Worshiping facing North-East

A widely followed myth is that the act of worshipping or puja should be performed in
the Ishaan or the North-East (NE) direction only. However, if you observe old palaces or old
homes made exactly as per Vastu Shastra, puja altars 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 better, let us review what is written in the Vastu Shastra. The
scriptures say Ishaanyam Devtagriham, meaning Devtas or deities reside in NorthEast Vastu Zone. However, the scriptures do not say that one must worship or do puja in
this particular zone. Had the writer of Vishwakarma Prakash meant otherwise, while
mentioning the ideal activities of different Vastu zones in the same series of shlokas, he
would have written Pujagraham instead of Devtagriham.
The word Dev means a deity or a soul guide with whom you communicate in a meditative
state. This North-East Zone governs clarity of thoughts and intuitive foresights, helping you
gain benefits in life. Therefore, Devtas or deities idols or paintings may be placed here.
However, the rituals or worshipping should not be performed in this zone. To perform
rituals, one can choose any of the adjoining Vastu ZonesNNE and ENE, since both of
these

zones

support

the

processes

of

cleansing

and

strengthening

of

the Manomaya andVigyanmaya Koshas. As per MahaVastuTM, different deities reside in

different directions and govern varied aspects of our lives. To get the blessings of a deity,
one must worship or offer puja in the particular direction which is governed by that deity.
For example, puja of Lord Hanuman and Goddess Mother Durga should be performed in
South (S) Zone only. Similarly, one should place pujaaltars of different Devtas in the 16
Vastu Zones as per the respective zones governed by them.