Tulsi Vivah 2026 (21 Nov): Dev Uthani, Vidhi & Kanyadaan Merit
Tulsi Vivah 2026 falls on Saturday, 21 November 2026, the Dwadashi (twelfth day) of the Kartik Shukla Paksha, the day after Dev Uthani Ekadashi on Friday, 20 November 2026. The Dwadashi tithi runs from 6:31 AM on 21 November to 4:56 AM on 22 November IST, and the ceremonial wedding of Tulsi is traditionally performed in the evening, during pradosh kaal, the period just after sunset.
Tulsi Vivah is the ceremonial marriage of the Tulsi plant, revered as Goddess Vrinda and the most beloved devotee of Lord Vishnu, to the Shaligram, a sacred fossil stone that embodies Vishnu himself. It comes at the close of Chaturmas, the four holy months during which Lord Vishnu rests in yoga nidra, his cosmic sleep, and it is the ritual that reopens the Hindu wedding season. Homes across India dress their courtyard Tulsi in a bridal saree, and a real wedding, complete with mandap, mangalashtaka and kanyadaan, unfolds around the sacred plant.
Tulsi Vivah 2026: Dates and Timings
| Event | Date and Time (IST) |
|---|---|
| Dev Uthani (Prabodhini) Ekadashi | Friday, 20 November 2026 |
| Ekadashi tithi begins | 20 November 2026, 7:15 AM |
| Ekadashi tithi ends | 21 November 2026, 6:31 AM |
| Gauna Dev Uthani Ekadashi (for those following the second-day tradition) | Saturday, 21 November 2026 |
| Ekadashi parana (fast-breaking) for 20 Nov fasters | 21 November 2026, 1:11 PM to 3:18 PM |
| Tulsi Vivah 2026 | Saturday, 21 November 2026 |
| Dwadashi tithi begins | 21 November 2026, 6:31 AM |
| Dwadashi tithi ends | 22 November 2026, 4:56 AM |
A word on the two-date confusion you may see this year. Because the Ekadashi tithi begins after sunrise on 20 November and runs into the early morning of 21 November, most households and smarta traditions observe Dev Uthani Ekadashi on Friday, 20 November, while some Vaishnava communities observe the Gauna (second-day) Ekadashi on Saturday, 21 November. Tulsi Vivah itself is commonly performed on the Dwadashi, which is 21 November 2026; many families do it on the Ekadashi evening, and any day up to Kartik Purnima is traditional. Follow your family or sampradaya tradition, and check your city's tithi timings on our daily panchang. These timings are for Delhi and shift slightly by location.
Dev Uthani Ekadashi: Vishnu Wakes from Yoga Nidra
To understand Tulsi Vivah, begin with the day before it. On Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi, called Devshayani Ekadashi, Lord Vishnu is said to enter yoga nidra, a state of divine, conscious rest, upon the serpent Shesha in the cosmic ocean. For the four lunar months that follow, the period called Chaturmas, auspicious samskaras such as weddings, upanayana and griha pravesh are traditionally paused, and devotees turn instead to vratas, satsang and inner discipline.
On Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, the Lord awakens. This is why the day is called Dev Uthani (the waking of the Lord), Prabodhini (the awakening) or Devutthana Ekadashi. Devotees observe a fast, sing "Uttishtha Govinda", the ancient call requesting the Lord to rise, and welcome him back to the active care of the world. In 2026, with the whole festival calendar pushed later by the Adhik Maas (the extra lunar month inserted in May and June), this awakening falls on 20 November, and with it Chaturmas ends.
Why this day reopens the wedding season
Because the Lord who witnesses and blesses all samskaras is now awake, the calendar of shubh muhurats reopens. Tulsi Vivah is performed as the first wedding of the season, the divine wedding that inaugurates all human ones. Pandits across India begin conducting marriages from this point, and the weeks that follow are thick with wedding dates. If you are planning a marriage in this season, see our full list of wedding muhurat dates for 2026 and 2027, and for setting up a new home after the wedding, the griha pravesh muhurats of 2026.
