Sri Narada said: Hearing Radha's
words, and reflecting on them in her heart for a moment, Candranana, the best
of all friends, replied.
Sri Candranana said: O Radha,
service to Tulasi gives the greatest piety, the greatest good fortune, and the
greatest benediction. It gives Lord Krishna's association.
You should always gaze on Tulasi,
touch her, remember her, glorify her, bow down before her, offer prayers to
her, plant her, and worship her. Then she will grant Your desire.
They who day after day serve Tulasi
in these nine ways attain the result of pious deeds performed in many thousands
of millions of yugas.
A person who who plants Tulasi
liberates his family. As many branches, sub-branches, seeds, flowers, and
leaves as are on the Tulasi he has planted, so many ancestors and descendents
in his family for thousands of kalpa-yugas will go to Lord Kana's
transcendental abode.
O Radha, by offering Lord Krishna a
single Tulasi leaf one attains the result of offering Him every flower and leaf
that exists.
A person who with offerings of
Tulasi-leaves worships Lord Krishna is not touched by sin as a lotus-leaf is
not touched by water.
By protecting a Tulasi forest one
attains the result of giving in pious charity a hundred bharas of gold or four
hundred bharas of silver.
A home in the midst of a Tulasi
forest is a sacred pilgrimage place. Yamaraja's servants will never enter that
home.
They who plant a sacred Tulasi
forest, which fulfills desires and removes all sins, are the best of people.
They will never see Yamaraja.
For persons who plant, protect,
water, see, or touch her, Tulasi burns the sins committed with the body, mind,
and words.
On a single Tulasi leaf the holy
places beginning with Puskara, the sacred rivers beginning with the Ganga, and
the Deities headed by Lord Vasudeva reside.
Even though stained with a hundred
sins, a person who touches a Tulasi-manjari as he leaves this life does not see
Yamaraja.
Sin does not touch the the body of a
sinner anointed with Tulasi-paste.
Wherever is the beautiful shade of a
Tulasi forest, there sraddha should be offered. There aksaya should be offered
to the pitas.
O friend, as four-faced Brahma
cannot describe all the glories of Lord Krishna, who holds the sarnga bow, so
he cannot descibe all the glories of Tulasi.
A man or woman who offers
sandal-paste and Tulasi to Sri Krishnacandra's feet attains the results I have
told to You.
O gopi, serve Tulasi every day. Then
Sri Krishna will always be Your submissive servant.
Sri Narada said: O king, after
hearing Candranana's words, Sri Radha, the queen of the rasa dance, in order to
please Lord Krishna, began to serve Sri Tulasi.
Taking Tulasi, beautiful with many
green leaves, to the middle of a ketaki forest, and placing her in a
Tulasi-temple that was round, tall, a hundred hastas in size, beautiful with
walls of gold and rubies, splendid with an outer wall of emeralds, diamonds,
and pearls, decorated with cintamani gems, arched gateways, gold flags, and
gold awnings everywhere, and glorious like Indra's palace, at the time of the
star abhijit, saintly Radha, following Garga Muni's instructions, served Sri
Tulasi.
Beginning with the full moon of the
month of Asvina (September-October), and ending with the full moon of the month
of Caitra (March-April), to please Sri Krishna, saintly Radha followed a vow
with great devotion.
Month after month She sprinkled
Tulasi with milk, sugar-cane juice, grape-juice, mango-juice, pancamrita, and
many kinds of sweet and cool juice. On the first day of Vaisakha (April-May),
She ended the vow.
O king, following Garga Muni's
instructions, King Vrisabhanu's daughter Radha then pleased two hundred
thousand brahmanas with a great feast of fifty-six courses.
O king of Videha, then Radha gave
them daksina of a hundred-thousand splendid large pearls and many costly
garments and ornaments.
Radha gave ten million bhras of gold
to Garga Muni. With great devotion She gave a hundred bharas of gold and pearls
to each brahmana.
The demigods' drums sounded and the
apsaras danced. The demigods showered flowers on the Tulasi-temple.
Then, seated on a glorious throne on
a gold pedestal, her eyes lotus petals, and her gold crown and earrings
glittering, beautiful four-armed Tulasi, who is dear to Lord Krishna, appeared.
Descending from the sky, Tulasi,
beautiful as a flowering vine, with her four arms embraced and then kissed
Radha, who wore a new vaijayanti garland, and whose snake-braids were covered
with a yellow cloth.
Sri Tulasi said: O daughter of
Kalavati, I am pleased with You. I am eternally conquered by Your loving
devotion. O beautiful one, as if You were an ordinary human being, You very
carefully followed this vow.
The desire that fills Your heart,
mind, intelligence, and senses, will be attained. Lord Krishna will be kind to
You. You are very fortunate.
Sri Narada said: To Tulasi, who has
spoken these words and who was dear to Lord Krishna, Radha, the daughter of
King Vrisabhanu, bowed down and said: May I have unalloyed devotion for Lord
Krishna's lotus feet.
Saying, "So be it",
Krishna's beloved Tulasi disappeared. O ruler of Mithila, O best of kings, then
Radha, King Vrisabhanu's daughter, went home happy at heart.
O king, a devotee who hears this
wonderful story of Sri Radha attains first the three goals of material life and
then the supreme spiritual goal of life.
Thus end the Second Canto Vrindaban
Khanda, Sixteen Chapter, of the Sri Garga Samhita, entitled "The Worship
of Tulasi."