🌿 Tulsi Vivah Puja Vidhi — step by step
The vidhi of Tulsi Vivah at home — in the evening at godhuli/pradosh (timings above); Tulsi = the bride, Shaligram or a Vishnu idol (or picture) = the groom; the men of the house or a Brahmin for the sankalp and mantras, the women for the decoration and songs.
How to do Tulsi Vivah — the steps
- Preparation (daytime): wash and plaster the Tulsi pot or platform, draw rangoli, tie a mandap of four sugarcanes at the corners with a chunri on top, a toran of mango leaves and flowers; suhag items on the pot; bathe the Shaligram (or a small Vishnu/Krishna idol or picture), dress it in yellow with a sandal tilak — the groom.
- Fast: the lady of the house (or whoever performs the wedding) takes fruit or one meal in the day; the meal comes after the wedding in the evening.
- Tulsi's shringar: drape Tulsi in a red chunri, bangles, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, alta (on the pot), apply turmeric (the haldi rite), a flower garland; wrap the pot in a sari or red cloth — Tulsi the bride.
- Beginning the wedding (godhuli): kalash sthapana, Ganesh puja; hold the Shaligram in the hand or place it on a chauki to Tulsi's right; turmeric, sandal and akshat to both, a yellow garland for the groom, red for the bride; the sankalp — 'I (name) perform the wedding (kanyadaan) of Tulsi Mata with Lord Shaligram'.
- Kanyadaan and gathbandhan: place the hand on the Tulsi pot with the kanyadaan mantra or intent; tie the Shaligram and Tulsi together with mauli or the chunri; recite the mangalashtak ('Mangalam Bhagavan Vishnuh…'), shower akshat; the women sing wedding songs.
- Pheras: carry the Shaligram around Tulsi seven times (or carry the Tulsi pot around the groom) — akshat and flowers at each round; the intent of the saptapadi; then sindoor for Tulsi (on Vishnu's behalf), camphor aarti of the bride and groom.
- Offering and aarti: kheer, puri, laddoo, fruit, panchamrit, Tulsi leaves, sugarcane, water chestnut, ber, amla, radish (the seasonal produce of Kartika) — to Vishnu and Tulsi; the Tulsi aarti ('Jai Jai Tulsi Mata') and the Vishnu aarti; 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya' or the 'Tulsi Shrir Mahalakshmi…' stotra.
- Katha and feast: the katha of Vrinda and Jalandhar (below); prasad and the wedding feast (puri, vegetable, kheer, laddoo) for family and neighbours; dakshina to a girl or Brahmin; the sugarcane mandap stays till the next day and the cane is eaten as prasad; the chunri stays on Tulsi till Purnima or the year round.
Puja samagri checklist
Suhag items, sugarcane, Shaligram and the seasonal produce of Kartika — the Tulsi Vivah list.
- Tulsi plant (pot/platform), Shaligram (or a Vishnu/Krishna idol or picture), chauki, yellow-red cloth, kalash (water, mango leaves, coconut)
- Mandap: 4 sugarcanes, a red chunri or sari (mandap roof), a toran of mango leaves and marigold, rangoli colours, flowers and leaves
- Tulsi's shringar (suhag items): red chunri, bangles, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, alta, kajal, comb, mirror, toe-ring (symbolic), a red sari or cloth
- The groom (Shaligram): yellow cloth or dhoti, sandal, a crown (paper or flowers), yellow garland, sacred thread, mauli (for the tying)
- Puja: turmeric, roli, akshat, sandal, mauli, paan-supari, clove-cardamom, attar, panchamrit, Ganga water, Tulsi leaves, ghee lamp, incense, camphor, aarti plate
- Seasonal offering: sugarcane, water chestnut, ber, amla, radish, sweet potato, banana, guava; kheer, puri, laddoo, sweets; coconut
- Mangalashtak or Tulsi Vivah booklet, wedding songs; dakshina for a girl; dakshina for the Brahmin (if any)
- Next day: the custom of sharing and eating the sugarcane, the Tulsi lamp, the chunri left in place
Kheer, puri, laddoo, sugarcane, water chestnut, ber, amla; the wedding feast
At Tulsi Vivah the seasonal produce of Kartika — sugarcane, water chestnut, ber, amla, radish, sweet potato — and kheer, puri and laddoo are offered to Vishnu and Tulsi; the wedding feast for family and neighbours is puri, vegetable, kheer or laddoo; fruit in the day, the meal after the wedding in the evening; the sugarcane is eaten as prasad the next day.
