Significance of Tulsi in Indian Culture - The plant in home to bring prosperity |

Also called as Holy Basil, tulasi Or tulsi is an aromatic perennial plant in the family lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the southeast Asian tropics. The Tulsi plant was a woman named Vrinda and was an incarnation of the Goddess Lakshmi. She was married to the Asura king Jalandhar, who due to her piety and devotion to Vishnu, became invincible. Even Shiva 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 by touching her. She realized it was not her husband but Vishnu. This destroyed her chastity. With her chastity destroyed, Jalandhar lost his power and was killed by Shiva. Vrinda cursed Vishnu to become Shaligram 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