A Pooja room Vastu design offers specific guidelines to ensure you create a sacred space to nurture your spiritual growth. This room can be used for prayer, meditation, and other spiritual practices.
What Is a Pooja Room Vastu Design?
The Pooja (Puja) room is a sacred room or temple that is dedicated to prayer and worship. You may have a large enough home to have a dedicated room or you may need to designate an area for it within another space or room.
Where to Place Your Pooja Room
You can place your Pooja room in the northeast, east, north, or west quadrant of your home. You should never place a Pooja room in the south quadrant. If your home is storied, you want to locate your Pooja room in the center of your home on the main floor with nothing above it.
- The Pooja room should never be placed it below or above bathrooms or a kitchen.
- Never place a Pooja room in a storage room, basement, or staircase area.
- The bedroom isn't a good location for your Pooja room.
Can Pooja Room Be in Front of Main Door?
You should never locate your Pooja room across from the main/front door. You don't want to enter your home and be facing the Pooja room directly across from you.
Entrance to Your Pooja Room
The entrance to your Pooja room should be clear of clutter. You should never place idols in front of the entrance door to your Pooja room. The entrance needs a threshold that is slightly higher than the rest of the room.
Colors for Your Pooja Room
You want to use only light colors in your Pooja room. The most advantageous colors for your Pooja room are white, cream, and pale yellow, green, or blue. You should avoid using dark colors. The colors red, brown and black are negative colors for a Pooja room.
Can a Pooja Room Have Windows?
You'll need some form of ventilation in your Pooja room to release smoke from incense and various burnt offerings. This can be a window and can be placed on the north or east wall. You can place the entry double doors on the north or east wall.
Unique Pooja Room Details
You want to place any doors and windows on either the north wall or east wall. Vastu principles dictate the doors need to be wood with two entrance doors being typical.
- Marble is the most desirable flooring for this room as well as for the altar, although some altars are all wood.
- A ghee or oil lamp needs to be in the southeast or east area of the room.
- The ceiling is best and most auspicious when pyramid shaped.
- You should locate the Agnikund (for burnt offerings) in the southeast corner.
- Prayer mat should be light colored.
Placement of Idols of Deities
The placement of idols of deities should be in a revered display. This means you don't want to place them in a wall niche and the idols should never touch the walls. Simply place the figurines a few inches out from the walls.
- You need to dust the idols to keep them clean all the time.
- You shouldn't use any idols that are chipped or damaged.
- When deciding where to place the idols, you should never set them facing south.
Shelves for Displaying Idols
The best way to display idol statues is on shelves that are not set into the walls, but protrude out from the walls. A group of corbel shelves makes a great way to display your idols.
Vastu Shastra Rules for Pooja Room Design
There are specific things you should not place in your Pooja room. Many of these objects interfere with the flow of positive energy that accumulates in the Pooja room.
- The Pooja room should always be clutter free.
- You should never place photos, images or figurines of birds, animals, scenes of violence or battles in your pooja room.
- You should only place appropriate items in the room and never anything that isn't part of rituals you perform.
- Don't place images/photos of deceased ancestors in your pooja room.
- Never place money or valuables in your pooja room.
- Storage cabinets should be placed on the south wall of the pooja, but never above/over any idols.
- Don't place a trashcan near or inside the pooja room
Solutions for Bad Locations for Pooja Room
You should avoid placing your Pooja room in an area that isn't a good location, such as the bedroom or kitchen. However, if you don't have any choice but to use one of these rooms, there are a few things you can do that will lessen the negative energy associated with these locations.
Bedroom Pooja Mandir
You can place your Pooja mandir in the bedroom. You need to place it in the northeast corner of the bedroom. Just make sure that your bed isn't situated where your feet end up pointing toward the sacred Pooja space.
Kitchen Pooja Mandir
The kitchen isn't a good place for a pooja room. However, some people manage to overcome the negative aspects of a kitchen with a Pooja mandir by placing it away from the stove and sink areas. If you must place your Pooja mandir in the kitchen, only do so if it can be situated in the northeast corner. Since this is a highly sophisticated solution for an otherwise negative location, you may need the expertise of a Vastu consultant.
Vastu for Pooja Room in Flats and Apartments
You can have a Pooja mandir even if you live in an apartment. You can convert a small space by using an alcove or even converting a closet. As long as you have an alcove area that is at least 16" deep, you can have a modest, but very effective worship area.
Solutions for Small Spaces
Another alternative to a dedicated room is a pre-made mandir that you can simply place in your home as though it were a piece of furniture. You want to follow Vastu principles for the correct placement. These measure different sizes and some can be custom made to fit your home, condo or apartment.
Pooja Room Tips to Help With Vastu Design
You can use Vastu principles to design your Pooja room. Keeping in line with Vastu rules ensures you end up with the best possible design for your Pooja room.
