The science of Vaastu is considered an integral part of the Indian home. According to modern historians Ferguson, Havell and Cunningham, this science developed during the period of 6000 BC and 3000 BC. As it is purely a technical subject, it was confined only to the architects (Sthapathis) and handed over by word of mouth or hand-written monographs. The principles of obstruction, architecture and sculpture, as enunciated in the treatises on temple architecture, have been incorporated in the science of Vaastu.

From ancient literature, we gather that Vaastu was treated as the science of construction of temples and royal palaces. In Amarakosa, a Sanskrit dictionary written by Amara Simha and epics like Skanda Purana, Agni Purana, Garuda Purana and Vishnu Purana, the principles pertaining to the science of Vaastu had been enunciated. Apart ROM these works, epics like the Bruhatsamhita, Vishnu Dharmottara Purana, Viswakarma Vaastu Sastra, Samarangana Sutra Dharana and Aparajita Prutchcha, have been responsible for Vaastu taking shape as a science.

In the Matsya Purana, seventeen preceptors of Vaastu have been mentioned. They are Bhrugu, Atri, Vasista, Viswakarma, Maya, Narada, Nagnajit, Visalaksha, Purandara, Brahma, Kumaraswamy, Nandisa, Sounaka, Bhargava, Vasudeva, Anirudha, Sukra and Bruhaspathi.

The first official treatise on Vaastu, the Kasyapa Silpa, has been attributed to Sage Kasyapa.

In the treatise Agama Sastra, which explains the science of temples, Vaastu is considered as the basis for any type of construction. Excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro also indicate the influence of Vaastu on the Indus Valley Civilization.