Tulasi, Tulasī: 30 definitions
Introduction:
Tulasi means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit, Hindi, biology. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Tulsi.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Rasashastra (Alchemy and Herbo-Mineral preparations)
Tulasī (तुलसी):—One of the sixty-eight Rasauṣadhi, very powerful drugs known to be useful in alchemical processes related to mercury (rasa), according to Rasaprakāśa-sudhākara (chapter 9).
Kalpa (Formulas, Drug prescriptions and other Medicinal preparations)
Tulasī (तुलसी) or Tulasīkalpa refers to Kalpa (medicinal preparation) described in the Auṣadhikalpa, as mentioned in A. Rahman’s Science and Technology in Medievel India: A bibliography of source materials in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian.—Ancient and medieval India produced a wide range of scientific manuscripts and major contributions lie in the field of medicine, astronomy and mathematics, besides covering encyclopedic glossaries and technical dictionaries.—The Auṣadhikalpa is a medical work of the type of Materia Medica giving twenty-six medical preparations [e.g., Tulasī-kalpa] to be used as patent medicines against various diseases.
Tulasī (तुलसी) [or Tuḷasī] refers to the medicinal plant known as “Ocimum tenuiflorum Linn.” and is dealt with in the 15th-century Yogasārasaṅgraha (Yogasara-saṅgraha) by Vāsudeva: an unpublished Keralite work representing an Ayurvedic compendium of medicinal recipes. The Yogasārasaṃgraha [mentioning tulasī] deals with entire recipes in the route of administration, and thus deals with the knowledge of pharmacy (bhaiṣajya-kalpanā) which is a branch of pharmacology (dravyaguṇa).
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Tulasī (तुलसी) is a Sanskrit word referring to Ocimum tenuiflorum (holy basil), from the Lamiaceae family. It is classified as a medicinal plant in the system of Āyurveda (science of Indian medicine) and is used throughout literature such as the Suśrutasaṃhita and the Carakasaṃhitā. It is a softly pubescent undershrub growing 30-60 centimeters in height. It grows throughout India. It has simple, opposite, elliptic, oblong, obtuse or acute leaves. The flowers are purplish in elongate recemes and grow in close whorls. The stamens are exserted and the fruits are nutlets.
According to the Rājanighaṇṭu (verse 10.148-149), Holy basil (tulasī) has the following synonyms: Surasā, Surabhi, Subhagā, Sugandhā, Suradundubhi, Surejyā, Viṣṇuvallabhā, Vaiṣṇavī, Haripriyā, Pretarākṣasī, Apetarākṣasī, Amṛtā, Devadundhubhi, Puṇyā, Pavitrā, Pāvanī, Pūtapattrī, Bahupattrī, Bhūtakeśī, Tīvrā, Bhūtaghnī, Garaghna, Kaṭhillaka, Kaṭhiñjara, Kāyasthā, Bhāravi, Tridaśamañjarī, Mañjarī and Gaurī.
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Tulasī (तुलसी).—(Holy Basil plant. General information. Tulasī is a plant held most sacred by the Hindus. There is a Purāṇic background for Tulasī attaining this spiritualistic importance. In fact it is Mahālakṣmī, wife of Viṣṇu, who had herself taken the form of Tulasī. There is a story about it in Devi Bhāgavata. (See full article at Story of Tulasī from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
1) Tulasī (तुलसी) refers to the “holy basil” plant, the leaves (patra) of which are used in the worship of Śiva, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.1.13:—“[...] then the Ācamana shall be offered and cloth dedicated. Gingelly seeds, barley grains, wheat, green gram or black gram shall then be offered to Śiva with various mantras. Then flowers shall be offered to the five-faced noble soul. Lotuses, rose, Śaṅkha, and Kuśa flowers, Dhattūras, Mandāras grown in a wooden vessel, holy basil leaves (tulasī-patra) or Bilva leaves shall be offered to each of the faces in accordance with the previous meditation or according to one’s wish. By all means Śiva favourably disposed to His devotees shall be worshipped with great devotion. If other flowers are not available, Bilva leaves shall be used exclusively in the worship of Śiva”.
