How Suitable Is Your Village or City For You as Per Vastu?

(Insights from Narada Purana and Traditional Vedic Principles)

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In Vastu Shastra, the choice of where one lives—the village, town, city, or direction of residence—has a deep impact on health, wealth, relationships, and spiritual growth. The Narada Purana gives detailed instructions on how a person should select the right place to live. This guidance is not only symbolic but also mathematical, using names, directions, and planetary principles to determine auspiciousness. This complements the origins of vastuvidya and land selection principles.

This post explains, in detail, the rules mentioned in the text:

1. The science of directions and phonetic groups (Vargas).
2. The formula of Sadhaka (the person) and Sadhya (the place).
3. Astrological compatibility of residence with one’s Rashi (zodiac sign).
4. The spiritual warnings regarding the four corners of a village or town.

If you wish to directly use the calculator to check your place's compatibility, try it below:

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1 — Technical Glossary

• Varga (वर्ग) — an alphabetical group (set) of letters used in Avakhāda/Varga-chakra. There are eight Vargas.
• Avakhāda / Avakhaḍa Chakra (अवकहड़ा/अवखाड़ा) — the “Vair/Varga” wheel used to judge name/place compatibility, enemies/friends and residence suitability.
• Sadhaka (साधक) — the seeker/person (use the first phonetic letter of the person’s name to get Sadhaka’s Varga number 1–8).
• Sadhya (साध्य) — the target/place (use first phonetic letter of place name to get Sadhya’s Varga number 1–8).
• Varga number (1–8) — the index assigned to each Varga (we follow the classical 1→8 ordering used in the Purāṇic/Varga lists).
• Rashi (राशि) — zodiac sign (in astrology normally the Moon-sign / Janma-Rashi). Can be found precisely from birth date/time/place (astronomical method) or approximately from the name initial via Nakshatra/syllable mapping (name-based method).
• Nakshatra / Pada — lunar mansion and its quarter (used for name-syllable assignment).

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2 — Varga (Avakhāda) Table — Full and Accurate

Notes:

• Use the first phonetic sound of a name (not silent letters).
• For conjuncts (e.g. क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ) use the primary consonant sound (क्ष → क, त्र → त, ज्ञ → ज).
• If a name begins with a vowel, treat it as Varga-1 (Garud).

Varga #	Varga Name (Sanskrit/Hindi)	Direction (Purāṇic)	Animal/Symbol	Letters (Devanagari)	Transliteration Notes
1	गरुड़ / अवर्ग (Garud / Avarga)	East (पूर्व)	Garuḍa (eagle)	अ, आ, इ, ई, उ, ऊ, ए, ऐ, ओ, औ, ऋ	Vowel-starts → Varga-1
2	कवर्ग / मार्जार (Kavarga / Marjār)	Southeast (आग्नेय)	Cat	क, ख, ग, घ, ङ	k, kh, g, gh, ṅ
3	चवर्ग / सिंह (Chavarga / Siṃha)	South (दक्षिण)	Lion	च, छ, ज, झ, ञ	c, ch, j, jh, ñ
4	टवर्ग / श्वान (Ṭavarga / Śvān)	Southwest (नैऋत्य)	Dog	ट, ठ, ड, ढ, ण	ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ
5	तवर्ग / सर्प (Tavarga / Sarpa)	West (पश्चिम)	Snake	त, थ, द, ध, न	t, th, d, dh, n
6	पवर्ग / मूषक (Pavarga / Mūṣak)	Northwest (वायव्य)	Rat	प, फ, ब, भ, म	p, ph/f, b, bh, m
7	यवर्ग / मृग (Yavarga / Mṛga)	North (उत्तर)	Elephant / Deer	य, र, ल, व	y, r, l, v
8	शवर्ग / मेष (Śavarga / Meṣa)	Northeast (ईशान)	Ram	श, ष, स, ह	ś, ṣ, s, h

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3 — Step-by-Step Calculation Method

Step A — Extract Varga Numbers

1. Take the person’s first pronounced letter / syllable → find which Varga (1–8) it belongs to → Sadhaka (A).
2. Take the place’s first pronounced letter / syllable → find which Varga (1–8) it belongs to → Sadhya (B).

