Myth Busted - Puja is ideal in North-East

A widely followed myth is that all kinds of puja should be performed in the Ishaan or the North-East (NE) zone only. If you observe old palaces or old homes, which were made exactly as per Vastu Shastra, Puja altras were made in the West zone of the building. Moreover, in all  the temples, deities have been placed in the West, facing the East direction. To understand this concept in depth, let us review what is written in the vastu shastra.

     ईशान्यां देवतागृहं आग्नेयां पाक मुच्यते |

     नैऋत्यां तु शास्त्रगारं वायव्ये भण्डार संस्थितम ||

Ishaanyam devtagriham means that the devta remedies in the North-East vastu zone, but, it does not say that one must do puja here. Had the writer of vishwakarma Prakhas meant that, while mentioning the idea activities of different vastu zones, clarity, in the same series of shloka, he would have written pujagriham instead of devtagriham.

The word dev means any potential deity or soul guide with whom you communicate with in a meditative state. This zone governs clarity of thoughts and intuitive foresights to gain benefit in your life. So, the devta should be placed here, but rituals should not be performed here. To perform rituals, one can choose any of the adjoining MahaVastu zones - NNE and ENE, because both of these zones support the processes of cleansing and strengthening of the Manomaya and Vigyanmaya Kosha.

Different directions have different presiding deities who govern varied aspects of our life. Therefore, in order to worship the concerned deity, puja should be offered in only that particular direction which he/she governs. For example, puja of Lord Hanuman and Goddess Mother Durga should be performed in the South (S) zone. Similarly, by relating different devtas with the attributes of the 16 MahaVastu zones, one should place their puja altars in the prescribed and proper directions.