Tulasi Stotram — Benefits & How to Chant
तुलसी स्तोत्रम्
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Tulasi Stotram
Purifies the devotee
even praising or remembering Tulasi cleanses sin
Grants the protection of the world-sustaining Goddess from all calamities
Bestows both worldly prosperity (sampat) and final liberation (moksha)
Worshipping Tulasi is said to equal worshipping all the gods, who dwell in her
Reciting her sixteen names brings supreme devotion and Vishnu's abode in the end
Pleases Lord Vishnu, to whom Tulasi leaves are the dearest offering
Brings auspiciousness to the home where the Tulasi plant is worshipped daily
How to Chant Tulasi Stotram
Instructions
Stand or sit before the Tulasi plant (or her image), offer water, a lamp and flowers, and recite the stotram with devotion. It is traditionally chanted while circumambulating the Tulasi vrindavan. The twelfth to fourteenth verses contain the sixteen sacred names of Tulasi; reciting these names is itself considered highly meritorious. Lighting a ghee lamp at the Tulasi plant at dusk while reciting is especially auspicious in Kartik month.
Spiritual Significance
It is traditionally held that the mere sight, praise or remembrance of Tulasi purifies even great sinners, as the third and fourth verses declare; and devotees recount that placing a single Tulasi leaf on the image of Vishnu, or offering daily worship at the Tulasi plant, has brought health, harmony and prosperity to countless households across generations.
Origin & History
Source: Puranic / Vaishnava devotional literature (sung by sage Pundarika)
Author: Sage Pundarika (attributed)
The Tulasi Stotram belongs to the rich body of Vaishnava devotional hymns in which the holy basil plant is venerated as a goddess inseparable from Lord Vishnu. Its closing verses identify the singer as the wise sage Pundarika, who is said to have worshipped Vishnu every day with Tulasi leaves and composed this praise in her honour. In Hindu tradition Tulasi grows in the courtyard of nearly every devout home, is worshipped at dawn and dusk, and is ceremonially married to Vishnu (Tulasi Vivah) at the close of the Kartik month, marking the start of the wedding season.