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Mantra · Pundarika's fifteen verses to Tulasi, with her sixteen names

Tulsi Mantra

जगद्धात्रि नमस्तुभ्यं विष्णोश्च प्रियवल्लभे । यतो ब्रह्मादयो देवाः सृष्टिस्थित्यन्तकारिणः ॥

Also known as Jagaddhatri Namastubhyam

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

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What the Tulsi Mantra is

The Tulsi mantra most often recited in full is the Tulasi Stotram: fifteen Sanskrit verses to Tulasi, the holy basil worshipped as a goddess and as the beloved of Vishnu. It opens with the words Jagaddhatri namastubhyam, hailing her as the sustainer of the world through whom Brahma and the other gods create, preserve and dissolve. Verses 2 to 10 alternate between salutation and statements of her reach: she purifies whether praised aloud or only remembered, the sight of her frees wrongdoers, all the gods dwell in her, and a sprig of her leaves set on Vishnu's head is said to return every blessing to the one who offers it. Verse 11 names the singer as the sage Pundarika, who worshipped Vishnu daily with Tulasi leaves. Verses 12 to 14 give her sixteen names, among them Shri, Mahalakshmi, Vidya and Avidya, the heavens and the earth, and verse 15 closes on her as Lakshmi's friend, praised by Narada.

Pundarika and the Lord on bare ground

The hymn carries its own record of origin. Verse 11 says it was sung long ago by the wise Pundarika while he worshipped Vishnu each day with fresh Tulasi leaves. It gives no place or date, and the standard printed edition names no Purana behind it. One tradition identifies this singer with the sage Pundarika remembered at Thirukadalmallai, the old name of Mamallapuram on the Tamil coast. According to the temple's account, Pundarika came upon a pond full of lotuses during his penance and resolved to carry them to Vishnu in the Ocean of Milk. With no way across the sea, he began emptying it with the basket he used for gathering flowers. An old man stopped to tell him the work was pointless, then asked for food and offered to keep bailing while the sage went to fetch it. Pundarika returned to find Vishnu reclining on the bare ground, wearing the gathered lotuses as a garland. The deity there is worshipped as Sthalasayana Perumal, lying on the earth rather than on the serpent Adishesha, and the temple tank is still called Pundarika Teertham. Whether the singer of the Tulasi hymn and the sage of the lotus legend are one person rests on tradition, not record; the hymn itself speaks only of Tulasi leaves.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiजगद्धात्रि नमस्तुभ्यं विष्णोश्च प्रियवल्लभे । यतो ब्रह्मादयो देवाः सृष्टिस्थित्यन्तकारिणः ॥

Tamilஜகத்தாத்ரி நமஸ்துப்யம் விஷ்ணோஶ்ச ப்ரியவல்லபே । யதோ ப்ரஹ்மாதயோ தேவாஃ ஸ்ருஷ்டிஸ்தித்யந்தகாரிணஃ ॥

Teluguజగద్ధాత్రి నమస్తుభ్యం విష్ణోశ్చ ప్రియవల్లభే । యతో బ్రహ్మాదయో దేవాః సృష్టిస్థిత్యన్తకారిణః ॥

Kannadaಜಗದ್ಧಾತ್ರಿ ನಮಸ್ತುಭ್ಯಂ ವಿಷ್ಣೋಶ್ಚ ಪ್ರಿಯವಲ್ಲಭೇ । ಯತೋ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾದಯೋ ದೇವಾಃ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸ್ಥಿತ್ಯನ್ತಕಾರಿಣಃ ॥

Malayalamജഗദ്ധാത്രി നമസ്തുഭ്യം വിഷ്ണോശ്ച പ്രിയവല്ലഭേ । യതോ ബ്രഹ്മാദയോ ദേവാഃ സൃഷ്ടിസ്ഥിത്യന്തകാരിണഃ ॥

EnglishRoman transliterationjagaddhātri namastubhyaṃ viṣṇośca priyavallabhe | yato brahmādayo devāḥ sṛṣṭisthityantakāriṇaḥ ||

“Salutations to you, sustainer of the world and dear beloved of Vishnu, through whom Brahma and the other gods carry out creation, preservation and dissolution.”

