Whoever offers incense made from the wood of the sacred tulasi plant to Lord Hari attains merit as great as that of Indra himself, and receives the reward of giving away a hundred cows. If one cooks food for offering to Keshava using a fire kindled from tulasi wood, that food, when presented to the Lord, becomes as valuable as Mount Meru. Lighting a lamp for Hari with fire from tulasi wood bestows the merit of lighting a hundred thousand lamps. No Vaishnava on earth can be considered equal to the one who offers Krishna sandalwood made from tulasi wood. Such a devotee becomes the object of Vishnu’s boundless compassion. By daily anointing Hari with sandalwood paste made from tulasi wood, offered with devotion, the worshipper delights in the very presence of the Lord. If one worships Vishnu with his own body anointed in tulasi paste, he gains the fruit of giving a hundred cows in a single day—a merit equal to a hundred days of worship. As long as sandalwood made from tulasi wood remains in the temple for Krishna’s anointing, the merit accrued is immense. The merit one gains by giving eight measures of sesame is likewise bestowed by the grace of the discus-bearing Lord. When a devotee offers a ball containing tulasi to the ancestors, each ancestor is satisfied, leaf by leaf, for a hundred years. Bathing with earth taken especially from the root of the tulasi plant is as if one has bathed at a sacred pilgrimage site, so long as that earth remains on the body. Worship performed with a cluster from the tulasi plant, offered with various flowers, endures for as long as the sun and moon exist. In any house where a grove of tulasi grows, simply seeing or touching it destroys all sins—even the gravest, such as the killing of a Brahmin, O Narada. Then Mahadeva spoke: “Now, O best of divine sages, I will tell you something else—listen with a focused mind. This has not been told to anyone before. Hear me well: Wherever there is tulasi—be it in a house, a village, or a forest—the Lord of the universe, pleased in heart, resides there. In such a house, there is no poverty, no misfortune from relatives, no suffering, no fear, and no disease, as long as tulasi stands there. Tulasi is sacred everywhere, but especially at holy places; by planting it in the presence of the deity upon the earth, great merit is assured. For those who plant tulasi, Vishnu’s own abode is guaranteed; by worshipping tulasi with devotion, Hari grants peace and removes many severe diseases and inauspicious omens. Wherever the wind carries the fragrance of tulasi, all ten directions are purified, along with the four kinds of beings. O best of sages, in any house where the soil at the root of tulasi is found, there always reside the deities, Shiva, and Hari. Wherever the shade of a grove of tulasi falls, the offerings made to the ancestors there become inexhaustible. At its root dwells Brahma, in the middle is Janardana, and on the flower, Rudra resides—thus tulasi is supremely purifying. Whoever performs purification at twilight without tulasi, all such merit is taken by demons, leading to hell. Whoever pours water that has touched tulasi leaves upon his head attains the merit of bathing in the Ganga and receives the fruit of giving a hundred cows. If one plants tulasi especially in a temple of Shiva, for each seed sown, one dwells in heaven for as many ages. Long ago, O goddess, Uma herself planted a hundred tulasi trees in the Himalayas for Shankara—I bow to them. Whoever plants tulasi on festival occasions, in the month of Shravan, or on the day of the sun’s transit, receives great merit. Whoever worships tulasi daily, though he may be poor, becomes a lord; Krishna, the giver of all accomplishments, bestows fame upon him. Wherever the Shalagrama stone is found, Hari is present; bathing and giving in charity there yields a hundred times the merit of Varanasi. In holy places like Kurukshetra, Prayaga, and the Naimisha forest, worship of the Shalagrama stone gives merit a crore times greater. Wherever a ring made of Shalagrama is kept, all the merit of Varanasi is found there. Whatever sin a person may have committed—even the killing of a Brahmin—all is swiftly destroyed by worship of the Shalagrama stone. Narada then spoke, saying, “By your grace, I have thus heard the greatness of tulasi. Now, please tell me about the three-night tulasi vow.” Sadashiva replied, “Listen, O wise Brahmin, to this ancient vow. Merely by hearing it, one is freed from all sins—there is no doubt. Long ago, in the Raibhya interval of a kalpa, there was a king named Prajapati; his wife, renowned for her chaste nature and moon-like face, performed this vow. Her three-night vow granted all desired fruits—dharma, wealth, pleasure, and liberation. Blessed indeed are those who hear the vow of Tulasi, especially on the ninth day of the bright fortnight in Kartika. The votary remains firm in discipline, sleeping on the ground, with senses controlled; for three nights, pure and with a restrained mind, he observes the vow. He sleeps, having first observed the prescribed discipline, in the presence of the Tulasi grove; then, at midday, in pure water at the river or lake, he bathes and offers oblations to ancestors and gods according to the prescribed method. He should then fashion an image of Janardana with Lakshmi in gold. Thus is revealed the supreme sanctity and transformative power of tulasi, the plant beloved of the Lord, a source of unending merit for all who honor it with faith and devotion.