Tulsi is considered to be highly sacred in the Hindu
religion. Most of the Hindus offer daily prayers to Tulsi Devi. But, not
many people are aware about the origin of Tulasi plant. Well, there are
many interesting legends about Tulsi. There is a famous legend about
Krishna Tulsi, which suggests that Tulsi was the incarnation of a gopi,
who was deeply in love with Lord Krishna. She was cursed by Radha, the
consort of the Lord. To know some more myths about Tulasi plant, read
on.
There is a story about Krishna, in which the Lord was weighed in gold.
Satyabhama, one of the wives of Lord Krishna gave away all her
ornaments; even then they could not outweigh him. Seeing this, Rukmani,
the consort of Lord Krishna, placed a single leaf of Tulsi plant on the
weighing scale. This brought about a tilt in the scale. Numerous
mentions have been made about Tulasi in the stories of Meera and Radha
in Jayadeva's Gita Govinda.
As per the Hindu mythology, Tulsi is very close to Lord Vishnu, Infact,
a ceremony is held annually in which Tulsi is married to the Lord in the
month of Kartik on the 11th bright day, as per the lunar calendar. It is
a grand celebration that continues for five consecutive days and ends up
on the full moon day. It usually falls in the mid of October. This Hindu
ritual is known as Tulsi Vivah. As a part of daily custom, a garland
made up of Tulsi leaves is firstly offered to Lord Vishnu. According to
a Christian folklore, the sacred plant Tulsi grew around the place,
where Jesus Christ was crucified.
