The Tulasyupanishad

The Tulasi Upanishad.

Now we shall expound the Tulasi Upanishad. The sage Narada is its seer.

The meter is Atharvangiras, and the presiding deity is the immortal Tulasi.

The seed syllable is Sudha (nectar), the power is Vasudha (the earth), and the support (kilaka) is Narayana.

She is dark-hued, bearing a dark form; she is the embodiment of the Rig Veda, her mind is the Yajur Veda, her life-force is the Atharva Veda; she holds the Kalpa in her hand and is extolled in the Puranas; she is born of nectar, a cluster of nectar-essence, infinite, bestowing the enjoyment of infinite nectar; she is devoted to Vishnu, beloved of Vishnu, and destroys birth and death.

By seeing her, sins are destroyed; by touching her, one is purified; by bowing to her, diseases are destroyed; by serving her, death is destroyed; by worshipping her in Vaikuntha, calamities are destroyed; by eating her, wisdom is granted; by circumambulating her, poverty is destroyed; by applying her root-paste, great sins are destroyed; by offering her to the sense of smell, internal impurities are destroyed. One who knows thus becomes a Vaishnava.

One should not cut the Tulasi plant without purpose. Having seen it, one should circumambulate it. One should not touch it on the twelfth day of the lunar fortnight. One should not pluck it on a festival day. If one plucks it, he becomes a slayer of Vishnu. Recite: "To the glorious Tulasi, svaha! To the beloved of Vishnu, svaha! To the immortal one, svaha!"

We know the glorious Tulasi, we meditate upon the beloved of Vishnu; may that immortal Tulasi inspire us.

O immortal one, you are of the form of nectar, the bestower of immortality. O daughter of the ocean of milk, deliver me from the cycle of existence.

O friend of Lakshmi, you are ever blissful and ever dear to Mukunda. O rare one, behold me with your hands that grant boons and dispel fear.

You are both non-tree and tree in form; destroy my state of being like a tree (my bondage). O Tulasi, you are of incomparable form, equal to a billion scales, O ageless one.

O incomparable one, on your scale there is only Hari and none other. You alone are the sustainer of the worlds, you alone are the beloved of Vishnu.

You alone are worthy of service by the gods, you alone are the bestower of liberation. In your shade dwells Lakshmi, at your root is the immutable Vishnu. All around are all the deities, the Siddhas, Charanas, and Nagas.

At whose root are all holy places, in whose middle are Brahma and the gods, at whose tip are the Vedas and scriptures—to that Tulasi I offer my salutations.

O Tulasi, O friend of Shri, O auspicious one, remover of sins, bestower of merit, I bow to you, praised by Narada and beloved of Narayana's heart.

Born from the tears of joy of Brahma, dwelling in Vrindavan, perfect in all limbs, you are the essence of the Amritopanishad (the nectar of the Upanishads).

O auspicious one, deliver me from the insurmountable ocean of great sins. You alone are the atonement for all sins. You are ever dear to the gods, the sages, and the ancestors.

Without the glorious Tulasi, even if Brahmins perform the Shraddha ceremony, that Shraddha becomes fruitless and does not reach the ancestors.

If one performs worship setting aside the Tulasi leaf, that worship becomes demonic and is not pleasing to Vishnu.

Without Tulasi, one should not perform sacrifice, charity, japa, pilgrimage, Shraddha, worship of the gods, libations, purification, or any other rite.

Japa performed with beads made of Tulasi wood fulfills all purposes. Whoever does not know this, even if a Brahmin, is lower than a dog-eater.

Thus Lord Narayana spoke to Brahma; Brahma taught Narada, Sanaka, and others; Sanaka and others taught Vedavyasa; Vedavyasa taught Shuka; Shuka taught Vamadeva; Vamadeva taught the sages; the sages proclaimed it to Manu.

One who knows this is liberated from the sin of killing a woman, from the sin of killing a hero, from the sin of killing a Brahmin, from great fear, and from great sorrow; at the end of his life he attains Vaikuntha—he attains Vaikuntha. Such is the Upanishad.

Thus ends the Tulasi Upanishad.