In India, Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is grown in every home. Locally known as tulasi, its numerous medicinal benefits are well known to its people. In fact this plant is revered in India as a sacred plant – holy basil and worshipped everyday in a form of a goddess. There are many stories in Puranas narrating how a humble wild herb turned into a goddess.

The Curse

Saraswati, Ganga and Lakshmi were wives of Lord Mahavishnu. The Lord loved all three wives equally, but each one of the wives wanted his undivided attention and love. Once all three of them along with Lord Vishnu were sitting together in the garden when Ganga lustfully glanced at Mahavishnu, which was immediately noticed by Saraswati and Lakshmi. Saraswati got angry and caught hold of Ganga by her hair, and dragged her to ground, and a catfight broke out between them. Seeing this Lakshmi intervened and caught hold of Saraswati preventing her from further assaulting Ganga. But Saraswati who was in a state of extreme anger poured her rage on Lakshmi by cursing her to be born as a plant on the earth. Ganga cursed Saraswati that she would be born as a river on the earth. Saraswati then cursed Ganga that she too would be born as a river on the earth. Once the whole drama settled down, Visnu called Lakshmi to his side and said, “ Oh Devi do not worry. Things have happened as predestined. You shall go to earth and take birth as the daughter of Dharmadhvaja. Your divine grace will transform you into a plant, sacred enough to make all three worlds pure by your presence and that plant will be known as ‘Tulasi’. A demon named Shankhachuda who shares part of my virile strength will marry you and I will retrieve you from him and thus you will be my wife once again”.

Birth of Tulasi

Dharmadhvaja and Kushadhvaja did penance and propitiated Mahalakshmi and persuaded her to be born in their homes as their daughter. Thus Kushdhvaja’s wife Malavati gave birth to a daughter and they named her Vedavati ( Sita), who later married Shree Ram.

Meantime Dharmadhvaja’s wife Madhavi delivered a pretty daughter, and they named her Tulasi meaning, the matchless one. But Tulasi after renouncing all worldly pleasures went off to Badrikashrama, praying for Mahavishnu to become her husband. Eventually, Brahma appeared before Tulasi and asked her the purpose of her penance, and she told him that she wants to marry only Mahavishnu and no one else. Brahma said “Devi, it is very difficult to marry Vishnu on this earthly plane or bhu-loka. Instead, why don’t you marry Sankhachuda as he is part of Vishnu himself? This Sankhachuda is none other than Sudama, a friend of Krishna. Once you are married to him, Vishnu will come seeking and marry you in the form of a Tulasi plant. Thus Tulasi will become the dearest plant for Vishnu, and you will be always be united with him in this bhu-loka”.

Marriage of Tulasi

Due to the curse of Radha, Sudama, the childhood friend of Krishna was born as the demon Shankhachuda. Sankhachuda did penance to propitiate Brahma, seeking Vishnu-Kavach. Brahma was pleased by Sankachuda’s penance and granted him the boon that death will touch him only when Vishnu -kavach is removed from his body, or his wife’s chastity is lost. Meanwhile, Tulasi met Sankhachuda as per Brahma’s advise and married him. Having acquired Tulasi in marriage, Sankhachuda became arrogant and started teasing Devas by boasting that he has the most prized woman in all three worlds – the most beautiful and chaste woman, his wife Tulasi. He also knew the boon he had received from Brahma had made him invincible. His arrogance caused innumerable troubles to the Devas, who then approached Mahavishnu. Mahavishnu sent Shiva to kill Shankhachuda. Shankhachuda took leave of Tulasi to fight with Shiva. As Tulasi was at home alone, Mahavishnu assumed the form of Shankhachuda and entered the home of Tulasi. As the dutiful wife Tulasi ‘entertained’ her husband. But soon realised the man in her bed is not her husband but an imposter. Thus Sankhachuda was defeated and killed in the war against Devas because Tulasi lost her chastity.

