Character of building

Vastu specifies the method of baking bricks. Wood is examined on the basis of its colour, taste, bark and origin. The stone used for construction must be of a uniform colour, dense and deeply embedded in the earth, implying that it should be mature. Further, no more than two materials must be used at a time.

MATERIALS AND METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION:
Materials for construction depend on extractable minerals in a region. The materials predominantly used were brick, stone, tile, timber and bamboo. These were broadly categorised according to the castes.

Cast baked bricks with mortar- Brahmin & Kshatriya; Unabaked bricks- Vaisya & Sudra; Khadira wood – Brahmin & Kshatriya; Silidhra, Pista- Vaisya; Nimba, Rajedara, Tinduka- Sudra; Bamboo- all castes.

THE COLOURS:
The symbolic use of colour has been a part of life in India since Vedic times. The Sanskrit word ‘varna’ literally means colour, and certain colours have been traditionally associated with different castes . Blue and black were both considered inauspicious, reflecting an unhappy state of mind, sorrow or ill omen. However, a spot of black or kohl, on the body is supposed to protect one from evil. The Jain sect- the Svetambaras (literally, ‘white cloth’) also wore white clothing since any form of dyeing was considered impure, which is the reason why white is often worn only to perform rituals and pujas.

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