śrī tulasī cālīsā

Forty verses in Hindi to Tulsi, and most of them are narrative rather than praise: the chalisa tells the story of Vrinda, the faithful wife whose husband could not be killed while her vow held, of Shankhachuda and the deceit that broke it, of the curse she laid on the spot and the curse laid on her in return, and of how she came to stand in the world as the tulsi plant, without compare among shrubs. Around the story sit the claims made for the plant itself — that all the fords are gathered in the shade of the tulsi tree, and that release is had there beyond doubt. The closing doha gives the maker's name as Sukharam, son of Tulsi.