Tulsi · Vishnu (Shaligram)
Tulsi Vivah
The sacred basil wed to Vishnu — and the wedding season opens.
Tithi: Kartik Shukla Dwadashi (after Dev Uthani Ekadashi)
In the simplest words
The tulsi plant in the courtyard gets married — to Lord Vishnu! A tiny, sweet wedding that also opens the wedding season for everyone else.
The story & purpose
As Vishnu wakes from his four-month yoganidra on Dev Uthani Ekadashi, the household courtyard becomes a mandap: Tulsi, dearest of plants, is married to Shaligram with full wedding rites. From this day the pause of chaturmas lifts and weddings resume.
Beneath it lies Vrinda's story — whose devotion made her husband invincible until Vishnu himself broke her vow, and who became the tulsi plant by his blessing and his grief. Marrying her to the Shaligrama each Kartik is the tradition's annual act of amends.
What is done
Mandap & shringar
The tulsi planter decorated as a bride with chunari and sugarcane mandap.
Vivah vidhi
Kanyadaan, mangalsutra, and pheras as at any wedding.
Best timings
Evening (pradosh) is customary for the vivah.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
Homes that host Tulsi Vivah are said to earn the merit of a daughter's kanyadaan.
The Shaligrama arrives as the groom in a small baraat, often carried by the family's men from the temple to the courtyard.
Many homes hold the vivah on Dev Uthani Ekadashi itself, or on any day up to Kartik Purnima — the tithi follows family custom.