Tulasi cursed the imposter for defiling her. Mahavishnu assuming his real form told her “Oh Devi, don’t worry, you had prayed and asked me to be your husband on this bhu-loka. I will marry you in the form of a plant here on this earth and our marriage will be celebrated by all of mankind and thus your wish to be my wife will be fulfilled.” The body of Tulasi decayed and became the holy river Gandaki, and her hair became the Tulasi plant.

Alternate Myth

The demon Jalandhar was becoming more and more powerful day by day. He had already conquered Patal and Dharti and was gaining on the kingdom of Devas, i.e. Swarga. Gods began to panic as they knew Jalandhar was invincible and the defeat of gods was imminent. They approached Vishnu and pleaded with him to help the gods. Vishnu knew that Jalandhar ‘s power lay with his chaste wife Vrunda. Her chastity was his real strength. One day when Jalandhar was away in battle, Vishnu assumed the form of Jalandhar and entered Vrunda’s home. Not knowing the man is not her husband, she entertained him as the dutiful wife. But then Vishnu assumed his real form and Vrunda realised that she has been ‘defiled’. Meanwhile, as a result, Jalandhar lost the battle with the gods. Vrunda turned herself into the holy basil or Tulsi plant and she cursed Vishnu, and asked him to redeem herself from the blot of shame. Vishnu accepted her plea and told Vrunda that he would marry her. Following that promise, Vishnu/Krishna comes to marry Vrunda every year under the bright moon of 12th day, in the month of Karttika according to the Hindu calendar.

Ritual

Skanda Purana describes the festival dedicated to Krishna from the 9th to 12th bright Karttika month, culminating in the marriage of Krishna /Vishnu with Tulsi Plant.

‘A gold idol of Vishnu is brought home accompanied by musical instruments and the chanting of Vedic mantras. Tulsi plant and idol of Vishnu are then joined in wedlock during the dusk strictly following all the wedding rites which include, kanyadana, saptapadi, hastagrahan, lajjahome etc’.

Story collected by : Vidya Kamat

Source: Bhartiya Sanskruti Vishva kosh Ed By Lakshmanshastri Joshi

Location : Pan India

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

In many folk traditions in India the first creator is always the Mother- nature.

The following tale is collected from the Nukulamma temple of Ankapalle town of Vishakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh. This tale presents ‘Para Shakti’ or the supreme feminine power as the first creator of this universe. To create the universe she laid three eggs. Two of them remained unhatched but the third one hatched and Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara ( Shiva) were born. Parashakti as a young devoted mother suckled and nourished them into strong healthy adolescents. When they came of age she gave them each their own cities to dwell and rule. Shiva was given the city of Devagiri to rule. But over a period of time all her three sons turned rogue and disobedient and disregarded her authority as their mother.

One day Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva gathered in Devagiri, enjoying their time together and as usual ignoring their mother. Parashakti decided to teach the boys a lesson. She transformed herself into a twelve hooded cobra and coiled around the city of Devagiri. A fierce battle broke between Parashakti and her three sons- Brahma , Vishnu and Shiva. Parashakti easily won the battle and she killed her sons by biting them on their heads. But, being the loving mother she was, she became very sad and unhappy, and she brought them back to life, whereupon Brahma Vishnu and Shiva admitted their wrong doings and surrendered themselves to her power and authority. She forgave them and established them as ‘Gods’ who would always look after the interests of mankind and take care of them.

Some Folk-myths try to remind the supreme position of the Mother Nature. Lest we forget.
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Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Textual Source: Shree Padma, Vicissitudes of the Goddess, OUP, New York, 2013
Location : Andhra Pradesh
Image Copyright : Vidya Kamat

In the kingdom of Gauda there lived two bachelor friends. One was a weaver and the other a mechanic, who designed chariots. Both were highly skilled in their professions and made a good amount of money through their work. Every day they would work till afternoon and by evening they would spend their time going out for night merry making, eating, drinking, and watching best of the dance performances in the town. They lived a very lavish life and everyone in town envied their lifestyle.

