' ( "house-protector", an inflected compound of ''vāstos'', the genitive of ''vāstu'' "house", and ''
pati'' "lord") is a
Rigvedic deity that presides over the foundation of a house or homestead, mentioned in
Mandala 7
The seventh Mandala of the Rigveda ("book 7", "RV 7") has 104 hymns. In the Rigveda Anukramani, all hymns in this book are attributed to ''Vashista''. Hymn 32 is additionally credited to Sakti Vashista, and hymns 101-102 (to Parjanya) are addit ...
.55 of the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
.
Some claim it to be another name for
Rudra
Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Rud ...
, an
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
.
In the Rigveda, Vāstoṣpati is also referred to as ''pṛdāku-sānu'', or 'he whose back is speckled'.
As a topic,
Vastuvidya, also known as Vāstuśāstra, contains regulations about residential building construction and which sites are chosen for this purpose. The 52nd chapter of the
Bṛhat Saṃhitā is entirely devoted to the topic of Vastuvidya, including the house layout, proportions, orientations of different areas of the house, and how construction varies for kings, officials, and by
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
.
''Vāstu'' means the site for building and also the house. Hence ''vāstu pūjā'' means the worship of the site chosen for building a temple or a house. It is treated as a must for safe and sound construction.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vastospati
Rigvedic deities