- Offering: kheer (rice-milk), puri, besan or boondi laddoo, panchamrit, Tulsi leaves, sugarcane (peeled and cut), water chestnut, ber, amla, radish, sweet potato, banana, guava, coconut
- Wedding feast (family-neighbours): puri, pumpkin or potato curry, gram dal, kheer, laddoo, raita, pickle — as at a family wedding
- Fruit meal (daytime): fruit, milk, sabudana, water-chestnut halwa, makhana
- Next day: sharing and eating the mandap sugarcane, leftover offering to the cow; Tulsi leaves taken as prasad (Kartika)
- Avoided: plucking Tulsi leaves on the wedding day (pluck a day earlier), onion, garlic, meat; touching or watering Tulsi at night, on Ekadashi or Sunday (folk rule)
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- The wedding at godhuli/pradosh on Dwadashi (or the Ekadashi evening by family custom) — timings above; pluck Tulsi leaves a day earlier
- Sugarcane mandap, bridal shringar for Tulsi (chunri, bangles, sindoor), yellow for Shaligram; kanyadaan, gathbandhan, mangalashtak, pheras, aarti
- Seasonal offering: sugarcane, water chestnut, ber, amla, radish + kheer and puri; a wedding feast for family and neighbours; dakshina to a girl
- Those facing obstacles in marriage or wishing for children should join the Tulsi Vivah and recite the Tulsi Namashtak; a Tulsi lamp through Kartika
- Wedding muhurats open from this day — check the family's lagna muhurat with the panchang or an astrologer (Shubh Muhurat page)
❌ Don't
- Plucking Tulsi leaves on Tulsi Vivah, Ekadashi or Sunday, touching or watering Tulsi at night (folk rule)
- Women touching the Shaligram (a custom in some families — opinions differ; a Vishnu idol or picture works for the wedding), the Shaligram unbathed
- Onion, garlic, meat, alcohol; dirty water for Tulsi; leaving plastic decorations on the plant (do not smother it)
- An incomplete wedding — without pheras or aarti; throwing away the sugarcane (it is prasad); stinginess in dakshina or honouring the girl
- Performing the wedding with a dried or dead plant in the pot — plant a fresh one; not taking Tulsi leaves for the offering on Ekadashi-Dwadashi (only leaves plucked earlier)
Vrat katha
The katha of Vrinda and Jalandhar: Vrinda, wife of the asura king Jalandhar (born of the ocean, of Shiva's fire), was supremely devoted to her husband — by the power of her chastity Jalandhar became invincible, defeated … Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Tulsi Vivah in {Y} — Ekadashi or Dwadashi?
By the scriptural view Kartika Shukla Dwadashi (date above); by folk custom many homes perform it on the evening of Dev Uthani Ekadashi itself — both are accepted; in Maharashtra any evening from Dwadashi to Purnima. Follow your family's custom.
What is the muhurat for Tulsi Vivah?
Godhuli/pradosh kaal (around sunset — timings above) is best; the Dwadashi tithi window is above; avoid Rahu Kaal; preparations and puja in Abhijit (midday).
What if there is no Shaligram?
Make a small idol or picture of Vishnu, Krishna or Lakshmi-Narayana the groom — yellow clothes, a crown; the intent matters; many homes marry Tulsi to Thakurji (Balkrishna).
Who performs Tulsi Vivah — the lady of the house or a Brahmin?
At home the women do the shringar, songs and kanyadaan, the sankalp and mantras by a man of the house or a Brahmin if present; a pandit is not essential — the mangalashtak and aarti complete it at home.
Who gains the merit of kanyadaan?
The belief — those without a daughter, or whoever gives Tulsi away, earn the merit of kanyadaan; those with obstacles in marriage gain the fruit of praying for marital happiness.
What to do after Tulsi Vivah?
Eat and share the sugarcane as prasad, leave the chunri on Tulsi, a Tulsi lamp daily till Kartika Purnima, sattvic food in the Bhishma Panchak (Dwadashi to Purnima); look at the family's wedding muhurats from that week.
What is the difference between Tulsi Vivah and Dev Uthani Ekadashi?
Dev Uthani = Kartika Shukla Ekadashi, the Lord's awakening, the end of Chaturmas; Tulsi Vivah = the wedding of Tulsi and Shaligram on the next day, Dwadashi — many homes do both on the same evening; Dev Uthani has its own page.
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