Tulsi Puja Vidhi (Daily Puja and Tulsi Vivah)

In brief

Tulsi is the holy basil plant. Hindu tradition honors it as a form of the goddess Lakshmi, dear to Vishnu and Krishna. Many homes keep a Tulsi plant in a pot, often on a raised stand called a Vrindavan. Daily Tulsi puja is a few minutes of care and prayer: water, a lamp, a bow and a walk around the plant.

Tulsi Vivah is the symbolic wedding of Tulsi with Vishnu, held after Chaturmas, the four-month period of restraint. It opens the traditional wedding season.

When to do it

Daily Tulsi puja is done in the morning after a bath, and many families add a small lamp in the evening. Many families consider Ekadashi and the month of Kartik especially good for Tulsi prayers.

Tulsi Vivah is most commonly kept on Kartik Shukla Dwadashi, the day after Prabodhini Ekadashi. Some families hold it on Ekadashi evening, or on any day up to Kartik Purnima. The ceremony is usually held at dusk. Some family members fast until it is done. People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, children and the elderly should follow their doctor's advice and may keep a lighter fast.

What you need

• A healthy Tulsi plant in a pot
• A small vessel of clean water, a ghee or oil lamp, and incense
• Turmeric, kumkum, a few flowers, and a little fruit or a sweet
• For Tulsi Vivah: a red cloth, a bindi, bangles or small ornaments, and sugarcane stalks if you can find them
• For Tulsi Vivah: a Shaligram stone (a sacred black stone of Vishnu) or a picture or small idol of Vishnu or Krishna, yellow cloth, sandal paste and a yellow or sacred thread

Puja vidhi (steps)

1. Daily: Bathe and wear clean clothes. Clean around the plant and sprinkle a little water.
2. Daily: Pour clean water gently at the roots, not over the leaves. Some families skip watering on Ekadashi.
3. Daily: Light the lamp and incense near the plant. Put a little turmeric and kumkum on the pot and offer a flower.
4. Daily: Fold your hands and say "ॐ तुलस्यै नमः" (Om Tulasyai Namah). Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.
5. Daily: Walk around the plant clockwise three times, or seven if you wish.
6. Daily: Offer a little fruit or sweet, sing the aarti if you have time, and bow in thanks.
7. Tulsi Vivah: In the afternoon, clean the pot and decorate the area with rangoli and flowers. If you can, stand four sugarcane stalks around the pot as a canopy.
8. Tulsi Vivah: Dress Tulsi like a bride. Wrap a red cloth around the pot and add a bindi, bangles and flowers. Handle the plant gently.
9. Tulsi Vivah: Place the groom beside the pot. Bathe the Shaligram or small idol with water, dress it in yellow and apply sandal paste.
10. Tulsi Vivah: Light the lamp. Hold water in your right palm and say that you are doing the ceremony with devotion. This is the sankalpa (spoken intention). Bow to Ganesha.
11. Tulsi Vivah: Offer flowers and sweets to both. Chant "ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय" (Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya).
12. Tulsi Vivah: Perform the symbolic wedding. Tie a yellow thread to link Tulsi and the groom, or walk the Shaligram around the pot seven times. Sprinkle rice and turmeric, and sing wedding songs.
13. Tulsi Vivah: Sing the aarti, offer fruit, sugarcane, amla and sweets as prasad, and share it.

Mantras and aarti

• Aarti: "Jai Tulsi Mata" is a widely sung Tulsi aarti.
• Mantras: "Om Tulasyai Namah" for daily use, and "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" for Vishnu at Tulsi Vivah.
• Wedding songs: In Maharashtra, families sing the Mangalashtak wedding verses. Others sing their own songs.
• Other prayers: the Tulsi Gayatri, and the 108 names of Tulsi, recited in Kartik by some families.

The full text of the aarti is on its own page.

Doing it in the USA

Tulsi plants are sold at Indian grocery stores and many nurseries, and seeds can be ordered online. Tulsi likes warmth, so bring it indoors before frost, near a bright window.

You can hold Tulsi Vivah on a windowsill or a balcony table. If sugarcane is hard to find, use a decorated frame of sticks. If you cannot get a Shaligram, a picture or small idol of Vishnu or Krishna is accepted. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, some families place an amla (Indian gooseberry) branch beside Tulsi.

Keep flames away from dry leaves, cloth and sugarcane, and check your lease and smoke alarm. A small lamp on a steel plate or an electric lamp is safest. Use your own city's dusk time for the evening ceremony. Many temples hold a group Tulsi Vivah on the nearest weekend.