Tulasi Frees From Bad Karma – Hari-bhakti-vilasa 4

Step into the world of divine grace as we unravel the mystical significance of Tulasi worship from ancient scriptures. It is declared that offering Lord Hari thousands of blue lotus flowers for a hundred years three times a day doesn’t match the merit gained by worshiping Him once with a single tulasi leaf. The Hari-bhakti-vilasa underscores the profound relief from accumulated sins through worshiping Krishna with tulasi leaves. See how the simple act of offering tulasi leaves can transform lives, ensuring divine protection and liberation from the shackles of karma.

7.287-289
agastya saṁhitāyām 
In the Agastya-samhita it is stated

nīlotpala sahasreṇa
trisandhyaṁ yor’ccayeddharim
phalaṁ varṣaśate nāpi
tadīyaṁ naiva labhyate

vidvan sarvveṣu puṣpeṣu
paṅkajaṁ śreṣṭham ucyate
tatpuṣpeṣvapi tanmālyaṁ
koṭi koṭi guṇaṁ bhavet

viṣnoh śirasi vinyastam
ekaṁ śri tulasīdalam
ananta phaladaṁ vidvan
mantroccāraṇa pūrvvakam

One who worships Lord Hari three times every day with offerings of thousands of blue lotus flowers for one hundred years cannot obtain as much merit as can be achieved by worshipping the Lord with tulasi leaves.O learned one, among all flowers, the lotus flower is the best. A garland of tulasi leaves is millions of times better than a garland of lotus flowers. By offering a single tulasi leaf on the head of Lord Vishnu while chanting an appropriate mantra, one achieves unlimited piety

7.290
kiñca
It is also stated

varṇāśrama itarāṇāñca
pūjāyāścaiva sādhanam
apekṣita arthadaṁ nānyat
jagatyasti tapodhana

O great ascetic, for the members of all varnas and asramas, there is no other offering in the worship of the Lord that yields as much merit as the offering of tulasi leaves.

7.291
etaeva nāradiye
Therefore, in the Narada Purana it is stated

varjjyaṁ paryyuṣitam puṣpaṁ
varjjayaṁ paryyuṣitaṁ phalam
na varjjayaṁ tulasīpatraṁ
na varjjayaṁ jāhnavī-jalam

Old flowers and fruit should be rejected in the worship of the Lord, but old tulasi leaves and Ganges water should never be rejected.

7.292
atha śrī bhagavadarpaṇe pāpahāritvam
Tulasi destroys one’s sinful reactions when offered to the Lord

pādme
In the Padma Purana it is stated

śrī mat tulasya arccayate-sakṛd hariṁ
patraiḥ sugandhair vimalair akhaṇḍitaiḥ
yas tasya pāpaṁ paṭa saṁsthitaṁ prabhu
nirikṣayitā mṛjate svayaṁ yamaḥ

Yamaraja, the lord of sinful people, personally searches for and then forgives the reactions of sinful activities performed knowingly or unknowingly of a person who, even once, worships Lord Hari by offering Him fragrant, clean, untorn tulasi leaves.

7.293
skānde 
In the Skanda Purana it is stated

tulasī dala lakṣeṇa
yor’ccayed dvārakā priyam
janmāyuta sahasrāṇāṁ
pāpasya kurute kṣayam

One who worships the Lord of Dvaraka with one hundred thousand tulasi leaves becomes relieved of all the sinful reactions that were accumulated during millions of previous lives.

7.294-295
brāhme
In the Brahma Purana it is stated

liṅgaṁ abhyarccitaṁ dṛṣṭvā
pratimāṁ keśavasya ca
tulasī patra nikarair
mucyate brahmahatyayā

nityam bhyarccayed yo vai
tulasyā harim īśvaram
mahāpāpāni naśyanti
kiṁ punaśca upapātakam

Simply by observing the worship of the Deity of Lord Ksśava with tulasi leaves, a person becomes freed from the reactions to the sin of killing a brahmana. What then can be said of the lesser sins committed by a person who worships the Supreme Lord, Hari, with tulasi leaves? Indeed, all of his sinful reactions are nullified.

7.296-297
anyatra ca 
Elsewhere it is stated

grhyāni yāni pāpāni
anākhyeyāni mānavaiḥ
nāśayettāni tulasī
dattā mādhava mūrddhani

harer gṛhaṁ yadā yastu
tulasī dala vipruṣaiḥ
trisandhyaṁ prokṣayed bhaktyā
mahāpāpaiḥ pramucyate

Tulasi leaves offered on the head of Lord Madhava completely destroy all the reactions to one’s contemptible sinful activities. A person who devotedly cleanses the temple of Lord Hari three times a day by sprinkling water mixed with tulasi leaves is freed from the sinful reaction of all kinds of grave sins.

7.298
etaeva skānde avantīkhaṇḍe
In the Avanti Khanda of the Skanda Purana it is stated

kim kariṣyati saṁruṣṭo
yamo’pi saha kiṅkaraiḥ
tulasī dalena deveśaḥ
pūjito yena duḥkhahā

Even if they are enraged, Yamaraja and his followers cannot harm a person who worships Lord Hari, the destroyer of His devotees’ distress, with tulasi leaves.

7.299
agastya saṁhitāyāñca 
In the Agastya-samhita it is stated

na tasya naraka kleśo
yoarccayet tulasīdalaiḥ
pāpiṣṭho vāpya pāpiṣṭhaḥ
satyaṁ satyaṁ na saṁśaya

There is no doubt that if a person, whether sinful or pious, worships Lord Visnu with tulasi leaves–he will not have to suffer the pangs of hellish torments. I promise you this.

We welcome you to read our other articles on Tulasi Devi as found in sastra, including more from the hari-bhakti-vilasa.

Bibliography

• Gosvami, Sanatana. Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa Volume Two, Vilasas 6-10 (Bhumipati Dasa trans.) Vrindavan: Rasbihari Lal & Sons, 2005. Print.