Tulsi Plant - Amber Fort, Rajasthan, India
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N 26° 59.120 E 075° 50.989
43R E 584327 N 2985094
This Tulsi plant is on display in a seraglio (Ladies' Apartment) of Amber Palace in Amber Fort, Rajasthan.
Waymark Code: WMQ586
Location: India
Date Posted: 12/22/2015
Views: 3
Tulsi or Holy basil is a sacred plant in Hindu belief. Hindus regard it as an earthly manifestation of the goddess Tulsi, a consort of god Vishnu. The offering of its leaves is mandatory in ritualistic worship of Vishnu and his forms like Krishna.
The Tulsi plant is grown in or near almost every Hindu house, especially by Brahmins and Vaishnavas. A house with a Tulsi plant is sometimes considered a place of pilgrimage.
The legend:
According to Hindu scripture, the Tulsi plant was a woman named Vrinda, a synonym of Tulsi. She was married to the demon-king Jalandhar, who due to her piety and devotion to Vishnu, became invincible. Even Shiva, the Destroyer in the Hindu Trinity, could not defeat Jalandhar, so he requested Vishnu, the preserver in the Trinity, to find a solution. Vishnu disguised himself as Jalandhar and tricked Vrinda.
Her chastity destroyed, Jalandhar lost his power and was killed by Shiva. Vrinda cursed Vishnu to become black in colour and to be separated from his wife Lakshmi. This was later fulfilled when he was transformed into the black Shaligram stone (actually a fossil), and in his Rama avatar, he was separated from his wife Sita, who was kidnapped by the demon-king Ravana. Vrinda then drowned herself in the ocean, and the gods (or Vishnu himself) transferred her soul to a plant, which was henceforth called Tulsi.
Another minor legend narrates that Lakshmi slew a demon on this day and remained on earth as the Tulsi plant.
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