Which direction should a mandir face?

The convention most families follow is that the murtis face north or east. Since the murtis face out of the piece, that puts the mandir itself against a south or a west wall, with the person praying facing north or east as they stand in front of it.

That is the short answer. Knowing where it comes from helps, because the reasoning explains what to do when your room does not allow it.

Where the convention comes from

The north-east is the direction associated with the Ishanya corner in vastu shastra, the body of traditional Indian architectural guidance. The north-east is treated as the most auspicious quarter of a building, and the room or corner given to prayer is conventionally placed there. East carries a separate and older association with sunrise and with the beginning of the day's observances.

This is tradition and guidance, not doctrine. Practice varies by region, by community and by family. Plenty of observant households pray facing a direction vastu would not choose, in the room they actually have.

If your family or your priest already keeps a particular practice, that is the answer. Nothing on this page overrides it.

When the room will not allow it

Most Australian houses were not laid out with this in mind, and the wall that is free is often not the wall the convention wants. In rough order of what people do:

• Use the best available wall in the right room. A prayer room that faces the wrong way is generally preferred over the right orientation in a hallway.
• Turn the piece rather than the room. A mandir in a corner can be angled so the murtis face north-east even when neither wall does.
• Prioritise the murtis over the furniture. What the tradition is concerned with is the direction the deity faces, not the compass bearing of the cabinetry.

A few placements are avoided fairly consistently: directly under a staircase, against a wall shared with a bathroom, and facing directly into a toilet door. These are about keeping the space clean and undisturbed, and they are easier to respect than the compass.

What matters more than direction

Once the direction is settled, the things that decide whether a mandir works day to day are:

• Height. The murtis should sit at or above chest height when you are standing, or at eye level when seated, depending on how your family prays.
• Light. Direct afternoon sun will fade a finish and dry out carved wood over years. A wall that takes strong western sun is best avoided, for the sake of the piece as much as anything else.
• Traffic. A mandir in a corridor gets knocked. One in a corner does not.
• Room to open. Doors, drawers and pull-out steps need clearance in front.

Before you commit to a wall

Measure it first. The clear wall width, the ceiling height and the tallest murti decide which sizes are even possible, and it is better to know that before you settle on which wall. See what size mandir fits your room.

If you cannot fix anything to the wall, or you expect to move, choosing a mandir for a rental or an apartment covers what changes.