Step B — “Do Not Live in the 5th” Test

3. Compute the 5th Varga from Sadhaka: (A + 5 − 1) mod 8. If result = 0, treat as 8.
4. If B = result, the place is not suitable (frontal/5th).

Step C — Purāṇic Gain/Expense Calculation

5. Concatenate A followed by B: N1 = 10*A + B. Compute R1 = N1 mod 8. If R1 = 0, treat as 8 → Dhana (gain).
6. Concatenate B followed by A: N2 = 10*B + A. Compute R2 = N2 mod 8. If R2 = 0, treat as 8 → Rina (expense).

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4 — Worked Example: Narāyaṇa → Gorakhpur

• Person: नारायण → initial न → Varga #5 (Tavarga / Snake)
• Place: गोरखपुर → initial ग → Varga #2 (Kavarga / Cat)

Step B — Fifth Test:

• 5th from Sadhaka: (5 + 5 − 1) mod 8 = 9 mod 8 = 1
• Sadhya = 2 → allowed

Step C — Gain/Expense:

• N1 = 10*5 + 2 = 52; 52 ÷ 8 = 6 remainder 4 → Dhana = 4
• N2 = 10*2 + 5 = 25; 25 ÷ 8 = 3 remainder 1 → Rina = 1

✅ Result: Narāyaṇa gains 4 units and incurs 1 unit of expense by living/trading in Gorakhpur.

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5 — Rashi of Person / Place

Method 1 — Accurate (Astronomical)

• Input: date, exact time, place of birth.
• Compute Moon’s celestial longitude → find the zodiac sign (Janma-Rashi).
• For places, astronomical method: location’s longitude → assign dominant zodiac influences.

Method 2 — Approximate (Name-Based)

• Map the initial letter/syllable of the name/place → Nakshatra → Rashi.
• Widely used when exact birth details unavailable.

Rashi	Initial letters / syllables (Devanagari)
Mesha / मेष (Aries)	चु, चे, चो, ला, ली, लू, ले, लो, अ
Vrishabha / वृषभ (Taurus)	ई, उ, ए, ओ, वा, वी, वू, वे, वो
Mithun / मिथुन (Gemini)	क, छ, घ
Karka / कर्क (Cancer)	ड, ह
Simha / सिंह (Leo)	म, ट
Kanya / कन्या (Virgo)	प, ठ, ण
Tula / तुला (Libra)	र, त
Vrishchika / वृश्चिक (Scorpio)	न, य
Dhanu / धनु (Sagittarius)	भ, ध, फ
Makar / मकर (Capricorn)	ख, ज
Kumbha / कुम्भ (Aquarius)	ग, श, ष, स
Meena / मीन (Pisces)	द, च, झ, थ

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6 — Corners of Villages / Cities — Spiritual Caution

• Northeast (Īśāna) → Charki
• Southeast (Āgneya) → Vidhari
• Southwest (Nairṛtya) → Pūtana
• Northwest (Vāyavya) → Pāpa Rākṣasī

General Rule: Avoid corners for residence unless belonging to certain communities (Antyaja, Śvapaca) where it may be beneficial.

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7 — Quick Practical Rules

• Name starts with a vowel → Varga-1 (Garud).
• Conjunct letters: use primary consonant-sound.
• Exact Rashi: always use astronomical method if stakes are high.
• Concatenation method for gain/expense is not multiplication — follow step C.

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8 — Sources / References

1. Narada Purana, Classical Reprints — concatenation rule confirmed.
2. Modern Avakhāda/Varga compilations — letter lists, animals, directions.
3. Name→Rashi tables, Nakshatra syllable charts.
4. DrikPanchang, AstroSage for Moon-sign calculations.