Once during a festival in town the two friends dressed in their finest clothes, wore an expensive perfume, put on their slick polished shoes, and went down to the town square bustling with people and fair festivities. Women and children jostled through the crowd peeping at the various curios and goods that were for sale. As the two friends lazily strolled through crowded square, the weaver happened to glance at the balconies where young daughters of rich and wealthy families stood watching the fanfare below. The weaver caught sight of a most beautiful girl standing along with her friends, and was mesmerised by her beauty.

The myth of Hayagriva- man with a horse neck (griva), is mentioned in Maitreyi Samhita ( 4.9.1). It explains why Lord Vishnu’s head had to be substituted with a horse head.

In the Vedas, Vishnu is the god of sacrifices and is identified as ‘yajna’. Once  Agni, Indra, Vayu, and Yajna ( Vishnu) decided to perform a sacrifice. Gods decided that whoever receives a sacrificial gift first will divide it equally among the rest of them. Yajna (Vishnu) received the gift first. But he got greedy and refused to share it with others and ran away from the sacrificial grounds. The other gods immediately chased him. But Yajna who was quick-footed outran the gods and disappeared in the wilderness. After a while when he noticed that gods were nowhere in sight, Yajna was tired and decided to take a quick nap. But he did not want to take any chances as gods would catch him anytime, so he planted one end of his arched bow on the ground rested his head on the other end, in readiness to shoot an arrow,  and dozed off.

Meanwhile, the gods after searching high and low finally found Yajna ( Vishnu) fast asleep with his head rested on his bow. They decided to cut his head off. But who would do the task?  They commanded the ants in the wilderness to come together and gnaw at the bowstring of Yagna’s bow. But the ants refused to oblige and the Gods made a deal that ants would from then on get a part of sacrificial oblation in the form of clarified butter (ghee). Tempted by the offer ants agreed and quickly gnawed off the string. Released from the tension of the bowstring the arched bow snapped and flung the head of Yajna/ Vishnu high into the air decapitating him. The head rose into the sky and turned into a bright golden ball of fire and became the Sun. The Gods then replaced the head of Vishnu with a horse head, and thus Hayagriva was born.

Most of the myths associate goddess Renuka, mother of Parshuram suggest her role as a fertility goddess and is often symbolized in the form of a pot or ghata. However, Mala and Madiga communities of South Andhra see goddess Renuka in a different light and identify a peculiar kind of mushroom as her symbol. Whenever these mushrooms erupt over the soil they take it as a sign of the arrival of goddess Renuka, and celebrate it by singing the praises of her as a warrior goddess. These songs are sung by professional singers of the pambalavandlu community.

Renuka was the daughter of a mountain king (Shiva) and his wife Jamilika ( Parvati). She was married to sage Jamadgni who was known for his short tempered nature. Together they had a son by the name of Parshuram. Once a group of rakshasas attacked the mountain king and he ran and hid in a cave refusing to come out. When Renuka came to know of this she went to her husband Jamadagni, balancing seven pots containing rice and water on her head, to ask his permission to enter into the battlefield to kill the rakshasa. But Vishnu wanted to test her devotion towards her husband. He along with Narada, approached her in the form of a beggar while she was on her way to meet Jamadagni and begged for alms. Taking pity on the hungry beggars Renuka shared some grain and water with them. When Jamadagni came to know that part of his food was first shared with strangers he burned with anger and ordered his son Parshurama to behead his mother. Parshurama dutifully fulfilled his father’s command. But soon repented and chopped off his own hand in remorse for killing his own mother.

There are many tales in Puranas where god Vishnu explains the concept of maya to the wandering mendicant Narada. In each of those tales Vishnu puts Narada through different experiences of life to make him understand the ultimate grip of maya that overwhelms the human mind. In this story, Vishnu yet again gives a lesson in maya, this time by making Narada experience the female body, and what it mean to be a woman.

