tained from Brahma the gift of being invulnerable, even should he be warred against by the gods themselves. Armed with this virtue he attacked Indra and the other deities. His excuse was their refusal to allow him to partake of the amritam (ambrosia, made by churning the ocean). The demon by virtue of his gift prevailed, and in their despair the gods appealed to Vishnu. He discovered that the secret of the demon's success lay, not so much in his invulnerable quality, as in the virtue of his wife Brinda. It was impossible to corrupt her fidelity by riches or cajolery. Vishnu had recourse to stratagem. He took upon himself the form of Jalandhara and lived with her while her husband was away fighting. The device was successful. Jalandhara fell on the field of battle mortally wounded. On learning the fate of her husband she was filled with sorrow and despair, and throwing herself upon his funeral pile she was burned with his body. Vishnu was so much impressed with her fidelity that to commemorate it be caused the tulsi to spring from her ashes. He furthermore enjoined upon his followers the worship of the plant in her honour.
In accordance with this command the Vishnuvite housewife tends the tulsi and makes obeisance to it before she begins the household duties of the day. At night she lights a lamp before the pot containing the plant and repeats her adoration, calling to mind the virtue of the lady represented by it. There are different versions of the legend. Some say that it sprang from the hair of a nymph beloved by Krishna (one of the incarnations of Vishnu).
The vervain, held sacred by the Romans and ancient Britons, was of the same modest character. Brooms made of vervain were used for cleansing the sacred places before the idols, or when any space was required for mystical ceremonies. A Hindu follower of Vishnu takes
