Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 54
विष्णुचेष्टितवर्णनम् / Account of Viṣṇu’s Stratagem and Its Aftermath
तत्रापि तुलसी धन्यातीव श्रेष्ठा महामुने । त्यक्त्वा गणेशं सर्वेषां प्रीतिदा सर्वकामदा
tatrāpi tulasī dhanyātīva śreṣṭhā mahāmune | tyaktvā gaṇeśaṃ sarveṣāṃ prītidā sarvakāmadā
وحتى بين تلك القرابين المقدّسة، أيها الحكيم العظيم، تُعَدّ التولسي مباركةً جدًّا وعُليا. وبصرف النظر حتى عن غانيشا، تصير واهبةَ الفرح للجميع ومُحقِّقةً لكل رغبةٍ جديرة.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Significance: Highlights the efficacy of sacred supports (tulasī) in devotion; in Śaiva Siddhānta, such supports are secondary aids (upakāraka) to bhakti that can dispose the paśu toward grace (anugraha).
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
FAQs
The verse praises the exceptional sanctity of Tulasi as an offering that generates prīti (inner joy and devotional sweetness) and supports the devotee’s legitimate aims, emphasizing that sincere bhakti makes an offering spiritually potent.
In Saguna worship, sacred leaves and flowers offered with devotion become vehicles of grace; this verse highlights Tulasi’s special status among such offerings, reinforcing the Purāṇic principle that Shiva’s worship is fulfilled through heartfelt upacāras offered to the Linga and Shiva’s manifest forms.
Offer Tulasi with mantra-japa and a focused mind—ideally alongside Shiva’s name (e.g., pañcākṣarī japa, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—as a simple bhakti-practice aimed at cultivating prīti and aligning desires with dharma.