Once Narada, came to visit Vishnu, while he was making love to Lakshmi. Watching Narada enter the room, Lakshmi hastily left the room. Narada asked Vishnu – “ Oh supreme God! Why did you stop making love? I am an ascetic who is in complete control of senses. I have conquered maya… You need not have stopped making love midway, for I have no desires left for this world.”

Boom Boom Maattukkaarar* -is a nomadic tribe from the northern district of Tamil Nadu. Dressed in colourful clothes and singing praises of Lord Rama on their urumi maelam, a musical instrument , they beg for food in the name of the sacred bull they bring along wherever they go. They believe that once upon a time they were wealthy landowners who led a comfortable lives by farming their land. But Lord Rama put a curse on them, and from then on they have become wanderers, and beggars for life.

The sad tale of how it all came to be goes like this.

It seems, once upon a time the forefathers of Poovidaiyaans – (Boom Boom Maattukkaarar ) lived a peaceful settled life, by farming their land. But things turned sour when Lord Rama came to them as yaasakan ( beggar) and asked for food, and the Poovidaiyaans not knowing his real identity refused to offer any food to the hungry man.

The beggar did not budge and insisted on receiving some food as alms as he was very hungry. The Poovidaiyaans became adamant and refused to offer him food. The stand off in the form of arguments and counter arguments went on for a while. Finally, the beggar requested them to give him a portion of the grain from the coming harvest to save him from hunger and starvation.

The Poovidaiyaans promised him that they would give him half their yield, every harvest season. The beggar accepted the deal. As he was about to leave, Poovidaiyaans asked him whether he would prefer the mael mahasul ( upper part of the yield) or the keel mahasul ( lower part of the yield). The beggar said he preferred mael mahasul, the top part. The deal was sealed. And the beggar left promising to come next season to collect his share of grain when the harvest is ready for reaping.

That season, Poovidaiyaans cultivated their land and grew ground nuts. As promised, the beggar came to them during reaping season, to collect the assured portion of grain. Poovidaiyaans gave him the bundle of groundnut stems and leaves, telling him that it is the mael mahasul he had opted for. The beggar accepted the leaves with disappointment and looked on while Poovidaiyaans gleefully gathered the nuts. Poovidaiyaans rejoiced and congratulated themselves on their cleverness. When the beggar was about to leave, Poovidaiyaans again asked the same question- “ Which part of the crop you would like to have the coming season?”. The beggar thought for a while and said keel mahasul, the bottom part.

The next season Poovidaiyaans planted paddy. When the beggar arrived to collect his share, they kept the grain and gave him bottom part, the paddy straws and was cheated again by land holding Poovidaiyaans. The beggar became furious on the repeated humiliation and revealed his true identity. Only then did the Poovidaiyaans realize that the beggar was none other then Lord Rama.

Rama then cursed them to be nomads and suffer from hunger and starvation like he did. He gave them the suraikkudukkai ( bottle gourd) as their begging bowl. He also gave them a bull named after him and warned them that they should not cultivate the land ever again. That is how these rich land owners became penniless nomads.

Ever since, generations of Poovidaiyaans have been begging for food from door to door, singing the praises of lord Rama, accompanied by the sacred bull.

*Boom Boom Mattukaran or Adiyan or Poo Idayar are a group of nomadic tribal people found primarily in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the southern part of India. Historically they have made a living by traveling from place to place with a decorated bull, entertaining and fortune telling using what is generally termed a Boom Boom Ox. They are believed to have originated from Andhra Pradesh state and speak in Tamil intermixed with Telugu. Their traditional livelihood is no longer sustainable and they survive on begging and physical labour. ( Source Wikipedia)

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Story collected by : Vidya Kamat

Text Source: “ The Curse and Absolution: A study on the Role of Origin Myths among Nomads, with special reference to Boom Boom Maattukkaarar community”, by A. Dhananjayan

Indian Folklore research Journal – Vol 4, No 7, December 2007, pp 51-63

Location: Tamil Nadu

Image credit and copyright https://www.flickr.com/photos/lkamala/164082524