The South-East, 45 degrees beyond the East, is ruled by Agni, the hidden fire energy present in every living being. Its planet is Venus (Shukra) and it gives fame and cash flow, so the South-East of a householder's home must never be cut.
The South-West is ruled by Nairitya, with Rahu-Ketu as its planets and gomed (hessonite) as its stone. Balanced, uncut and right-angled, it gives prosperity, stability and skill, and it must be the highest part of the property in both ground level and building height, which is why a dhwaj (flag) is raised there.
A square plot with equal length and width is the best of all. In a rectangle, a longer North-South axis makes a Chandra bhedi plot that suits homes, while a longer East-West axis suits temples but brings some unrest to a home.
A tall building close to the North or East of a plot blocks its energy: in the North it causes money problems and in the East loss of name and fame. A tall building on the back side, in the South, South-West or West, gives strong progress.
North and East of the plot (harmful); South, South-West and West (helpful)
A trapezoidal plot is judged by the corner its slanting side extends. An extended North-East makes it very wealthy, while extensions toward the South-East or South-West, or widening from the West or North, bring fear, losses, depression or instability.
Land is also named by which side is raised and which is low-lying (veethi). Go, Gaj, Dhan and Pitamah veethi are favourable, while Jal, Yam, Naag and Vaishvanar veethi, and a low-lying centre, are harmful.
The West, 45 degrees beyond the South-West, is ruled by Varun, the lord of water, with Saturn (Shani) as planet and neelam (blue sapphire) as stone. It builds the future and gives prosperity and wealth, and its power is felt after sunset, growing as the night advances.
The dev bhoomi, the third band inward, can take everything the household needs, from the main door, windows and kitchen to bedrooms, dining, puja room and stairs. It is the best place for the puja room, the safe, a study room, a meditation room and all important documents, because this land is covered with divine qualities and makes work succeed.
Nothing valuable or sacred should sit on the pishach bhoomi: never a tijori, court case or other important papers, a child's study table, a bed set directly against the wall, or a deity and home temple. Leaving even a 2 to 3 inch gap from the wall keeps an item off the pishach band.
The band along the walls of every zone, including the North-East
Land heavy with metallic or black minerals carries more energy than most people can bear, so areas rich in surface minerals stay poor and troubled; minerals lying deep underground or bound with silicates are far less harmful.
The fire element is triangular, orange (red also represents it), located in the South-East, hot, dry and bright, and ruled by the Sun and Mars. Sunlight, gas stoves, transformers, generators and inverters represent it; balanced it gives name, fame and financial gain, imbalanced it takes them away.
South-East zone, from East-South-East to South-South-East
Fire and water destroy each other, so fire placed in the North-East water zone, or a boring or water body in the South-East fire zone, causes loss of money, name and fame.
North-East (water zone) and South-East (fire zone)
The North to North-East location of the water element means water sources such as borings, wells and tanks are made below ground level there, not as overhead tanks. Roof-top water should also drain towards the water element direction.
The water element is wavy or moon-shaped, white, located from North to North-East, liquid by nature and ruled by the Moon and Venus. Borings, wells, underground tanks, basins and other water sources represent it; balanced it brings joy, peace, confidence and wealth, imbalanced it brings irritation, disease and loss of money.
The North is the place of Kuber and is itself like a magnet: it attracts not only money and opportunities but any person, even a lost person, and any object, drawing in the energy of the 72 kalas of the Moon and the 72 kinds of human energy.
From 9 am to 12 noon the sun, in full youth, is in the South-East, with rays rich in vitamins (B12 and D) that make thinking positive, especially for women, and balance blood circulation. This is the fire and cash liquidity zone and the right place for the kitchen, with the cook facing East.
After sunset the Moon pours its full energy first into the West, just as the sun pours its energy into the North-East before sunrise, so the West is the zone of profit and gains.
A boring, dug well, pit or underground water tank gives very different results in each of the 16 zones: the North and North-East zones attract wealth, while the South, South-West and the centre bring death-like suffering and money loss.
Leaving the main door and reaching the boundary wall gate by moving anti-clockwise forms heen bahu dwar, which cuts the results of even a correctly placed door.
Boundary wall gate placed anti-clockwise from the main door
The main door should have two shutters opening inward and a height twice its width; doors and windows should be even in number, and window shutters should open outward.