2) Tulasī (तुलसी) or “holy basil” is said to be born of Gaurī—the Śakti of Śiva, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.26 (“The Vanishing of Viṣṇu’s delusion”).—Accordingly, “[As the gods sowed those seeds in the ground where the pyre of Vṛndā had been lit]: O sage, they stayed there thinking these as parts of Śiva’s Śakti. Out of the seeds sown, O great sage, three plants shot up—the Myrobalan, the Jasmine and the holy basil. The Myrobalan is born of the creator’s Śakti, the jasmine of Lakṣmī and holy basil (tulasī) of Gaurī, born of the attributes Tamas, Sattva and Rajas. [dhātryudbhavā smṛtā dhātrī mābhavā mālatī smṛtā | gaurībhavā ca tulasī tamassattvarajoguṇāḥ] [...]”;
3) Tulasī (तुलसी) refers to one of the sixteen celestial ladies (Divyanārī), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.50 (“Description of fun and frolic”).—Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada: “[...] Then the sixteen celestial ladies arrived there and saw the couple [i.e., Śiva and Pārvatī] with great respect. They were Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, Sāvitrī, Jāhnavī, Aditi, Śacī, Lopāmudrā, Arundhatī, Ahalyā, Tulasī, Svāhā, Rohiṇī, Vasundharā, Śatarūpā, Saṃjñā and Rati. There were several virgins of the gods, Nāgas, and the sages. They were charming and attractive. Who can enumerate them? [...]”.
4) Tulasī (तुलसी) is the daughter of Dharmadhvaja and married Śaṅkhacūḍa, the son of Dambha (grandson of sage Kaśyapa and Danu), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.28 (“The penance and marriage of Śaṅkhacūḍa”).—Accordingly, [After Śaṅkhacūḍa received the divine amulet of Śrīkṛṣṇa]: “Brahmā said to him: ‘You now go to Badari. There you marry Tulasī who is performing penance just at her own will. She is the daughter of Dharmadhvaja’. Brahmā instructed him thus and vanished even as he was watching him. Then Śaṅkhacūḍa whose penance had been fruitful in the holy centre of Puṣkara tied the most auspicious amulet round his neck”.
Tulasī (तुलसी).—Sacred to Hari;1 on the chest of Viṣṇu.2
- 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa I. 19. 6; V. 3. 6; X. 30. 7; XI. 30. 41.
- 2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 9. 80-2; 17. 74.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Tulasī (तुलसी) refers to:—A sacred plant whose leaves and blossoms are used by Vaiṣṇavas in the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; the wood is also used for chanting beads and neck beads. (cf. Glossary page from Bhajana-Rahasya).
Tulasī (तुलसी) refers to a “sacred plant” (whose leaves and blossoms are used by Vaiṣṇavas in the worship of Śrī kṛṣṇa), according to the Arcana-dīpikā (manual on deity worship).—Accordingly, while explaining the rules for picking flowers and Tulasī leaves:—Pay obeisances to Śrī Bhagavān, beg for His mercy, and pick flowers and tulasī according to the proper rules. It is prohibited to collect tulasī leaves without having bathed. Pick tulasī only after taking morning bath. One can pick flowers before bathing, as there is no prohibition regarding picking flowers before one’s bath. If one is unable to take bath, one should put on fresh cloth, bathe by meditation (mantra-snāna), and then, with pure consciousness, pick flowers and tulasī leaves.
