Vaikhanasa Agamas ( Sthala Nirnaya and Bhu Pariksha)

Vaikhanasa agamas specify very clearly which kind of places are suitable for building a temple of Vishnu and which are not suitable. The agamas clearly specify the characteristics of nine different kinds of places which are Vishnu sthalam, Brahma sthalam, Rudra sthalam, Indra, Garuda, Bhoutika, Pisacha, Rakshasa, Asura . Not all of the above places are suitable for building a temple of Vishnu. The classification should be done based on which direction the land is sloping, colour and smell of the land, kinds of trees, animals, birds found in the place. Vishnu sthala is characterised by sloping down towards the east, whitish colour of the land, presence of trees like tulasi, kusa, aswatha etc, animals like sardula, vrishabha, suka, hamsa etc, lakes filled with lotuses etc. Brahma sthala is indentified by its westward sloping, reddish colour. Rudra sthala is identified by its black colour, southward sloping. Similar attributes can be used for other places also as mentioned in Kasyapa Jnana Kanda( Chapters 11 onwards). Different results are given for different lands. Vishnu sthala gives intelligence and sattva, brahma sthala gives sattva, brahminical splendour,wealth, rudra sthala(tamas) is suitable only if courage and strength are desired. Similarly garuda sthala gives strength, courage and wealth, indra sthala gives rajas, abundant food and wealth, bhautika sthala gives prosperity. All the above sthalas are ok whereas pisacha, asura and rakshasa sthalas should be avoided in any case as they will result in destruction and inauspiciousness. After the land is identified and chosen properly, a test of the soil should be done as follows:
Dig a hole of at least of the width,length and depth of an arms length( some works talk about a circular hole but the logic remains the same). After digging the hole, refill it with the soil taken out in the previous step. If the pit is filled and the soil is left then the place denotes growth, if no soil is left then it is just ok and if the pit is not completely filled then it should be avoided.

(Many of us might feel how a land might effect the construction of a temple. The ancient sages were so divine that not only did they see the presence of Supreme consiousness in everything animate and inanimate but they could also find out the characteristics of different objects. The way a devotee prefers staying in good company and a non-believer prefers staying in bad company, animals,trees also grow in the place suitable for their tendency. Hence one can clearly say that the presence of a given animal or a tree gives hints about the nature of the place. This kind of intuition is heavily used by Vedic sages in all the different sciences as it can be used by even people of mediocre intelligence. One need not have the intuition to look at a place and decide which category it belongs to. Non-believers of vedic dharma cannot see through this dense forest like logic and superficially conclude that Vedic worship is superstitious and baseless. My aim is not to criticize other faiths but only to show my Hindu brothers how deep and insightful is Vedic tradition and to stop them from getting attracted to other faiths.)