The Story of Tulsi and Shaligram
The story is told in two forms. In the Shiva Purana and the Padma Purana, Vrinda is the devoted wife of the asura king Jalandhara. Her chastity and her unbroken devotion to Vishnu made her husband invincible, until Vishnu himself, for the sake of the world, assumed Jalandhara's form and her vow was unknowingly broken. When Vrinda learnt the truth, she cursed Vishnu that he too would be parted from his wife, as he later was from Sita, and gave up her body; the Tulsi plant is honoured as her form. In the Brahma Vaivarta Purana the wronged wife is Tulasi, married to the asura Shankhachuda, and it is her curse that turns Vishnu into stone: he takes form as the Shaligram, found in the Gandaki river of Nepal, and her essence becomes the Tulsi plant, dearest of all offerings to him. Popular tradition joins the two: the Lord promised to wed her every year, and no worship of his is complete without a Tulsi leaf. Tulsi Vivah is the annual keeping of that promise.
Tulsi Vivah Vidhi: The Wedding, Step by Step
- Prepare the bride: Clean the Tulsi plant and its pot or vrindavan (the raised planter). Decorate the pot with rangoli, and drape the plant with a small red or yellow bridal saree or chunari. Adorn it with a nose ring, bangles, haldi and kumkum, as one would a bride.
- Prepare the groom: Place the Shaligram (or, if the family does not keep one, a brass or silver image of Lord Vishnu or Krishna) on a small chowki beside the Tulsi. Dress the Lord in yellow, his beloved colour, with a tilak of sandalwood.
- Build the mandap: Erect a small mandap over the Tulsi using sugarcane stalks tied at the corners, a lovely custom that also marks the new sugarcane harvest. Hang a canopy of cloth or flowers.
- Sankalpa and Ganesh puja: In the evening, light the diyas, take sankalpa for the vivah, and begin, as with every Hindu rite, by invoking Lord Ganesha.
- Kanyadaan: The host couple, acting as Tulsi's parents, formally give the bride away. In many families the husband holds the Shaligram while the wife performs the kanyadaan, the giving of the daughter.
- Mangalashtaka and the varmala: The wedding verses are recited, and at the auspicious moment akshata (unbroken rice) and flowers are showered on the couple. Garlands are exchanged on their behalf.
- The sacred thread and the pheras: A cotton thread (kankana) joins the Tulsi and the Shaligram. The Shaligram is carried around the Tulsi, or the couple's platform is circumambulated, completing the pheras.
- Aarti and prasad: Conclude with aarti of the wedded pair, offer naivedya of seasonal fruits, sugarcane, amla, singhara (water chestnut) and sweets, and distribute prasad to all present, especially to children.
Tulsi Vivah Across Regions
- Maharashtra: A white cloth is held between the bride and the groom while the mangalashtaka is recited, and akshata is showered at the closing "Savadhan". The prasad is sugarcane, coconut, fruit and groundnut.
- Karnataka (Tulasi habba): Kept on Utthana Dwadashi, also called Ksheerabdhi Dwadashi: the tulasi katte is decorated and lit with lamps, milk is offered, and the amla is worshipped beside the tulasi. At Udupi the day closes the Chaturmasya and opens the Laksha Deepotsava, a lakh lamps lit over the following days.
- Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (Tulasi Kalyanam): On Ksheerabdhi Dwadashi a branch of the amla tree, standing for Vishnu, is placed in the tulasi vrindavan, and the tulasi is dressed as a bride.
Who Performs Tulsi Vivah, and Why
Any household devotee can perform Tulsi Vivah; no priest is strictly required, and in most homes the lady of the house leads it. That said, there are two traditions worth knowing. First, couples without a daughter often take special joy in performing the kanyadaan of Tulsi, since giving Tulsi away in marriage is held to carry the merit of a daughter's kanyadaan, one of the most praised acts of dana. Second, families with a specific sankalpa, for a marriage in the family, for harmony between a couple, or in gratitude for a wish fulfilled, often have the vivah conducted with full Vedic mantras by a purohit. If you would like the ceremony performed traditionally at home, with mangalashtaka and homa, you can request a verified purohit through Purohit, or book a festival puja or havan in your city and mention Tulsi Vivah while booking.
Significance of Tulsi in a Hindu Home
Tulsi is not treated as a plant in the Hindu home; she is a resident goddess. Tradition holds that where Tulsi grows, the home is purified and protected. A few strands of her significance:
- Daily worship: Watering the Tulsi in the morning and lighting a diya beside her at dusk is one of the oldest household rituals, traditionally done by the women of the house.
