Why Some Hindu Homes Have Four Deities Surrounding The Tulsi Plant

May 2024 · 1 minute read

Tulsi is associated with several different Hindu deities for various reasons. As a Goddess, Tulsi was married to Lord Vishnu, and this marriage is symbolically celebrated each year just before the wedding season, during Tulsi Vivah (via The Times of India).

Tulsi is mentioned in a whole host of Hindu texts, including the Bhagavad Gita, one of the foundational texts of Hinduism, written several thousand years ago (via World History).

In the Gita, the use of tulsi to worship Vishnu was firmly established. It reads: "Kṛṣṇa [Vishnu's avatar] desires that one offer Him either a leaf, or a flower, or fruit, or a little water—and by such an offering He is satisfied. This leaf especially refers to the tulasī. So one can sow tulasī and pour water on the plant. Thus, even the poorest man can engage in the service of Kṛṣṇa" (via Vani Quotes).

Stories about the plant goddess vary. In Hindu mythology, Tulsi is sometimes said to have been a human woman, a princess who fell in love with Krishna under tragic circumstances (via Learn Religions). In other stories, the plant is associated with the goddess Lakshmi — the wife of Vishnu and therefore an appropriate gift for the god (via Sanskrit Magazine).

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB9j21qcXFnZMSpxYyspqadXZ22r7DUZp%2BopZWoeqmt1Z5kn6elp3qlscitoJ6rXajCs77OrqWdoZ6cerW0xGarrqSjnnqxuMCnq2g%3D