When the boundary gate is on one side but the main door is opened at the back, so that one walks around the whole house to enter, the arrangement is prishth bhang dwar and gives no results.
Main door at the back of the house, opposite the side of the boundary gate
Coming out of the main door and reaching the boundary wall gate by moving clockwise forms purna bahu (complete arm) dwar, which completes the purpose of every outing.
Boundary wall gate placed clockwise from the main door
A house with doors open on all four number-four pads, N4, E4, S4 and W4, is a sarvatobhadra house; no vastu dosh affects it, whatever defects lie inside.
Doors on N4 (Bhallat), E4, S4 (Grihakshat) and W4 (Pushpdant)
When the main door of the building and the boundary wall gate stand face to face in one line, the arrangement is utsang (sammukh) dwar, the best door coordination in any direction.
Main door and boundary wall gate opposite each other in one line
A house with two doors on N4 and E4, common in many homes, is a vardhaman house; it brings prosperity, happiness, peace and growth of sons and grandsons.
E4 suits an administration chamber, office, main door, drawing room, study and bedroom and gives both wealth and peace; a toilet here brings defamation, loss of wealth and disease.
The fire element has a triangular shape, red and orange colours, South-East location and copper as its metal; sunlight, the gas stove, transformer, generator, kitchen and anything red or triangular represent it.
The third principle of interior vastu: furniture, tables, the tijori (safe), artefacts and idols must sit perfectly level and in proper alignment so that gravitational force acts on them correctly.
Study tables, meeting and work tables, tijori, artefacts, floors and ceilings
If the North of a flat or house is polluted, for example by a toilet, should we advise removing it, and is a pooja needed afterwards?
Yes, advise removing it: the North is Kuber's place, and keeping filth at the place of wealth is like putting dirt in the mouth, so wealth cannot grow. After any demolition do a Vastu pooja; even a short one is enough, offering 45 small pieces of gud to the 45 devtas or invoking the nine lords with Bho Indra Vastu Dev Vastu Shanti Kuru Kuru and so on for each direction, with Brahma at the centre.
Why is the North called the direction of wealth and of Kuber?
Because among the four Vedas the North represents the Atharvaveda, linked with artha (wealth), and its lord is Kuber, the controller of wealth, career and opportunity.
At what time does the West direction show its greatest energy?
After sunset. Its power is felt from sandhya kaal onward and increases as the night advances, which is why people do sadhana at night and worship Lakshmi at night for wealth.
Bank lockers are kept in basements. Is that wrong?
Not all banks keep lockers in the basement. A study found that banks with lockers in the basement had the most NPA accounts, and such banks were also looted by big frauds. A locker should never be kept in a basement.
Why do some homes and businesses decline right after an expensive interior?
Because the interior changes colours, furniture directions, tiles and artefacts without regard to the owner's element and planets. Often the colours belong to the element opposite to the owner's, artefacts are combined wrongly, or harmful adhesives, lights and lead-based paints are used. One client who spent 60 to 80 lakh on an interior saw his loans turn NPA and his wife leave; his whole house had been painted in the colours of his opposite element.
Does the tijori zone also apply inside a room, and which way should the tijori face?
Keep the tijori in the zone given for it and make it face North. A room in the SW, say 12 by 15 feet, is entirely SW, not only its corner; it has four walls, so keep the tijori against the South wall and it will face North.
The West and North can work, but the best is the South-West, the zone of Rahu: trading is Rahu's work, Rahu is glamour and makes one rich, and people with an exalted Rahu find that whatever share they buy rises. In one case the teacher checked the swar before a student bought a share, and it rose sharply within 15 days.
Why is the E3 door considered the best of all East doors?
Before sunrise the Sun produces rays at E3 that carry minerals, vitamins and a gold composition. A well-decorated two-shutter door open at E3 therefore brings abundant wealth, and there is no shortage of money. E3 is one of the three vipul sampada dwar (abundant-wealth doors), along with N4 and W4.
What is chhappar phaad wealth, and which door brings it?
Chhappar phaad ke means wealth that arrives while you sit quietly, for example someone leaving you a fortune worth thousands of crores in a will. The N4 door of Bhallat devta, the best of all 32 door padas, is called the vipul sampada dwar and brings money in overflowing measure. In one well-known case a childless industrialist family left its entire estate by will to the chartered accountant who had served them, and the beneficiary's house had a complete N4 door decorated exactly as an N4 door should be; former employees became the owners of a huge group.