Tulsi

A small shrublike plant commonly
denoted the “holy basil.” For devotees
(bhakta) of the god Vishnu, the tulsi
plant is a form of Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi,
who is cursed to take birth as a plant.
According to the story, Lakshmi sits with
Vishnu’s wives, the goddesses Ganga
and Saraswati. Ganga makes amorous
eyes at Vishnu, and when Saraswati
protests this indecency, a quarrel breaks
out. By the time it is over, Ganga and
Saraswati have cursed each other to be
born on earth as rivers. Vishnu has been
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cursed to be born as a stone (the shalagram); and Lakshmi, who tries only to
mediate the quarrel, is cursed to be born
as a plant. This plant is thus a form of
Lakshmi, and pious Vaishnavas cultivate a tulsi plant as an act of devotion.
The plant is especially dear to Vishnu,
and it is believed that all parts of the
plant are purifying. Any parts of it used
in worship are especially meritorious—
whether grinding the leaves to a paste to
mark one’s body, taking the leaves as
prasad (food offered to a deity as an act
of worship), or using tulsi wood for
implements or sacrificial fuel.