Goddess Tulsi
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| Goddess Tulasi |
According to the Sri Devi Bhagavata Purana,
Birth of Goddess Tulasi
King Dharmadhvaja’s wife, Madhavi, gave birth to Tulasi on
Kartik Purnima at an auspicious time. Tulasi was as radiant as a thousand suns,
her eyes were as beautiful as lotus flowers, her palms and feet were red,
signifying divinity, and all her body parts were radiating warmth in the cold
climate, and everyone was mesmerised by her smile.
King Dharmadhvaja invited sages to bless their daughter and
donated a huge sum of money, clothes, food and cows to them and everyone in his
kingdom.
As soon as the sages saw the child, they collectively called
her Tulasi, who grew up to become as divine as Mother Nature herself.
Goddess Tulasi’s penance
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| Goddess Tulasi penance |
As Devi Tulasi turned sixteen, she left her palace for a
penance in Badrinath to gain Lord Vishnu as her husband.
She performed a severe penance of one lakh years. During summer, she would sit in a ring of fire, and in winter, she would wear wet clothes and sit in the middle of the storm and torrential rain. Devi Tulasi gave up food and water; she stood straight on one leg to please Lord Brahma.
Pleased by her devotion towards Lord Vishnu and satisfied by her penance, Lord Brahma appeared and asked Devi Tulasi her wish.
Devi Tulasi replied, “Hai Lord Brahma, I was a gopi
in Goloka in my previous birth and was dear to Lord Krishna. One day,
mesmerised by the melody played by Lord Krishna, I got drawn to him and sat
next to him on the seat of Sri Radha. Watching me so close to Krishna, Sri Radha
got angry and cursed me to be born on earth as a human. I broke down in tears,
and Lord Krishna pacified me and said that on earth I will be first married to
his ansha Swaroop and later his complete Swaroop of Lord Vishnu”.
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| Devi Tulasi with Lord Krishna in Goloka |
Lord Brahma said, “Lord Krishna’s ansha Swaroop has already taken birth on earth. He was a gopa in the Goloka named Sudama. He used to watch and follow you, developing deep feelings for you. When Sri Radha cursed you, he lost his temper and got cursed to be born on earth as an asura named Shankachuda. Although he was born into an Asura lineage, he is still an ardent devotee of Sri Hari Narayana. Just like you, he also remembers everything from his past life”.
Lord Brahma gave Devi Tulasi a mantra, a kavach, a Stotra
and a method to please Sri Radha to get rid of the curse and strengthen
herself. Devi Tulasi performed the pooja, and Sri Radha blessed her, making her
a “siddha” goddess.
On the other hand, Shankhacuda, a mighty daitya, also
performed a severe penance that pleased Lord Brahma. He was granted the Vishnukavach (the armour of Vishnu)
and was blessed with another boon: If the Vishnukavach was on his body, no one could slay him.
Devi Tulasi and Shankachuda did a “gandharva vivah” in
Badrinath under the guidance of Lord Brahma and left for their palace.
Asura Shankachuda defeated the devtas and took their kingdom and powers.
All devtas, including Indra, Surya, Vayu, Kuber, etc., went
to Lord Brahma for a solution, who took them to Lord Shiva and from there they
went to Vaikuntha. Lord Vishnu consoled all devtas and granted his trishul to
Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu said that he will take the form of a brahmin and take
the Vishnukavach from Shankachuda, later break the devotion of Devi Tulasi by
manifesting as Shankachuda in front of her.
Lord Shiva’s battle with Shankachuda
From Vaikuntha, Lord Shiva went to the banks of the river
Bhadrasheela and sat under a Banyan tree. Lord Kartikeya, Goddess Bhadrakali,
Nandi, Veerbhadra and all the devtas assembled with their arms for the battle.
Lord Shiva sent Pushpadant to deliver his message to
Shankachuda, to return everything back to the devtas or face him in the battle.
Shankachuda chose war.
The next morning, Shankachuda bid farewell to his beloved
wife Tulasi and left for the battle with his army.
Before the war, Shankachuda bowed down before Lord Shiva,
Goddess Bhadrakali and Lord Kartikeya and said that he is undefeatable. Lord
Shiva smiled and ordered his army, led by Lord Kartikeya, to kill Shankachuda.
The demon king also counterattacked Lord Shiva’s army.
A great war began, many asuras died, devtas got tired and
injured, but Shankachuda remained undefeated. Goddess Bhadrakali entered the
war and killed, ate and destroyed Shankachuda’s whole army. She then directly
fought Shankachuda, both using celestial weapons, but Shankachuda remained
unharmed due to the Vishnukavach. Lord Shiva asked Goddess Bhadrakali to
return, as the time had come for Lord Vishnu to take the kavach.
