Festival · Vishnu and Tulsi

Tulsi Vivah

The wedding of the tulsi plant to Lord Vishnu, as a shaligram or an image of Lord Krishna, the day after Dev Uthani Ekadashi; many families hold it on the Ekadashi evening itself. It opens the wedding season.

Tulsi Vivah 2026
Saturday 21 November 2026
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Saturday 21 November 2026

Shukla Dwadashi tithi

Begins
6:32 am
Ends
4:57 am, 22 Nov
Sunrise
6:48 am
Sunset
5:25 pm
Moonrise
2:54 pm
Moonset
4:01 am, 22 Nov

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Dress the tulsi as a bride under a canopy of sugarcane
  • Hold the wedding with a shaligram or an image of Lord Krishna
  • Share the prasad and sing wedding songs
Dev Uthani Ekadashi →

What it remembers

Tulsi Vivah is the wedding of the tulsi plant, holy basil, to Lord Vishnu, held in the courtyards and temples of India in the bright half of Kartika. It comes just after he wakes on Dev Uthani Ekadashi. Many families marry Tulsi on the Ekadashi evening, others on Dwadashi, the next day, and some on any evening up to Kartik Purnima. The tulsi is dressed as a bride and married to a shaligram stone or an image of Lord Krishna with the rites of a real wedding, and with it the season of weddings begins.

Vrinda, the faithful wife

In the telling most families know, Tulsi was once Vrinda, the devoted wife of the asura Jalandhara, whose strength came from her faithfulness. To end his war on the gods, Lord Vishnu broke her vow, and Jalandhara was defeated. Vrinda cursed Vishnu to become a stone, and her own life ended in grief. The Puranas tell the rest in different ways: in some the tulsi grows from her ashes, in others Vishnu sees that she is born again as the plant.

The stone and the promise

The curse became a blessing. Lord Vishnu took the form of the shaligram, the stone worshipped as him, and promised that Vrinda, born again as Tulsi, would be his bride. So every year, after he wakes in Kartika, the shaligram is married to the tulsi, and the plant stays dear to him: its leaves are offered in all his worship.

Tulsi and Lakshmi

Many devotees see Tulsi as a form of Goddess Lakshmi herself, his eternal wife, who lives on earth as the plant in the courtyard. In this light the wedding is not a new marriage but the yearly joining of the two.

A daughter to give away

In the wedding, Tulsi is the daughter of the house, and someone must give her away in kanyadaan. Couples without a daughter often take this part and bear the cost of the wedding, for giving away a bride is held to bring great merit. In Saurashtra, couples hoping for a child give her away.

Holding the wedding

Tulsi Vivah is held in the evening, round the tulsi plant in the courtyard or on the balcony. Most families hold it themselves, often led by the women of the house; some call a priest. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Fast through the day if your family does, and break the fast after the wedding.
  2. Clean the tulsi platform (the tulsi vrindavan) or pot, paint or decorate it, and draw rangoli round it.
  3. Raise a little wedding canopy over the plant, with sugarcane for its poles, and hang it with mango leaves and marigolds.
  4. Dress the tulsi as a bride: a red chunri or a small sari, bangles, a bindi and the adornments of a bride.
  5. Set the groom beside her, a shaligram or an image of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna, dressed in a dhoti, and bathe and garland both.
  6. Join the two with a cotton thread, sing the Mangalashtak, the wedding verses, and let the one giving her away perform the kanyadaan.
  7. Shower the couple with rice mixed with vermilion or turmeric, then wave the lamp in aarti before the couple.
  8. Share the prasad: sugarcane, groundnuts, fruit and sweets.

What you need

  • The tulsi plant, and a shaligram or an image of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna
  • Sugarcane for the canopy, mango leaves and marigolds
  • A red chunri or small sari, bangles and a bindi for the bride
  • A dhoti and a garland for the groom
  • A cotton thread, rice, vermilion and turmeric
  • A lamp, and sugarcane, groundnuts and fruit for the prasad

Across India

Maharashtra

The wedding is held mostly by the women of the house. A white cloth is held between the bride and groom while the Mangalashtak is sung; then it is drawn away, the couple are showered with rice and vermilion, and everyone claps.

Saurashtra, Gujarat

Temples marry Tulsi with a procession: the groom’s temple carries Lalji, an image of Lord Vishnu, in a palanquin to the bride’s temple, and couples hoping for a child give the bride away.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Here it is Tulasi Kalyanam, held on Ksheerabdi Dwadashi. A branch of the amla tree, standing for Lord Vishnu, is set in the tulsi platform beside the plant, and the two are worshipped together.

Goa

The tulsi vrindavan is painted for the day, and in the evening of Dwadashi it is decked with sugarcane, tamarind and amla, the members of the wedding party. A priest or the women of the house lead the rite, and a vegetarian feast follows.

Saunja, Bihar

The whole village keeps a three-day festival from Ekadashi to Trayodashi, with readings of the Ramayana, a procession and, on the last day, the wedding, followed by a feast of fifty-six dishes, the Chhappan Bhog.

When it falls

Shukla Dwadashi of Kartika. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Tulsi Vivah in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2026Saturday 21 November 2026
  2. 2027Thursday 11 November 2027
  3. 2028Sunday 29 October 2028

Questions

When is Tulsi Vivah in 2026?

Saturday 21 November 2026, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Tulsi Vivah fall?

Shukla Dwadashi of Kartika. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Tulsi Vivah kept?

Families dress the tulsi as a bride under a canopy of sugarcane, hold the wedding with a shaligram or an image of Lord Krishna and share the prasad and sing wedding songs. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Tulsi Vivah?

Vishnu and Tulsi. The wedding of the tulsi plant to Lord Vishnu, as a shaligram or an image of Lord Krishna, the day after Dev Uthani Ekadashi; many families hold it on the Ekadashi evening itself. It opens the wedding season.

What is Tulsi Vivah?

It is the ceremonial wedding of the tulsi plant to Lord Vishnu, in the form of a shaligram stone or an image of Lord Krishna, held in Kartika just after he wakes from his four months of sleep. The plant is dressed as a bride and married with the rites of a Hindu wedding, and the festival opens the season of weddings.

Can Tulsi Vivah be done at home?

Yes. Most Tulsi Vivahs are held at home, round the family’s own tulsi plant, in the evening. You need a tulsi plant, a shaligram or a small image of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna, a few things to dress the bride, and sugarcane for the canopy. No priest is needed, though some families call one.

Is Tulsi Vivah held on Ekadashi or Dwadashi?

Both, by family custom. Many marry Tulsi on the evening of Dev Uthani Ekadashi itself, many others on Dwadashi, the next day, and some on any evening up to Kartik Purnima. In 2026, for example, Ekadashi is on Friday 20 November and Dwadashi on Saturday 21 November.

Why is Tulsi married to a shaligram?

The shaligram is a sacred stone worshipped as Lord Vishnu. In the story of Vrinda, it was her curse that turned Vishnu into stone, and he promised to marry her when she was born again as Tulsi. Marrying the plant to the shaligram keeps that promise every year.

Why does the wedding season start after Tulsi Vivah?

Weddings are not held while Lord Vishnu sleeps, through the four months of Chaturmas. Once he wakes on Dev Uthani Ekadashi, his own wedding to Tulsi is the first of the season, and the weddings of families can follow.

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