#Religious Significance and #Medicinal value of #Tulsi

 

 

One of the most auspicious plants in a Hindu home is the Tulsi plant, which is worshipped as a Goddess, an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. People plant the Tulsi in a special pot called the Tulsi Madom which has carvings of Goddess Lakshmi among others on its four sides. There is a space on this pot dedicated to the placing of a lighted diya or lamp. One has to water and care for the Tulsi plant daily and the leaves are used for the worship of Lord Mahavishnu. They are generally woven into a garland to adorn Sri Krishna or Sri Rama. In fact, a Tulsi leaf is generally used for offering Neivedyam to Gods and Goddesses during worship. There are two types of Tulsi which are worshipped by the Hindus. They are the Rama Tulasi which has a light green stem and the Krishna Tulsi or Shyam Tulsi which has a dark stem. Vrindavan, the forest of Tulsi, is completely under the protection of Devi Vrinda. She is the one who arranges everything for the divine couple Sri Krishna and Radha Rani. Entry into Vrindavan is only possible with her blessing.  The Tulsi is said to connect the devotee with the Lord and lead him on the path of bhakti..

The legend goes that Brinda (Vrinda) was the pious wife of the Asura King, Jalandhara. She was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. Due to her continuous worship of the Lord, Jalandhara gained in strength and became almost invincible. None of the Devas could defeat him as Vrinda had undertaken vows for his victory. The Devas prayed to Lord Shiva to fight and vanquish Jalandhara. But it was difficult for even Lord Shiva to defeat him as Vrinda’s devotion and worship proved to be the protective shield for the Asura King.

Jalandhara was becoming more and more proud of his prowess and the prolonged battle worried Mata Parvati. She knew that the power of Jalandhara was in his wife’s virtuous love for her husband and her devotion to Lord Vishnu. The Devas therefore approached Mahavishnu for help. The Lord, though not happy about deceiving his beloved devotee, had to take the decision to come to Vrinda in the guise of her husband. Believing the Lord to be her husband Jalandhara, she left her worship and touched the feet of Mahavishnu reverently. Her one minute of distraction was enough to make Jalandhara weak and Lord Shiva could vanquish him. When Vrinda came to know of her husband’s death and the cause of it being her beloved God, she was saddened and furious. She cursed Mahavishnu to become a stone for being stonehearted towards her devotion. She also cursed the Lord to be separated from his wife which happened in the Rama avatar, when Rama and Sita were separated. The Lord accepted her curse and turned into a black Shaligrama stone. He also blessed his devotee to become a Tulsi plant and promised to marry her on the Prabhodini Ekadashi day, and that’s the reason for the Tulsi-Shaligrama vivah being performed with great devotion every year on that day.

 Apart from the religious significance of the Tulsi, the medicinal properties of this plant are well documented in the Ayurveda. Also known as the Holy Basil, the Tulsi leaves are an important ingredient in almost all ayrvedic medicines for cough, cold, headache and other ailments. The plant of the family Lamiaceae is widely found in India and some other South East Asian countries.

It is a rich source of Vitamin C and Zinc. Hence it is an immunity booster. It has anti bacterial, anti viral and anti fungal properties, thereby helping the body to fight against infections. The juice of Tulsi mixed with ginger and honey is very effective in reducing cough and cold, influenza, bronchitis and asthma. It has anti inflammatory properties which reduce inflammation and blood pressure. It is good for heart patients as well as for reducing sugar levels in diabetic patients. The Tulsi is also useful in treating gastrointestinal disorders, Gout and Kidney stones. Apart from all this it is said to improve the skin texture and prevent premature ageing because it is rich in antioxidants.

#Tulsi #HolyBasil #Medicinal #Religious #plant #antioxidant #Antiinflammatory #immunitybooster #Vrinda #SriKrishna #Vrindavan #Shaligrama #TulsiVivah

How Lord #Ganesha hoodwinks the mighty #Ravana #ChildrensStories

 

Ravana was the mighty king of Lanka. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Once his mother wanted him to pray to Mahadev and procure the Atmalingam for worship in Lanka.