Special considerations for tulasī:—After bathing and performing āhnika (the chanting of the dīkṣā-mantras), bathe tulasī [by pouring water on her soil], while chanting her bathing mantra. Then offer her praṇāma while chanting her praṇāma-mantra. Then, while chanting the mantra for picking tulasī (cayana-mantra), pick the leaf that is joined with the stem, or else pick soft mañjarīs (flower buds) that are joined with the leaves and stem. each leaf is to be picked with the right hand, individually and very carefully, so that tulasī-devī will not experience any kind of pain. After picking her leaves, recite the prayers begging for forgiveness (aparādha-kṣamāprārthanā-mantra), for having caused her any pain. [...] For others (non-Vaiṣṇavas), picking tulasī is prohibited on certain days. For pure Vaiṣṇavas though, picking tulasī is only prohibited on the day of dvādaśī. one may use unoffered tulasī leaves from the previous day or dried tulasī leaves picked many days before. One should not put tulasī on the feet of śrī gurudeva.
Moreover, while picking tulasī, do not pick with the pointer finger and do not use your fingernails. One should pick tulasī leaves with the sole intention of using them in the service of Bhagavān, nothing else. One should not pick flowers or tulasī once the sun has started to set.
Tulasī (तुलसी) refers to:—A sacred plant most dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose leaves and blossoms are used by Vaiṣṇavas in the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; tulasī wood is also used for chanting beads and neck beads (tulasī-mālā). (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
1) Tulasī (तुलसी) refers to the “basil plant” which is very sacred, according to the sixth chapter of the Agastyasaṃhitā (agastya-suīkṣṇa-saṃvāda edition), an ancient Pāñcarātra Āgama text dealing with the worship of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān.—Description of the chapter [tulasīmāhātmya]: Agastya says that the best of all flowers and leaves is tulasī because once Tulasī did penance and received as reward Janārdana (i.e., Nārāyaṇa) for her husband; just as Sītā is the beloved of Rāma so is tulasī holiest to Him (Rāma). Whoever worships Rāma daily with tulasī leaf—no matter what his āśrama—goes to Brahman. Various ways of worshipping Rāma with tulasī leaf are then outlined, and their respective rewards [phala] are mentioned. Wherever tulasī plants grow along with other flowers, there Rāma and Sītā are believed to be present; those who grow these plants in their gardens will win immortality by this act alone. [...]
2) Tulasī (तुलसी) is used in the worship of the Lord, as discussed in chapter 10 of the Bhāradvājasaṃhitā or “Bhāradvāja-kaṇva-saṃhitā”: a Pāñcarātra text comprising some 230 ślokas mainly concerned with basic details concerning temple construction and icon consecration.—Description of chapter [śatasahasra-tulasīkalpa]: Kaṇva asks Bharadvāja to tell him about tulasīpūjā. The following steps are mentioned: prāṇāyāma, puṇyāha, gathering the five or four or six bathing vessels, placing them on a bed of grains, putting mango-tree sprouts in the water of the vessels, re-bathing the participating priests and bathing the Lord to the accompaniment of mantras. When this is done, new clothes are given to the Lord and He is honoured by repetition of His Thousand Names along with tulasī-offerings. [...]
Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.
India history and geography
Tulasi or Tulashishta is one of the exogamous septs (divisions) among the Komatis (a trading caste of the Madras Presidency). Tulasi refers to the plant Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum). The Komatis are said to have originally lived, and still live in large numbers on the banks of the Godavari river. One of the local names thereof is Gomati or Gomti, and the Sanskrit Gomati would, in Telugu, become corrupted into Komati. The sub-divisions are split up into septs (viz., Tulasi), which are of a strictly exogamous character.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Biology (plants and animals)
1) Tulasi in India is the name of a plant defined with Ocimum americanum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Ocimum canum var. integrifolium Engl. (among others).
2) Tulasi is also identified with Ocimum basilicum It has the synonym Plectranthus barrelieri (Roth) Spreng. (etc.).
3) Tulasi is also identified with Ocimum gratissimum.
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Beskr. Guin. Pl. (1827)
· Amoenitates academicae (1755)
· Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences (1985)
· Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis (DC.) (1848)
· Thaiszia (1997)
· Journal of the Indian Botanical Society (1986)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Tulasi, for example pregnancy safety, extract dosage, health benefits, chemical composition, diet and recipes, side effects, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
tulasī : (f.) the basil plant.
