Questions and Answers
15 questions
What should students get for learning to find directions and degrees?
Buy a liquid-filled compass from a stationery shop or online; it makes it easy to set zero degree and read degrees. Also download Google Earth on a laptop or computer and install a compass app on the mobile, which works only on Android phones, not on iPhones. Geo Vastu does not sell a compass of its own.
Why do we state the tilt from North?
By convention the whole world measures tilt from North, saying whether it turns toward East or West, and the compass itself points to North. You could count it from East if you prefer.
Why does the degree I take at the centre differ from the degree in a room?
Because the degree must never be taken from the centre. A compass placed at the centre only shows roughly whether a room is in the North-East or North-West; the exact tilt comes only when the compass is parallel to a wall. In a regular house, readings taken parallel to the walls are the same everywhere.
How is the compass set up before reading it?
Simply line it up. The dial has a North-South line and an East-West line; turn it until one of them lies exactly straight with the mirror line and the axis line. The more precisely it is straight, the more accurate the reading; a crooked setting can read 20 or 30 degrees for the same house.
My compass showed North tilted toward the North-East, and Google Earth showed 2.39 degrees. Is that also toward the North-East?
Not necessarily. A magnetic compass shows North directly, so its reading can be stated straight away, for example North 30 degrees toward East. Google Earth and the mobile app only show the heading of the line you draw, and North has to be worked out from it; a heading of 2.39 means North lies 2.39 degrees to the left.
My compass is a different, liquid-filled type. Do I need to buy another one?
No. If it has a straight edge on its side, keep that edge parallel to a wall. A liquid compass that is set exactly gives the correct reading, and it may also show the water level.
How are the small marks on the compass read?
Each small line is 2 degrees. If the needle falls three lines after North, the tilt is 6 degrees; five lines after North means 10 degrees.
If Google Earth shows 350 degrees, how should North be marked on the plan?
In a regular plot you can set the zero directly at 350 degrees when drawing the straight line. It is easier to think of it as a 10-degree tilt and set off 10 degrees, because that method works from whichever side of the plot you start.
Will every map have a 10-degree tilt with North at the top?
No. Each map has its own tilt, 10, 12, 20 or 25 degrees, and North can be on any side. Measure the tilt with Google Earth and find which side is North at the site, from the client or from the North mark that most plans carry, although the tilt itself is not written on them.
How is zoning done for an irregular plot?
The method is the same. Take the degree of one wall on Google Earth, draw a line through the centre parallel to that wall, set off the tilt (for example 20 degrees towards West, that is 340 degrees) to get exact North, align N5 of the chakra with it and mark the zones. The centre of an irregular plot can be found only with AutoCAD or by cutting the paper plan to shape and finding its balancing centre.
Should directions now always be read by degrees?
Yes, always by degrees; reading directions without degrees was a mistake, and only the degree method shows the actual zones.
If a basement lies between two buildings, how is its direction checked?
Degrees can still be taken: place the compass parallel to the axis, or draw the line with the Google Earth compass, and read the degree from it.
Why does each outer devta cover 11.25 degrees, and how are the pads marked?
The 32 devtas of the pishach bhoomi share the full 360 degrees, and 360 divided by 32 is 11.25. Mark North with the plot's actual tilt (for example 5 degrees), place Som devta centred on North with 5.625 degrees on each side, then mark every further 11.25 degrees with a protractor or a zoning chakra and draw those lines only in the outer ring. The 12 inner devtas follow an 18-54-18 degree split in each direction (27 degrees on each side of the direction line for the middle one), and Brahma sits in the centre.
If the built-up area is on one side, such as South and West, with the other sides open, how are the pishach bhoomi and devtas found?
Use the angular method taught in class. Whatever the tilt and whatever the shape, octagonal, pentagonal or regular, find the centre, divide the plan into pishach, manushya-dev and brahma bhoomi and mark the pads by degrees as demonstrated, then practise it from the recording.
How can I know which direction I am facing?
Use a compass (disha suchak yantra); it shows the direction your face is pointing.