Ch. 2, vv. 33–42 (not verified against an edition)
Class C — Testable (4 rules)
- VRIKSHA-GROVE-001VṛkṣāyurvedaConfidence: Low
Nakṣatra-Vana & Devaraṇya: Groves of trees associated with the 27 nakṣatras, planted as biodiversity refuges.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Dedicate contiguous perimeter land to indigenous tree clusters suited to the regional soil.
Citation: Surapāla Vṛkṣāyurveda vv. 40–54 (not verified against an edition)
- VRIKSHA-SOIL-001VṛkṣāyurvedaConfidence: High
Udakārgala & Bhūmi-parīkṣā: Bio-indicator vegetation (Vetasa, Jambu, Arjuna) reveals groundwater tables and subsoil fertility.
What it asks: Assess native flora to determine water retention, compaction, and ecological carrying capacity prior to excavation.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 53, Dakārgala (Kern; ch. 54 in Sastri–Bhat)
- NATYA-MANDAPA-001NāṭyaśāstraConfidence: Low
Madhyama-Vikṛṣṭa-śreṣṭhatva: The medium rectangular playhouse (64 x 32 hastas / approx 28.8 x 14.4 m) is the one the text prescribes for human drama.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: The length is twice the width (64 × 32 hastas).
Citation: Nāṭyaśāstra Ch. 2, vv. 8–18 (not verified against an edition)
- AYUR-SPACE-001ĀyurvedaConfidence: Medium
Dinacaryā-kṣetra-saṃvāditā: Living spaces arranged around the daily routine.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Sleeping quarters oriented with head toward South/East; contemplation in tranquil North-East; exercise in early-morning sun East.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.122 (Kern; 53.124 in Sastri–Bhat): not to sleep with the head to the north or west; Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna Ch. 7, Śārīrasthāna Ch. 8 (not verified against an edition)
Class D — Building science (4 rules)
- PASU-GOSHALA-001PaśuConfidence: Low
Go-śālā-vinyāsa: Bovine housing must provide cross-ventilation, dry unencumbered flooring, and East/North sun exposure.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Cattle shed axis should run East-West with stalls oriented to receive gentle morning sun while shielded from hot South-West wind.
Citation: Arthaśāstra Bk. II, Ch. 29 (Go-adhyakṣa); Kṛṣi Parāśara vv. 85–92 (not verified against an edition)
- IND-AYUR-001ĀyurvedaConfidence: Medium
Kārmika-śrama-parihāra: Industrial workforce fatigue mitigation through natural illumination and airflow.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Factory shed roof trusses must be designed with North-light monitors admitting glare-free diffused daylight without thermal solar gain.
Citation: Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna Ch. 6 (Tasyāśitīya) & Ch. 11 (not verified against an edition)
- VASTU-STORE-001VāstuConfidence: High
Bhāṇḍāgāra-sthāna: Stores and utensils in the south-west.
What it asks: Stores, and other rooms people do not occupy for long, on the south-west and west.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.116 (Kern; 53.118 in Sastri–Bhat): household stores in the south-west; Matsya Purāṇa 256.34; Eco-Niwas Samhita 2024 (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) §9.8, Table 49: the south-west and west walls receive among the most solar radiation (orientation factor 1.12–1.20), the north the least (0.55–0.66)
- VASTU-VERANDAH-001VāstuConfidence: High
Vīthikā: A verandah outside the house, in front, behind, at the sides or all round.
What it asks: A verandah a third as wide as the hall it fronts.
Citation: Bṛhat Saṃhitā 52.20–21 (Kern): a verandah (vīthikā) a third of the hall's width outside the house, named by where it runs, all four praised; Eco-Niwas Samhita 2024 §9.9: a fixed projection lowers an opening's effective solar heat gain by its external shading factor
Class E — Practitioner school (3 rules)
- PASU-GOSHALA-002PaśuConfidence: Low
Cakrīya-dravya-pravāha: Circular nutrient use between livestock, compost and cultivation — a modern practice read into the texts' manuring verses.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Gomutra and dung slurry must drain directly into bio-methanation (biogas) digestors or vermicompost pits without contamination.
Citation: Kṛṣi Parāśara vv. 94–101 (not verified against an edition)
- IND-SAM-001VāstuConfidence: Low
Yantra-sthiratā-nyāya: Heavy apparatus set in the heavy south-west — a modern reading of the heavy-in-the-south-west rule applied to machines.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Heavy reciprocating machines, stamping presses, and vibration-generating apparatus must be set upon monolithic footings in South-West.
Citation: Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra Ch. 31 (Yantra-vidhāna), vv. 1–15 (not verified against an edition)
- IND-MAYA-001VāstuConfidence: Low
Sāmagrī-gati-sūtra: Material flows from raw receipt in the West to dispatch in the North-West — a modern reading of the directional scheme.
Locus not verified against an editionWhat it asks: Raw stockpiles must anchor the heavy Western quadrant while dynamic outbound despatches exit through the kinetic North-West.
Citation: Mayamata Ch. 29 (Karmālaya-vidhi), vv. 20–25 (not verified against an edition)
The rules apply through the IKS living places chapters; where rooms are placed is covered in Where rooms belong.