Tulasi, (Derivation unknown) basil (common or sweet) J. V, 46 (°gahana a thicket of b.; v. l. tūlasi); VI, 536 (tuḷasi=tuḷasigaccha). (Page 305)
1) tulasi (တုလသိ) [(pu,thī) (ပု၊ထီ)]—
[tula+si+(i)ī]
[တုလ+သိ+(ဣ)ဤ]
2) tulasī (တုလသီ) [(pu,thī) (ပု၊ထီ)]—
[tula+si+(i)ī]
[တုလ+သိ+(ဣ)ဤ]
[Pali to Burmese]
1) tulasi—
(Burmese text): (၁) တောရှုံးပင်၊ တောပင်စိမ်းပင်၊ ရှုံးရိုင်းပင်၊ ပင်စိမ်းရိုင်းပင်။ (၂) မြက်နံ့သာပင်၊ မြက်မွှေးပင်။ (၃) သရက်သမွန်ပင်။
(Auto-Translation): (1) Lost forest, green forest, wild fruit, wild green. (2) Grass scent, fragrant grass. (3) Coconut tree.
2) tulasī—
(Burmese text): (၁) တောရှုံးပင်၊ တောပင်စိမ်းပင်၊ ရှုံးရိုင်းပင်၊ ပင်စိမ်းရိုင်းပင်။ (၂) မြက်နံ့သာပင်၊ မြက်မွှေးပင်။ (၃) သရက်သမွန်ပင်။
(Auto-Translation): (1) Forest loss, green forests, wild shrubs, wild green shrubs. (2) Grass fragrance, grass scent. (3) Coconut trees.
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Marathi-English dictionary
tulasī (तुलसी).—f (S) A shrub venerated by the Hindus, Holy basil, Ocymum sanctum. It is fabled to be a female metamorphosed; but there are numerous accounts. Some compounds are tulasīpūjā, tula- sīmañjarī, tulasīmālā, tulasīvana, tulasīhāra; and for phrases see tuḷasa.
tulasī (तुलसी).—See tuḷasa.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Tulasi (तुलसि).—(Metrically for tulasī),
-tulasikā See तुलसी (tulasī); वाचश्च नस्तुलसिवद्यदि तेऽङ्घ्रिशोभाः (vācaśca nastulasivadyadi te'ṅghriśobhāḥ) Bhāgavata 3.15.49; तुलसिका- दूर्वाङ्कुरैरपि (tulasikā- dūrvāṅkurairapi)... परितुष्यसि (parituṣyasi) 5.3.6.
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Tulasī (तुलसी).—[tulāṃ sādṛśyaṃ syati, so-ka gaurā° ṅīp śaṃkadhvā. Tv.] The holy basil held in veneration by the Hindus, especially by the worshippers of Visnu.
Tulasī (तुलसी).—f. (-sī) A small shrub held in veneration by the Hindus, Tulasi or holy basil, (Ocymum sanctum.) E. tulā resemblance, and ṣo to destroy, affixes ṅa and ṅīp; being unparalleled: this plant is said to be a female metamorphosed. tulāṃ sādṛśyaṃ syati so-ka gaurā0 ṅīṣ .
1) Tulasi (तुलसि):—metrically for sī, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa iii, 15, 49.]
2) Tulasī (तुलसी):—[from tulasi] f. holy basil (small shrub venerated by Vaiṣṇavas; commonly Tulsī), [Bhāgavata-purāṇa; Vāyu-purāṇa] and, [Padma-purāṇa] (produced from the ocean when churned), [Brahma-purāṇa] (produced from the hair of the goddess Tulasī, [ii, 19].)
Tulasī (तुलसी):—(sī) 3. f. Holy basil (Ocymum sanctum).
