Tulasi Vivah on Uthana Dwadasi

This festival comes on Shukla Paksha Dwadasi, in the month of Karthik. This happens to be the last day of chatur maasa . On Uthana Dwadasi day Lord Vishnu is supposed to get up from sleep. It is said that a year in a humans life is one day to the gods. On Uthana Dwadasi day Lord Vishnu is stirring from his sleep. There are some stories connected to this too.

How to perform Tulasi Vishnu Vivaha

• On this day, Saligrama puja is important and Tulasi puja. In most houses Saligrama puja is performed and brahmin couples are given festival food and Tulasi Vivah is performed in the evening. After food, this couple are given thamboola and a minimum of blouse piece if not sari and shalya is presented along with Kheer Dana.
• For the evening naividya, 4/5 different kind of laddus and sweets are made, and also a flavored milk boiled well with sugar saffron and cardomom added. Koshambari is also made.

• An arathi is prepared as follows. On a plain silver or pithal plate draw a rangoli design with honey using a matchstick or a new toothpick. Over this sprinkle some Gasagase (poppey seeds) all over and then gently tap out the extra gasgase. You will now have a beautiful decoration on the plate. Over this arrange 5 amlas and wicks soaked in ghee over the amlas. 
• For the Amlas in the Arati, make a dough with Haldi posder and water. Prepare equal sized balls and over this place the Amla and the wick soaked in oil. This will help balance the Amlas and prevent them from rolling over.
• Decorate the frontyard of the house with mango leaves and rangoli. 
• Decorate the tulasi vrindavan - draw rangoli in front of the vrindavan. If there no place in the back yard for this , one may keep the pot or a small vrindvan with a tulasi plant near the god, for the puja.
• In the Tulasi vrindavan a small branch of amla is kept, a few amlas have also to be in the branches. Keep a small idol of Krishna in the Vrindavan, next to the plant and perform puja. Light as many lamps as possible. 
• You will need to get ready the naividya, the arathi, sweet smelling flowers, a pair small garlands. 
• Decorate the tulasi and put a few abharana( jewels, like we would decorate a bride). Sing songs and stotras to Tulasi and Krishna and Lakshmi, nd perform the puja.
• After the puja and before the various arathis, offer to the Lord and Tulsi, a sari and blouse and pair of dhotis offer haldhi kumkum and on to plate do the offer Mangala Dravya for Tulasi, then the naividya and the arathis. Puja is to performed with haldhi kumkum etc as we perform Lakshmi puja.

Prayers for Tulasi Pooja

Tulasi Praathane namah tulasi kalyaaNi namo vishhnu priye shubhe |namo moksha pradaayike devi namaH sampatpradaayike ||

Tulasige Namaskara
Yanmule sarva thirthani yanmadye sarva devatha |yadagre sarva vedashcha Tulasi thvam namam mayham ||

Tulasi Dyana
dyayescha tulasim devim shyamam kamala lochanamprasannam panmakalhara varabhaya chaturbhujakiritahara keyura kundaladi vibushitamdhavalankusha samyuktam nishedushim

Tulasi Ashhtottara Shatanamavali 

Click here for Tulasi Ashtottara Shatanamavali in English and Kannada 

The second half of Ashwija maasa and Kartic maasa are the darkest months of the year. Before the times of kerosene lamps and electric lights, it would have been very difficult to sight a village. When lamps are lit and kept in front of the houses in the evenings and early mornings the travellers could easily sight the village.

Amlas are given importance, as the coming months are cold with fog, which will cause cold etc. Amlas are an excellent source of Vitamin C, a preventive for winter ailments in the olden days.

In places where a Amla tree is present, it is worshipped and revered. It is said that every house must have an Amla tree, a parijatha flower tree and a tulasi plant. Some even say that a house without a tulasi plant, is equal to cemetery.

