Tulsi Vivah-The Wedding Between Krsna & Tulsi

Tulsi Vivah

Source: Free Press Journal

By Meera S. Sashital

One of the most sacred plants of the Hindus is the Tulsi Plant

(Ocimum Sanctum). There is not one household where you will not find

the plant in front of the house. Tulsi plant is held in great

Veneration because it is supposed to be the incarnation of Lakshmi.

Every pious Hindu takes care to water it daily and make

circumambulation of it while praying.

In the month of shukla or bright half of kartik, on an auspicious day

between the eleventh day and the fifteenth, God Krishna in married to

Tulsi. A mock marriage is performed with a murti of Krishna or the

Salagrama believed to be Krishna himself and Tulsi. Tulsi, the plant,

was in her former birth Vrinda, the daughter of a giant named Nemi or

Kalanemi. Tulsi was married to a demon named Jalandhar. Her husband

was, according to legend, born out of the sweat which Shiva had

thrown from his brow into the ocean when he perspired at being

insulted by Lord India. As he was born in water or Jala, he was named

Jalandhar. Due to this he claimed suzerainty of the Ocean and as his

heritage demande back from Indra all the fourteen treasures churned

out of the ocean in the second incarnation of Vishnu. But, Indra, the

king of the Gods refused. To avenge Indra, Jalandhar worshipped

Brahma and did severe penance. Brahma being pleased grants him

freedom from death as long as his wife Vrinda remained virtuous and

chaste, because Vrinda was renowned for her faithfulness and chastity.

Jalandhar quite secure of his life wages war on Indra and invades

Amaravati, the capital of Swarga, compelling all he Gods to flee.

They seek Shiva and Vishnu's protection and fight the demon but get

defeated. Finally Vishnu deputes Lakshmi to Jalandhar to learn th

secret of his death. Jalandhar yields to her charms and discloses the

fact. At first Shiva is sent to Vrinda in jalandhar's form to entice

her but he fails. Then, Vishnu himself goes to Vrinda in the guise of

Jalandahr and betrays her. No sooner Vrinda loses her virtue,

Jaladhar gets killed. Vrinda on discovering the identity and the

horrible deed he had committed cursed Vishnu that he would become a

black stone. Vishnu also retaliates and cursed her saying that she

sould become a Tulsi shrub.

This is why Vishnu has turned into a shaligram, the ammonite found

chiefly in the river Gandaki, and Vrinda into Ocimum sanctun, the

Tulsi plant. Vishnu won over by Vrinda's unimpeachable chastity vows

to marry her every year. This has been immortalised by performing

their marriage annually on the 11th day of the month of Kartik. With

the ceremony of Tulsi's marriage, the annual marriage season of the

Hindus begins. This day also coincides with the end of Vishnu's four

months sleep, known as Prabodidhinyekadasi (Awaking Eleventh).

Another slight deviation in Tulsi's story of that when Vrinda

discovered she was deceived, she built a pyre and immolated herself.

But Vishnu adminring her chastity and sorry for the wrong done to

her, was inconsolable till the Gods planted a Tulsi shrub and

summoned her spirit into it. Since then she is believed to come into

the shrub every evening leaving it in the morning. This is the reason

why the Tulsi leaves are not plucked after sunset.