Hindu festival · San Francisco Bay Area
Tulsi Vivah
Dates for the Bay Area
- Saturday, 21 November 2026Major Vaishnava festivalnext
- Wednesday, 10 November 2027Major Vaishnava festival
- Sunday, 29 October 2028Major Vaishnava festival
Why it matters
A ritual wedding of the tulasī plant, revered as a goddess, to Viṣṇu, usually represented by a śālagrāma stone or an image of Kṛṣṇa. It is performed in homes and temples on a day between Prabodhinī Ekādaśī and Kārttika Pūrṇimā that varies by region. Many treat it as the start of the Hindu wedding season.
Where it falls
It begins with Prabodhinī (Devutthāna) Ekādaśī or the following dvādaśī, and its season closes at Kārttika Pūrṇimā, the day of Dev Dīpāvalī.
The story behind it
Purāṇic tellings describe Vṛndā, devoted wife of the asura Jalandhara, whose fidelity made him invincible. When Viṣṇu took Jalandhara's form, her vow was broken and Jalandhara fell in battle. Vṛndā cursed Viṣṇu to become the śālagrāma stone and was herself reborn as the tulasī, and Viṣṇu promised to marry her.
Prayers and worship
The rite follows a Hindu wedding. A maṇḍapa is raised around the tulasī platform, the plant is dressed as a bride, and the groom (a śālagrāma or an image of Viṣṇu) is joined to her with cotton thread. Some families use an āmla (Indian gooseberry) branch to represent Viṣṇu.
How families keep it
Many families taking part fast through the day and break the fast when the evening ceremony begins.
What is typically offered
The tulasī is given bridal items such as a sari and ornaments. Sweets and food cooked as for an actual wedding are offered and then shared among family and guests.
Visiting a temple that day
Temple practices vary by region and sampradaya. Dress modestly, remove footwear where required, follow priest/volunteer directions, ask before photography, and check the temple’s event page for exact pooja, fasting and prasādam arrangements.
Sources for this page (7)
The description above is this site’s own, researched from the sources below and written in our words; each section rests on at least two of them. It has not been reviewed by Sri Kumar Gurukkal, and it describes how families commonly keep the day — your family’s tradition comes first.
- Tulsi Vivah — Wikipedia
- Tulsi Vivah 2021: Date, significance and all you need to know — Free Press Journal
- Prabodhini Ekadashi 2024: devotees worship Lord Vishnu (12 Nov 2024) — Telangana Today
- Haribodhani Ekadashi: the Lord awakens, Hindu wedding season starts (31 Oct 2017) — Onlinekhabar (English)
- Kartika Purnima — Wikipedia
- CREDOS: Prabodhini Ekadashi (9 Nov 2008) — The Himalayan Times
- Tulsi Vivah — Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, Kalupur (Ahmedabad)
Request this pooja
Ask Sri Kumar Gurukkal about a pooja for Tulsi Vivah — at your home, at a temple, or with family joining remotely. A request is an enquiry, not a booking.
Request a pooja Add 21 Nov 2026 to calendarKeep this in your calendar
Subscribe once and every Bay Area festival date appears in your own calendar app.
Subscribe to the festival calendar Share on WhatsAppThe 2026–27 dates were compiled from a Northern-California Panchāṅgam reference for the Fremont / Bay Area location. The 2028 date is computed by this site’s own engine from the festival’s standard definition, tested against the 2026–27 dates: Kārttika śukla dvādaśī, judged at the tithi at sunrise (udaya-vyāpinī). No 2028 date has been checked against a printed almanac or reviewed by Sri Kumar Gurukkal. They can differ from a calendar computed for another city or another sampradāya. Please confirm any date on which you plan a ceremony with Sri Kumar Gurukkal. How these dates are calculated →