Growing a tulasi plant is not at all difficult only it needs to be watered every day.The plant has also be planted in a fairly big pot or brindhvan, so the plant will space for the roots to spread.

Any plant for that matter is like child. take care of it and it will grow well. The plant also needs to kept in sunny place. In summer when it is very hot, it can be watered twice or shifted to a shade.

Do grow a tulasi plant where ever you are.

How to perform Lakshmi Puja at home during Diwali?

Lakshmi Puja is an important ritual during Diwali or Deepavali.  The ritual varies from region to region. But here is a simple guide to perform Lakshmi Puja during Diwali. In 2013, Diwali Lakshmi Puja is on November 3.

First and foremost step is to clean the house. Through the puja we are inviting Goddess Lakshmi to our house and she likes everything to be neat and clean. In some communities, even the broom is worshipped on the Lakshmi Puja day. This symbolically represents the need for cleanliness. 

Three forms of Shakti – Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswathi and Goddess Durga –Lord Ganesh and Lord Kubera are worshipped on the day. No puja is performed without paying customary tributes to Lord Ganesha. Lord Kubera, represents wealth, and he is the treasurer of Gods. In homes, usually the locker or safe in which gold and cash is kept symbolically represents the seat of Kubera. 

Important Items Needed For Lakshmi Puja

Kalash

Mango leaves

Idol or picture of Goddess Lakshmi

Milk, curd, honey, ghee

Puffed rice

Usual puja Sweets

Coriander seeds

Cumin seeds

And other daily puja items

Lakshmi Puja Process

• First decide on a place to perform the puja.
• Spread a clean cloth and create a bed of rice.
• A Kalash (pot) is placed on the bed of rice.
• Fill about 75% of the Kalash with water.
• Put a betel nut, flower, a clean coin, and some rice in the Kalash.
• Now arrange mango leaves around the opening of the Kalash.
• Place a Thaali (a small plain plate) on the Kalash.
• On the Thaali, draw a lotus with turmeric powder and place the idol or small photograph of Goddess Lakshmi.
• Place some coins on the Thaali.
• On the right of Kalash, place the idol of Lord Ganesha.
• If you need, you can also place the idols of Saraswathi and your favorite deities.
• Create a peaceful and calm atmosphere. The best way is to close the eyes and meditate on ‘om.’
• Take some water and sprinkle on all puja items to purify them.
• Do puja with haldi, kumkum and flowers on the Kalash.
• Light a lamp.
• Now take some flower and rice in the hands and close the eyes and meditate on Goddess Lakshmi. You are now invoking Goddess Lakshmi. If you know mantras, recite them. Otherwise just simply meditate on Goddess Lakshmi. Here is a simple Sanskrit mantra dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi.

Namosthesthu Maha Maye,
Shree padee, sura poojithe,
Shanka, Chakra, Gadha hasthe,
Maha Lakshmi Namosthuthe

• Now sprinkle the flowers and rice on the idol of Goddess Lakshmi.
• Take out the idol of Goddess Lakshmi and place it on a Thaali. Clean the idol with water, then with milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar. Then clean the idol again with water.
• Place the idol back on the Kalash.
• Now offer garlands made of marigolds or leaves of bel tree, sandalwood paste, kumkum and other daily puja items including lighting incense and agarbhatis.
• Now make offerings of coconut, fruits, sweets, betel nuts and betel leaves.
• Next make offerings of Batasha sweets, puffed rice, coriander and cumin seeds.
• Lastly, perform a silent Arati for Goddess Lakshmi. And meditate on Goddess Lakshmi.
• Take some of the ‘prasad’ (that will stay for long period of time) and place it at the place where ornaments and cash is usually kept.
• Business people also worship the account books on this day along with Goddess Lakshmi. 

This is only a guideline. You can show flexibility in the puja process. Some of the items needed might not be readily available. But you can keep the house and surrounding clean. Finally, if you can’t perform the puja, wherever you are simply mediate on Goddess Lakshmi.