Ravana at once set out to Kailas. He prayed fervently and performed great penance. Lord Shiva was very pleased with his devotion. He appeared before him to bless him and grant him a boon.

Ravana said, “Mahadev, please give me the Atmalingam to take with me to Lanka.”

Shiva was taken aback, but since he was pleased with his devotee and had promised to grant him a boon, he said, “Ravana, I will give you the Atmalingam on one condition. You have to walk your way to Lanka and not place the Lingam on the ground even for a few seconds on the ground. If, by any chance, you do keep it down anywhere on the way, the Atmalingam will get rooted to the earth there.”

Ravana agreed to the condition. He was quite confident that he could carry the lingam all the way to Lanka.

He accepted the Atmalingam from Mahadev and walked away. Seeing the mighty Lankesh with the powerful Atmalingam held close to his chest, the Devas were scared. They knew that if Ravana succeeded in his mission of installing the Atmalingam in Lanka, he would become almost invincible.

They rushed to Mahavishnu praying for a solution. Mahavishnu knew that only the wise Lord Ganapati was capable of handling this situation. He accompanied the Devas and narrated the sequence of events. He and the Devas then humbly requested Lord Ganesha to find a solution.

Ganesha thought for a moment. He said, “Don’t worry. I know the importance and power of the Atmalingam. And also I know that the mighty King of Lanka can misuse its power. So I will find a way to prevent him from taking the lingam to Lanka.”

The Devas were relieved. Lord Ganesha took the form of a Brahmin boy and appeared on the shore of the sea with a few cows. As per their plan, Mahavishnu shut the rays of the sun with his Sudharshana Chakra to make it seen as though it was sunset.

Now, Ravana was a devout Brahmin and would not skip his prayer rituals at any cost. Thinking that the sun had almost set, Ravana arrived at the sea shore wanting to perform his Sandhyavandhanam. He could not do sandhyavandhanam with the Atmalingam in his hands. And he could not place it on the floor too.

He was in a dilemma. At that moment he saw the Brahmin boy with his cows. Thanking his stars, he approached the boy and requested him to hold the lingam for a few minutes while Ravana performed his ritual.

The boy agreed but said, “Oh Mighty King, I will hold the lingam in my hands for a little while, but as you can see, I am a little boy. If I feel its weight to be too much for me to hold, I will call you three times. You have to come immediately and take it from me. Otherwise I will keep it down.

Ravana agreed. As soon as he went into the sea to bathe and perform Sandhyavandhanam, the Brahmin boy, who was actually Ganesha in disguise, called out his name thrice in quick succession. Before Ravana could come out of the water and reach him, he had already placed the Shivalingam down.

Ravana was furious. He tried to lift it from the ground but it did not move. He turned angrily towards the boy but the boy had already vanished taking the cows along with him. Just then, Mahavishnu removed the Sudarshana Chakra and the sun's rays fell again on earth. Ravana understood that he had been tricked. Deeply aggrieved, he tried his best to lift the Atmalingam, but he failed miserably. In frustration, he threw the pieces of outer covering in three different places. The lingam was now in the shape of the ear of a cow. 

Realising that his efforts were futile, Ravana prayed to Lord Shiva and named the Atmalingam as Mahabaleshwara , the all powerful God. He then proceeded to his kingdom. The Devas were all in praise for Lord Ganesha, who had wisely hoodwinked the mighty King of Lanka, Ravana.

Even today, the Atmalingam is worshipped as Mahabaleshwara at Gokarna in Karnataka. Gokarna incidently means the ear of the cow.

The pieces of the covering of the Atmalingam which were flung away by Ravana in fury turned into Lingams instantaneously and are worshipped as  Dhareshwara, Gunavanteshwara, Murdeshwara and Shejjeshwara. These five holy places are together called the Pancha Kshetra.