Tulasi

About Tulasi

Tulasi is the only major Hindu goddess worshipped as a living plant — the holy basil rooted in the household courtyard altar called the tulasi vrindavan. The Padma Purana tells her story: as Vrinda, the devoted wife of the asura Jalandhara, her chastity made him unkillable. Vishnu broke her vow by disguise, and from her ashes sprang this fragrant shrub. A single leaf placed on Vishnu's food makes the offering complete; without it, nothing reaches him. Each Kartik month, devotees stage Tulasi Vivah, marrying her potted form to a shaligrama stone — the ritual that opens India's wedding season.