In the sacred land of Gaya, there dwells Shri Gadadhara, the compassionate Lord who, even when remembered from afar during the rites for one’s ancestors, bestows liberation upon them. To Him I bow in reverence, for His grace reaches across all distances and barriers. Many pilgrims undertake the arduous journey to Gaya, traversing perilous paths fraught with dangers—tigers, thieves, thorns, and serpents. Yet, upon arrival, with the humblest words and whatever little they possess, they seek the Lord by the riverside. Every day, hearts long for a vision of the illustrious Gadadhara, known as Karpari, who abides by the holy waters. O Lord, though You are the all-pervading Self, and though the gods themselves are pleased by the offerings made at Gaya, You appear to remain indifferent, as if untouched by the world’s affairs. Is this seeming detachment due to some sternness of heart? Is it the influence of the age of Kali? Or, perhaps, is it Your observance of ancient righteousness among people, or simply Your inclination to serve in silence? Yet, by Your boundless grace, I have completed the sacred rites for my ancestors. Permit me now, O Gadadhara, to return home, my duty fulfilled. At such times of ancestral rites, one should always recite the hymn for the four deities, for it grants the reward of heaven. Whoever recites this hymn while bathing, or even merely listens to it, gains merit equal to that of bathing at all holy places. O twice-born, by hearing the hymns of Prayaga, Ganga, and Yamuna, the faults that arise from past actions are washed away. Mahadeva, the great Lord, then spoke to Narada, saying, “Listen, O wise sage, to the greatness of the origin of the sacred Tulasī. By hearing this, one is freed from sin and the endless cycle of birth and death. Every part of Tulasī—the leaf, flower, fruit, root, branch, bark, and stem—and even the soil around her roots, is purifying. Those whose bodies are cremated with fire made from Tulasī wood, and who have Tulasī wood placed upon them after death, are truly blessed. Even those who perform the cremation are freed from sin. And if, at the time of death, one remembers or chants the name of Hari, liberation is assured. Even if only a single piece of Tulasī wood is present among a hundred other logs, the burning of that wood brings liberation, no matter how many sins have been accumulated. Bathing in the Ganga is meritorious, but the merit is multiplied when combined with Tulasī. As long as the funeral pyre burns with Tulasī wood, the sins of millions of lifetimes are consumed. Merely witnessing such a cremation is purifying. The attendants of Vishnu, not the servants of Yama, come to claim that soul, freeing it from countless births and taking it to Janārdana. When a person is cremated with Tulasī wood, the gods themselves, seated in their celestial vehicles, shower flowers upon him; the apsarās dance, the singers sing, and both Vishnu and Shambhu are pleased to see him. Shouri, another name for Vishnu, takes the soul by the hand and leads him home, erasing all his sins before the assembled dwellers of heaven. A great festival is celebrated, with cries of victory, wherever the fire of Tulasī wood burns with clarified butter. Whether in the fire chamber or the cremation ground, the sins of men are destroyed. Brāhmaṇas who perform oblations with Tulasī wood or with sesame seeds sprinkled in the fire obtain the fruit of the great Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. Whoever offers incense made from Tulasī wood to Hari gains merit equal to that of Indra and the fruit of gifting a hundred cows. If food is cooked for an offering using Tulasī wood as fuel, that food, when given to Keshava, becomes as valuable as Mount Meru itself. The lighting of a lamp for Hari with Tulasī wood fire bestows the merit of a hundred thousand lamps. No Vaishnava on earth is equal to the one who offers Krishna sandalwood made from Tulasī wood, for such a person becomes an object of Vishnu’s compassion. By daily anointing Hari with sandalwood made from Tulasī, with loving devotion, one delights in the Lord’s presence. He who worships Vishnu with his body anointed with Tulasī paste gains the merit of giving a hundred cows in a single day, a reward equal to a hundred days of worship. As long as sandalwood made from Tulasī remains in Krishna’s temple for anointing, the merit obtained during that time is immense. The merit gained by giving eight measures of sesame seeds is bestowed by the grace of the discus-bearing Lord upon the devotee. Whoever offers to the ancestors a ball containing Tulasī leaves grants satisfaction to each ancestor, leaf by leaf, for a hundred years. Bathing with earth from the root of Tulasī is as meritorious as bathing at a sacred place, for as long as that earth remains on one’s body. Worship performed with a cluster from the Tulasī plant, decorated with various flowers, endures as long as the sun and moon exist. In any house where there is a grove of Tulasī, merely seeing or touching it destroys all sins, even the gravest, such as the killing of a Brahmin. Mahadeva, wishing to share a secret, told Narada, “Listen closely, for this has not been revealed to anyone else. Wherever Tulasī grows—in a house, village, or forest—there the Lord of the universe, pleased at heart, resides. In such a house, there is no poverty, no misfortune from relatives, no suffering, no fear, nor disease. Tulasī is sacred everywhere, and especially so in holy places. By planting her in the presence of the deity upon the earth, those who do so are assured a place in Vishnu’s abode. Worshipping Tulasī with devotion brings peace from Hari, who removes many severe diseases and inauspicious omens. Wherever the wind carries the fragrance of Tulasī, all ten directions are purified, along with the four kinds of beings. In any house where the soil at the root of Tulasī is found, there always reside the gods, Shiva, and Hari, bestowing their blessings upon all who dwell there.