The holy basil plant kept in the courtyard or doorway of countless Hindu homes, watered and circled each morning as a living, daily act of devotion.
रहन-सहन · Rahan-Sahan
Tulsi is held sacred as an embodiment of the goddess Vrinda, closely associated with Vishnu, and is traditionally grown in a raised, often decorated pot, the tulsi chaura, placed where it receives morning sun, with many households lighting a lamp beside it each evening.
Beyond devotion, tulsi is also valued in Ayurveda for its medicinal properties, and Tulsi Vivah, its ceremonial wedding to Vishnu in the form of a stone, shaligram, is marked in Kartik as a distinct household observance closing the traditional wedding season.