Tulsi Vivah: When monsoon ends, and weddings begin

New Delhi, Nov 01: Tulsi Vivah is the ceremonial marriage of the Tulsi plant (or the Holy Basil) to the Hindu god Vishnu or his Avatar Krishna.

According to the Panchang and Hindu Calendar, this ceremonious celebration is observed in the month of Kartik (Shukla Paksha) as per traditional lunar calendar.

The celebrations of Tulsi Marriage begin on the eleventh lunar day i.e. Prabodhini Ekadashi and continue till the full moon night or Kartik Poornima. However, in many parts of India, the festival is celebrated only on eleventh or till the twelfth lunar day. The Tulsi wedding signifies the end of the monsoon, and the beginning of the wedding season in Hinduism.

Tulasi Vivah Date and Time

This year, Tulsi Vivah will fall on November 5.

Dwadashi Tithi Begins - 06:08 PM on Nov 04, 2022

Dwadashi Tithi Ends - 05:06 PM on Nov 05, 2022

It is believed in Hinduism that Lord Vishnu goes to sleep on Ashada Shukla Paksha Ekadasi (June-July). He then wakes up on Kartik Shukla Paksha Ekadasi (October-November). It is believed that after waking up, Lord Vishnu first listens to Tulsi. This is the reason why Tulsi Puja is performed on the next day of Kartik Shukla Paksha Ekadasi.

Curse of Shaligram:

Tulsi Vivah is an age-old tradition and is mentioned in the Padma Purana and other ancient scriptures.

Goddess Tulsi was born as a woman, Vrinda, who got married to demon king Jalandhar. He was born out of the flames which emanated from Lord Shiva's third eye. Vrinda was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and ceaselessly prayed for her husband's health and long life. As a result, Jalandhar got a boon that he would remain immortal. This made the king arrogant and he waged wars and created ruckus in the Devaloka and chased the demi Gods out of the heaven. He established his own kingdom. The demi Gods went praying to Lord Vishnu and Shiva for help. The war went on for years but Lord Shiva couldn't defeat him because of the protection which was provided by Vrinda's chastity and devotion for her husband.

Lord Shiva knew that he could never defeat evil Jalandhar because he was a part of himself. So, he requested Lord Vishnu to weaken Jalandhar's power.

Out of exasperation, Lord Vishnu then in the guise of evil king Jalandhar approached Vrinda and she mistook him for her husband and as a result, her Sankalpa (pledge) broke. Soon, Jalandhar became powerless and was killed by Lord Shiva in a battle. When Vrinda found out about this deceit, she asked Lord Vishnu to show his real form. She was shattered to see that she was tricked by her own Lord. Seeing Lord Vishnu disguising as Jalandhar and tricking her to break her chastity, Vrinda then cursed Lord Vishnu and made him turn to Shaligram. Lord Vishnu accepted the curse and he turned into the Shaligram stone. But before that he gave Vrinda a boon that from her ashes the plant of Tulsi would be born and the plant would get married to the Shaligram stone. This way her chastity would not be maligned and she would stay with Lord Vishnu forever.

This is the reason why Tulsi Vivah is celebrated to establish this divine relationship between Lord Vishnu and Vrinda.

The festival of Tulsi Vivah is also the precursor to the annual marriage season in North India.