- Essential to Vishnu worship: No offering to Vishnu or Krishna is considered complete without a Tulsi leaf. She is placed on naivedya and in charanamrita.
- Ayurvedic esteem: Tulsi (holy basil) is prized in Ayurveda for immunity and respiratory health, one reason tradition wove her so tightly into daily life.
- Kartik month devotion: Through the month of Kartik, lighting a lamp near Tulsi every evening is held to be especially meritorious, a practice that culminates in the vivah and continues to Kartik Purnima three days later.
Tulsi Vivah also sits in a busy stretch of the 2026 festive calendar: it follows Diwali and Chhath Puja, and leads into Kartik Purnima and the wedding weeks of late November and December.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Tulsi Vivah in 2026?
Tulsi Vivah 2026 is on Saturday, 21 November 2026, the Kartik Shukla Dwadashi. The Dwadashi tithi runs from 6:31 AM on 21 November to 4:56 AM on 22 November IST. Some families perform it on the Ekadashi evening of 20 November, following their tradition.
When is Dev Uthani Ekadashi in 2026?
Dev Uthani (Prabodhini) Ekadashi is on Friday, 20 November 2026, with the Ekadashi tithi from 7:15 AM on 20 November to 6:31 AM on 21 November IST. Communities that follow the Gauna tradition observe it on Saturday, 21 November instead.
Why are there two dates for Dev Uthani Ekadashi this year?
Because the Ekadashi tithi begins after sunrise on 20 November and ends close to sunrise on 21 November (just before it in Delhi and Mumbai, just after it in Kolkata and the southern cities), the fast is kept on 20 November by most households, while some Vaishnava traditions keep the Gauna Ekadashi on 21 November. Both are valid; follow your family or sampradaya custom.
What time should Tulsi Vivah be performed?
The vivah is traditionally performed in the evening, during pradosh kaal, the roughly two-hour period after sunset, on the Dwadashi. On 21 November 2026 that means shortly after your city's sunset; check the exact sunset time for your location on a daily panchang.
Why is Tulsi married to the Shaligram?
In the Shiva and Padma Puranas, Vishnu breaks the vow of the devoted Vrinda to save the world from her husband Jalandhara; in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana the wronged wife is Tulasi, whose curse turns Vishnu into the Shaligram stone while her essence becomes the Tulsi plant. Popular tradition holds that the Lord promised to wed her every year, and Tulsi Vivah renews that bond.
Can Tulsi Vivah be done at home without a priest?
Yes. Most households perform it themselves, with the family reciting simple mantras and wedding songs. A purohit is invited when the family wishes for a full Vedic ceremony with mangalashtaka and homa, or when the vivah is performed with a specific sankalpa such as a wished-for marriage in the family.
What is the connection between Tulsi Vivah and the wedding season?
Chaturmas, the four months of Vishnu's yoga nidra during which weddings are paused, ends on Dev Uthani Ekadashi. Tulsi Vivah, the divine wedding, is performed immediately after and inaugurates the marriage season. Human weddings resume from this point through the winter muhurat dates. Families whose own alliance is still being settled usually start a step earlier, with a one-page biodata - our guide to the format covers what belongs on it - and then the horoscope comparison, explained in what the 36 gunas score.
What offerings are made at Tulsi Vivah?
Seasonal harvest items are central: sugarcane (also used to build the mandap), amla, singhara, ber, seasonal fruits and sweets. The Tulsi is offered a bridal saree, bangles and kumkum, while the Shaligram or Vishnu image is dressed in yellow with sandalwood tilak.
Does an unmarried person get any benefit from performing Tulsi Vivah?
Tradition holds that performing or attending Tulsi Vivah with devotion removes obstacles in marriage, and couples without a daughter earn the merit of kanyadaan by giving Tulsi away. Unmarried devotees often take part praying for a good spouse.
How we verify: dates and muhurat timings in our guides are cross-checked against the panchang before publishing, and practical details - samagri, durations, dakshina ranges - reflect real bookings on Purohit.app. Traditions vary by community; your purohit's guidance prevails.