Tulasī (तुलसी):—f. Basilienkraut, dessen verschiedene Arten in Indien vielfach angepflanzt und gebraucht werden; bei den Anhängern des Viṣṇu wird die Pflanze als heilig verehrt. [Ratnamālā 109.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 1, 19, 6. 2, 3, 23. 3, 15, 22. 43. 21, 20. 4, 8, 55. 9, 4, 19.] [Vāyupurāṇa] in [Viṣṇupurāṇa 78,] [Nalopākhyāna] [PADMA-Pāṇini’s acht Bücher] in [Oxforder] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 16.] [BRAHMAVAIV.] [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher ebend. 23. fg. 26.] Der Ursprung der Pflanzezurückgeführt auf die Haare einer gleichnamigen Göttin 24, a; vgl. 23, a, 32. b, [15.] [WOLLH. Myth. 167. fgg.] tulasivat adv. [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 3, 15, 49.] — Vgl. kṣudra .
Tulasi (तुलसि):—(mertrisch) , kā und tulasī f. Basilienkraut. sīmāhātmya n. [Private libraries (Gustav) 1.]
Tulasī (तुलसी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Tulasī.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Tulasī (तुलसी) [Also spelled tulsi]:—(nf) the holy basil plant —Ocymum sanctum; —[dala/patra] a basil leaf; —[vana] a basil grove.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
Tulasī (तुलसी) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Tulasī.
Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.
Kannada-English dictionary
Tulasi (ತುಲಸಿ):—[noun] any of a genus (Ocimum) of fragrant plants of the mint family, esp. a white-flowered garden herb (Ocimum sanctum which is religiously regarded as a goddess).
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Tuḷasi (ತುಳಸಿ):—[noun] any of a genus (Ocimum) of fragrant plants of the mint family, esp. a white-flowered garden herb, Ocimum sanctum, which is religiously regarded as a goddess.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Tulasī (तुलसी):—n. Bot. basil plant;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Ci, Shi, Tula.
Starts with (+12): Tulasi patta, Tulasi-paate, Tulasi-pate, Tulasia, Tulasicandrika, Tulasidamabhushana, Tulasidanapaddhati, Tulasidasa, Tulasidharana, Tulasidvadashi, Tulasidvesha, Tulasigaccha, Tulasigahana, Tulasikalpa, Tulasikashtha, Tulasikatte, Tulasimahatmya, Tulasimala, Tulasimale, Tulasimani.
Full-text (+396): Tulasivrindavana, Tulasivivaha, Ramatulasi, Tulasidvesha, Kshudratulasi, Tulasipatra, Tulasimanjari, Tulasipattra, Nayitulasi, Aranyatulasi, Kathinjara, Krishnatulasi, Vyasatulasi, Tulasimala, Tulasipuja, Tulasimale, Tulasika, Tulasimani, Vanala, Tulasikalpa.
Relevant text
Search found 134 books and stories containing Tulasi, Tula-si-, Tula-si-, Tulasī, Tuḷasī, Tuḷasi; (plurals include: Tulasis, s, Tulasīs, Tuḷasīs, Tuḷasis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 2.16.18 < [Chapter 16 - The Worship of Tulasī]
Verse 2.16.37 < [Chapter 16 - The Worship of Tulasī]
Verses 2.16.21-25 < [Chapter 16 - The Worship of Tulasī]
108 Tirupathi Anthathi (English translation) (by Sri Varadachari Sadagopan)
Verse 20: Thirunariyur (or, Nachiyar Kovil Divya Desam)
Verse 67: Thiruvanvandoor (Divya Desam)
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 1.2.205 < [Part 2 - Devotional Service in Practice (sādhana-bhakti)]
Verse 2.1.381 < [Part 1 - Ecstatic Excitants (vibhāva)]
Verse 3.1.23 < [Part 1 - Neutral Love of God (śānta-rasa)]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
International Ayurvedic Medical Journal
Management of chronic sinusitis through alternate rechana and snehana nasya - report from a pilot study < [2021, Issue 11, November]
Tulasi arka nebulization – an instant management in vegavasta of tamaka swasa < [2017, Issue IX, September]
The efficacy of “tulsi patra siddha tail” nasya on “pratishyaya” < [2017, Issue VI June]
Mahabhagavata Purana (translation and study) (by Prabir Kumar Nanda Goswami)