Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c10.s1.76

c10.s1.76

The worshipper should then go to the Tulasi grove, and worship the shrub, which is Hari's darling, with perfume, flowers and rice, bow down before it with complete prostration of the body, and pray with appropriate Mantra and Stava for its favour. A large number of Purāṇa and other texts supplies exuberant and endless eulogy of the sacred Tulasi. Sometimes the laudation is extravagant, but nothing appears exaggerated to the devout mind, which even believes, among other things, that if one sits even for a single moment under the Tulasi shrub, the sins of one crore of re-births melt away! In this connexion the religious efficacy of the Āmalaki tree is also glorified. By carrying an Āmalaki fruit, a man purifies himself; by eating it, he becomes equal to Nārāyaṇa; and by keeping it in the house, he remains untouchable by sin!