जगद्धात्रि: jagaddhātri — O sustainer of the world
नमस्तुभ्यं: namastubhyaṃ — salutations to you
विष्णोश्च: viṣṇośca — and of Vishnu
प्रियवल्लभे: priyavallabhe — O dear beloved
यतो: yato — through whom
ब्रह्मादयो: brahmādayo — Brahma and the others
देवाः: devāḥ — the gods
सृष्टिस्थित्यन्तकारिणः: sṛṣṭisthityantakāriṇaḥ — who create, sustain and end the world

Tulsi Mantra lyrics in full

Fifteen verses: ten of praise, the verse naming Pundarika, three giving her sixteen names, and a closing salutation.

All 15 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Tulsi Mantra PDFAll 15 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

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Verse 1

जगद्धात्रि नमस्तुभ्यं विष्णोश्च प्रियवल्लभे ।
यतो ब्रह्मादयो देवाः सृष्टिस्थित्यन्तकारिणः ॥

Salutations to you, sustainer of the world and dear beloved of Vishnu, through whom Brahma and the other gods carry out creation, preservation and dissolution.

Verse 2

नमस्तुलसि कल्याणि नमो विष्णुप्रिये शुभे ।
नमो मोक्षप्रदे देवि नमः सम्पत्प्रदायिके ॥

Salutations to you, Tulasi, the auspicious one; salutations, beloved of Vishnu, the gracious one. Salutations, goddess who grants liberation; salutations to you who bestow prosperity.

Verse 3

तुलसी पातु मां नित्यं सर्वापद्भ्योऽपि सर्वदा ।
कीर्तितापि स्मृता वापि पवित्रयति मानवम् ॥

May Tulasi protect me always, at every time, from all misfortunes. The verse says that whether she is praised aloud or only remembered, she purifies a person.

Verse 4

नमामि शिरसा देवीं तुलसीं विलसत्तनुम् ।
यां दृष्ट्वा पापिनो मर्त्या मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषात् ॥

I bow my head to the goddess Tulasi, whose form shines with beauty. The verse says that on seeing her, even sinful mortals are freed from every wrong.

Verse 5

तुलस्या रक्षितं सर्वं जगदेतच्चराचरम् ।
या विनिहन्ति पापानि दृष्ट्वा वा पापिभिर्नरैः ॥

This whole world, moving and unmoving, is protected by Tulasi. The verse says she destroys the sins of wrongdoers who merely look upon her.

Verse 6

नमस्तुलस्यतितरां यस्यै बद्धाञ्जलिं कलौ ।
कलयन्ति सुखं सर्वं स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथाऽपरे ॥

Salutations, again and again, to Tulasi. The verse says that in the Kali age, women, merchants and others who fold their hands to her obtain every happiness.

Verse 7

तुलस्या नापरं किञ्चिद्दैवतं जगतीतले ।
यथा पवित्रितो लोको विष्णुसङ्गेन वैष्णवः ॥

On the face of the earth there is no deity higher than Tulasi, by whom the world is purified, just as a devotee of Vishnu is purified by closeness to Vishnu.

Verse 8

तुलस्याः पल्लवं विष्णोः शिरस्यारोपितं कलौ ।
आरोपयति सर्वाणि श्रेयांसि वरमस्तके ॥

The verse says that in the Kali age, a sprig of Tulasi placed on the head of Vishnu places every blessing on the head of the one who offers it.

Verse 9

तुलस्यां सकला देवा वसन्ति सततं यतः ।
अतस्तामर्चयेल्लोके सर्वान् देवान् समर्चयन् ॥

Since all the gods dwell in Tulasi at all times, one should worship her in this world; in doing so, the verse says, one worships all the gods.

