Vaastu Purusha
The Vaastu Purusha is the deity responsible for the strength and happiness of the house. He is the personification of the land on which a house or building stands. He is said to be lying with his face down and his head facing NorthEast, both his feet on the SouthWest, right arm and right knee on the SouthEast, and left arm and left knee on the north west.
The Earth Herself is Bhumi Ma. The Vastu Purusha is face down upon Her. She is the land/Earth itself, and He is everything that is on top of the land.
The story of the Vastu Purusha is given in Matsya Purana as follows…
Once Lord Shiva (light/knowledge) was fighting with a demon called "Andhaka" (blindness/darkness/ignorance). During the fight Lord Shiva was profusely sweating and when the sweat fell on the ground (sweat is ruled by Saturn), there came a being, who looked cruel and started devouring everything that came his way. To contain him, 45 Gods at once pounced on him and held him to the ground face down. He prayed to Brahma (the deity of Saturn according to Parashara), and Brahma pleased with his prayers blessed him saying 'he will be the deity of all plots and offerings will have to be done to him'. So, Vaastu Purusha became responsible for well being of inhabitants of any building.
The Brihat Samhita describes the Vastu Purusha. "There was, some being which obstructed the earth and the sky with his body. The gods suddenly caught hold of it and laid it upside down. Each god held down a different limb and those very gods became the presiding deities of those parts. The creator, Brahma, ordained that being to be the deity of the home" (Ch-53, Sl-2,3).
The Vaastu-Vidhaana of Narada says that "the Vastu Purusha-Mandala is the magic diagram (yantra) and the form (roopa) of the VaastuPurusha. It is his body (sharira) and a bodily device (sharira-yantra) by which those who have requisite knowledge attain the best results" (VIII-26-32).
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