Suddenly, Lord Vishnu in the form of an old brahmin appeared
on the battlefield and asked the demon king for his kavach. Shankachuda smiled
as he understood that it was Sri Narayana, and he happily donated his kavach to
him.
After taking the Kavach, Lord Vishnu went to Devi Tulasi,
who was praying for her husband’s victory. Shankachuda (Lord Vishnu) called
Devi Tulasi and went in front of her. As soon as Devi Tulasi saw her husband,
she stopped her pooja, and on the battlefield, Lord Shiva threw the trident at
Shankachuda.
Seeing the trident, Shankachuda dropped his weapons and sat
on the ground, chanting Lord Krishna’s name and as the trident striked him, he
turned into ashes leaving behind his skeleton and his soul returned to the
Goloka.
From the skeleton of Shankachuda, Shankha (conch shells)
species originated, which are blown in every pooja and auspicious work.
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| Lord Vishnu's Panchajanya Shankha |
The curse of Devi Tulasi
When Lord Vishnu went to Devi Tulasi in the form of
Shankachuda, Devi Tulasi stopped her pooja and welcomed her husband with
flowers and sweets.
The two sported, and ceased when Tulasi realised that he was
an imposter. Devi Tulasi asked the imposter to reveal his identity. Lord Vishnu
appeared in his original form, and, heartbroken, Devi Tulasi cursed him,
saying, “Hai Narayan! You tricked me and killed my husband; you are neither
kind nor merciful. Your heart is like that of a stone. I curse you that you too
will turn into a stone,”
Lord Vishnu accepted the curse and said, “You have been
doing penance for a long time to get me as your husband. Your husband
Shankachuda was the chief of my gopas, Sudama. It is time for him to go back to
Goloka, getting himself released from the curse. By this time, Shiva would have
killed him, and he would have gone to Goloka as Sudama. You can now abandon
your body and come with me to Vaikuṇṭha
to enjoy life as my wife. Your body will decay and become a holy river named Gaṇḍakī, and I, in the form of a stone
Shaligram, will be found in your banks. Your hair will become the Tulasī plant,
the leaves of which will be held sacred in all three worlds.”
Hearing these words, Devi Tulasi turned into River Gandaki (found in Nepal) and into a plant. She then left for Vaikuntha with Lord Vishnu.
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| River Gandaki in Nepal |
Tulasi Vivaha
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| Lord Vishnu marrying Devi Tulasi |
A ceremony known as Tulasi Vivaha is performed between
Prabodhini Ekadashi (eleventh lunar day of the waxing moon of Kartika) to
Kartik Poornima (full moon in Kartika), usually on the eleventh or the twelfth
lunar day. It is the ceremonial wedding of the tulasi plant to Lord Vishnu, in
the form of his image, Shaligrama, or a Krishna idol/ image. Both the bride and
the groom are ritually worshipped and then married as per traditional wedding
rituals.
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| Tulasi Vivah Pooja |
The Significance of the Tulasi Plant
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the significance of the Tulasi
over other plants is described as: Although flowering plants like the mandāra,
kunda, kurabaka, utpala, campaka, arṇa,
punnāga, nāgakeśara, bakula, lily and pārijāta are full of transcendental
fragrance, they are still conscious of the austerities performed by tulasī, for
tulasī is given special preference by the Lord, who garlands Himself with
tulasī leaves.
The tulasi plant is regarded as a threshold point between
heaven and earth. A traditional prayer narrates that Lord Brahma resides in its
branches, all Hindu pilgrimage centres reside in its roots, the Ganges flows
within its roots, all deities are in its stem and its leaves, and that the most
sacred Hindu texts, the Vedas, are found in the upper part of its branches.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the significance of the Tulasi
over other plants is described as: Although flowering plants like the mandāra,
kunda, kurabaka, utpala, campaka, arṇa,
punnāga, nāgakeśara, bakula, lily and pārijāta are full of transcendental
fragrance, they are still conscious of the austerities performed by tulasī, for
tulasī is given special preference by the Lord, who garlands Himself with
tulasī leaves.
The tulasi plant is regarded as a threshold point between
heaven and earth. A traditional prayer narrates that Lord Brahma resides in its
branches, all Hindu pilgrimage centres reside in its roots, the Ganges flows
within its roots, all deities are in its stem and its leaves, and that the most
sacred Hindu texts, the Vedas, are found in the upper part of its branches.
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| Goddess Tulasi |