Verse 10

नमस्तुलसि सर्वज्ञे पुरुषोत्तमवल्लभे ।
पाहि मां सर्वपापेभ्यः सर्वसम्पत्प्रदायिके ॥

Salutations to you, Tulasi, all-knowing one, beloved of Vishnu the Supreme Person. Protect me from all sins, you who grant every kind of prosperity.

Verse 11

इति स्तोत्रं पुरा गीतं पुण्डरीकेण धीमता ।
विष्णुमर्चयता नित्यं शोभनैस्तुलसीदलैः ॥

This hymn was sung long ago by the wise sage Pundarika, who worshipped Vishnu every day with beautiful Tulasi leaves.

Verse 12

तुलसी श्रीर्महालक्ष्मीर्विद्याविद्या यशस्विनी ।
धर्म्या धर्मानना देवी देवदेवमनःप्रिया ॥

Her names: Tulasi, Shri, Mahalakshmi, Vidya, Avidya, Yashasvini (the glorious), Dharmya (the righteous), Dharmanana (whose face is dharma), Devi, and the one dear to the heart of the God of gods.

Verse 13

लक्ष्मीप्रियसखी देवी द्यौर्भूमिरचला चला ।
षोडशैतानि नामानि तुलस्याः कीर्तयन्नरः ॥

The dear friend of Lakshmi, the goddess, Dyau (the heavens), Bhumi (the earth), Achala (the steady) and Chala (the moving): a person who recites these sixteen names of Tulasi...

Verse 14

लभते सुतरां भक्तिमन्ते विष्णुपदं लभेत् ।
तुलसी भूर्महालक्ष्मीः पद्मिनी श्रीर्हरिप्रिया ॥

...the verse says, gains deep devotion and at the end reaches the abode of Vishnu. Tulasi is the earth, Mahalakshmi, Padmini (the lotus one), Shri and the beloved of Hari.

Verse 15

तुलसि श्रीसखि शुभे पापहारिणि पुण्यदे ।
नमस्ते नारदनुते नारायणमनःप्रिये ॥

O Tulasi, friend of Lakshmi, auspicious one, remover of sin and giver of merit: salutations to you, praised by Narada and dear to the heart of Narayana.

The syllable people get wrong

The everyday spelling Tulsi hides a vowel: the Sanskrit is tulasī, three syllables, tu-la-see, with the short middle a sounded and a long final ī; in the addresses of verses 2, 10 and 15 the vocative tulasi keeps all three syllables but ends on a short i.

When the Tulsi Mantra is chanted

Weekday. Thursday

Festival. Tulasi Vivah, in the bright fortnight of Kartika

Questions

Not quite. In everyday use, 'Tulsi mantra' can mean a single line of salutation offered at the plant, or a full hymn. The text given here is the longer one: Pundarika's fifteen-verse Tulasi Stotram, beginning Jagaddhatri namastubhyam. Within it, verses 2 and 10 open with Namastulasi, 'salutations, Tulasi', addressing her by name much as a short salutation does, before the verses go on to praise her.

Verses 12 and 13 list them: Tulasi, Shri, Mahalakshmi, Vidya, Avidya, Yashasvini, Dharmya, Dharmanana, Devi, the one dear to the God of gods, Lakshmi's dear friend, Dyau (the heavens), Bhumi (the earth), Achala and Chala, the steady and the moving. The text then says that one who recites these sixteen names gains deep devotion and at the end reaches Vishnu's abode. Verse 14 adds a second short string: earth, Mahalakshmi, Padmini, Shri and beloved of Hari.

No. The Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in its Prakriti Khanda, carries a separate Tulasi hymn with different wording and a different opening. Pundarika's hymn is a freestanding stotra: its only statement of origin is verse 11, which credits the sage, and the standard printed edition does not assign it to any Purana. The two should not be mixed when reading or comparing verse numbers.

Verse 11 reads like a closing signature, naming Pundarika as the singer, and some older printings of Tulasi worship texts stop there. Most printings, and common recitation, continue with verses 12 to 15: the sixteen names of Tulasi, the verse reporting what their recital brings, and a final salutation to her as friend of Lakshmi and dear to Narayana. The full fifteen-verse form is given here.

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